Hey all. A curious question came to mind. Does anyone have a favorite protein shake recipe that you love? I haven't had surgery yet, but I want to start getting used to protein shakes. I've seen a recipe where people make a protein Frappuccino and this other shake where they used a sugar free fat free pudding mixture in it.. so does anyone have a favorite?? The only go to shake I use is frozen banana with frozen strawberries with gnc lean shake. I add a little bit of honey. What could I used when I get surgery since I probably won't be able to use honey?

Does anyone have a favorite drink other than gatorade, water and iced tea? Just want more options if I want something other than water. I saw this video where this girl got these 52 fl oz bottles of sugar free lemonade and put on a kool-aid packet in each bottle she had. It sounds good. So yeah what's your faves? I want to write down a bunch of different recipes and drinks for now and after

Hmm. I don't have any protein shake recipes, per say, because I don't like protein powders.

I only drink Fairlife protein shakes. And I do add a strong shot of coffee to a whole shake. For instance, my favorite is salted caramel Fairlife. I use the reuseable Keurig pods. I fill the pod to the top with Dunkin ground coffee, and brew it on the strong setting and only 4 oz. Usually I drink it iced. Then I add sugar free Skinny Syrup in the flavor Salted Caramel. I do the same thing with Vanilla Fairlife and add Pumpkin Spice syrup. I've done this with Chai as well. I added a sprinkle of cinnamon and some sugar free Skinny Syrup in vanilla flavor. I do the same with strawberry Fairlife and use Strawberry Skinny syrup, and the same with chocolate Fairlife...

I tried to add unflavored protein powder to jello. I couldn't eat it, it was so disgusting to me. And I'm not super picky. So I never got around to trying it in pudding, but a lot do that.

As far as the frozen fruit added to the lean shake with honey... there's sugar free keto honey substitutes. It's about half the calories of honey but still has about 11 carbs per tablespoon. You should ask your dietician about what will be acceptable for after surgery. Every surgeon seems to vary. My team wouldn't want me to add the frozen fruit or honey. That's why I use the skinny syurps. Lots of flavor, without calories or carbs.

I mostly drink the Walmart brand Crystal Light sticks in my water. Blackberry Lemonade is my favorite. I never seem to get tired of those. I've drank them for probably 16 years now.

I LOVEEEE lemonade! Minute maid makes a zero sugar lemonade and it is great. Doesn't have that artificial sweetener taste. I drink TONS of water, always have and love to. But every once in a while I just need a kick of flavor and them lemonades do it every time.

The crystal light packets or other brand flavor packets are too "intense" for me. That is the best was I can explain it. I have to almost double the water to be able to tolerate them so I stopped using them.

As far as shake recipes, I can't help. I have read a lot and keep saying I want to start making my own shakes but never do. The pre-made are just so convenient, plus you just can't recreate 30g protein for 150/160 calories. So, I just keep going back to the pre-made shakes and switch around the brands and/or flavors when I get bored. Sometimes I take caramel shakes and add black coffee with ice so I feel like I am having a "cheat" sugary iced coffee.

I have taken vanilla powder and added powdered protein to it too, but that is about the extent of my "homemade" shakes.

11 hours ago, kcuster83 said:

I LOVEEEE lemonade! Minute maid makes a zero sugar lemonade and it is great. Doesn't have that artificial sweetener taste. I drink TONS of Water, always have and love to. But every once in a while I just need a kick of flavor and them lemonades do it every time.

The crystal light packets or other brand flavor packets are too "intense" for me. That is the best was I can explain it. I have to almost double the water to be able to tolerate them so I stopped using them.

As far as shake recipes, I can't help. I have read a lot and keep saying I want to start making my own shakes but never do. The pre-made are just so convenient, plus you just can't recreate 30g Protein for 150/160 calories. So, I just keep going back to the pre-made shakes and switch around the brands and/or flavors when I get bored. Sometimes I take caramel shakes and add black coffee with ice so I feel like I am having a "cheat" sugary iced coffee.

I have taken vanilla powder and added powdered protein to it too, but that is about the extent of my "homemade" shakes.

I just bought the sugar free lemonade today because of a youtube video I saw haha. She added a packet of kool-aid to change the normal lemonade flavor. Plus she had surgery too and it's actually pretty good. I love lemonade too.

I find it so hard to drink water. I never go for water and thats not good at all. How am I going to make it. I am going to start pushing myself tho because it is really important for many reasons.

I made a really great tasting protein shake last night. It tasted just like ice cream. I got the idea from another tik toker and I tweaked it.

1 scoop gnc lean shake chocolate protein powder

4.5 oz water

4.5oz brewed coffee. I Made dunkin's caramel coffee cake flavored ground coffee

Squirt of honey

Capful of vanilla

Blend

Tall cup of ice

Blend again

Drizzle sides of glass with sugar free caramel syrup and sugar free chocolate syrup

Top with serving of sugar free whipped cream

Sooooooooo good!

I would also take strawberry protein powder and use the sugar free lemonade as the liquid to make a strawberry lemonade shake! YUMM

I basically lived on these for the first 3-4 months:

- 1 scoop Isopure Low Carb Dutch Chocolate Protein Powder

- 1 tsp decaf instant coffee crystals

- 2 tsp Benefibre

- 1 cup of ice

- fill up with water to make 500ml

Blend and Enjoy!

25g protein, yummy and helps to keep u regular!

Now i don’t like sweet drinks and the Dutch Chocolate flavour was the least sweet of all the protein powders i tried. So if you prefer sweet, this may not be for you.

I also liked (and still do) to drink carbonated water (i.e., Perrier or similar) with a squeeze of lemon. But again if, like me, you like non-sweet drinks.

If you hate protein shakes like me, I suggest the fairlife protein shakes. They just taste like milk and nothing else. You'd need to get core power elite protein (42 grams), fairlife nutritional plan (30 grams) or the fairlife core regular (26 grams) they are all low sugar. The best bariatric macro friendly fairlife in my opinion is the fairlife nutritional plan shakes. They are lowest calorie for the most protein.

I also love the Gatorade zero water enhancers. It's the glacier flavor. I add it to about 20 oz of water and add a lot of ice. Tastes like refreshing blue lemonade.

I haven’t tried alot of the powders. I tried a couple and they just didn’t blend well so I stick to ready made shakes. I like the premiere protein caffe latte (it has caffeine In it though so ask your team first). I also like the crystal light drink enhancers. Their is also cirkul water enhancers if you like to play with the intensity and have a variety of flavors. They sell the starter kits at bed bath beyond but they also have a website.

On 09/19/2022 at 20:22, Erin18 said:

I just bought the sugar free lemonade today because of a youtube video I saw haha. She added a packet of kool-aid to change the normal lemonade flavor. Plus she had surgery too and it's actually pretty good. I love lemonade too.

I find it so hard to drink water. I never go for water and thats not good at all. How am I going to make it. I am going to start pushing myself tho because it is really important for many reasons.

I made a really great tasting Protein Shake last night. It tasted just like ice cream. I got the idea from another tik toker and I tweaked it.

1 scoop GNC lean shake chocolate Protein Powder

4.5 oz water

4.5oz brewed coffee. I Made dunkin's caramel coffee cake flavored ground coffee

Squirt of honey

Capful of vanilla

Blend

Tall cup of ice

Blend again

Drizzle sides of glass with sugar free caramel Syrup and Sugar Free Chocolate syrup

Top with serving of sugar free whipped cream

Sooooooooo good!

I was wonder if anyone has tried Natures Twist strawberry lemonade. I am so anxious to get my date . I finish pre-op appts 10/18 really want the date! Did anyone create menu schedule for pre op and after surgery to make it easier. I get so confused. I need to find a good water bottle gallon that keeps it cold. Any suggestions? Thanks a lot for your patience.

18 minutes ago, Giginc said:

I was wonder if anyone has tried Natures Twist strawberry lemonade. I am so anxious to get my date . I finish pre-op appts 10/18 really want the date! Did anyone create menu schedule for pre op and after surgery to make it easier. I get so confused. I need to find a good water bottle gallon that keeps it cold. Any suggestions? Thanks a lot for your patience.

I don’t know about a gallon sized one but a yeti cup works great to keep things cold. They aren’t cheap but they make coolers and cups for outdoor sports and they really work.

On 9/23/2022 at 7:46 PM, Giginc said:

I was wonder if anyone has tried Natures Twist strawberry lemonade. I am so anxious to get my date . I finish pre-op appts 10/18 really want the date! Did anyone create menu schedule for pre op and after surgery to make it easier. I get so confused. I need to find a good water bottle gallon that keeps it cold. Any suggestions? Thanks a lot for your patience.

Did your surgeons team make a sample menu? I know every surgeon is different, but the nutritionist makes them for the patients. That's what you mean right? Lol

I'd get a thermos water bottle. Camelbak has one, but they're expensive ?

On 9/20/2022 at 7:53 AM, kcuster83 said:

I would also take strawberry Protein Powder and use the sugar free lemonade as the liquid to make a strawberry lemonade shake! YUMM

Sounds interesting, I'll have to try it, but at this time I can't say that I'd like it lol

As far as water bottles, the Simple Modern ones at Walmart are very affordable and keep ice cold for --no exaggeration-- about 48 hours. (They do have a "straw top" so I hope that doesn't get me burned at the stake...I don't have any issues with straws but I'm 14m post op). I believe the straw can be removed so it's just a spout, though.

I really like Alani shakes, they have a thinner texture and drink more like a beverage. I just don't like "thick" protein shakes and never have.

As far as low-sugar drinks, most of what I consume is either the "flavored" SmartWater (NOT Vitaminwater, but the ones that are like a "still" LaCroix that has flavoring and no sweetener), Propel, Body Armor Lyte and Prime Hydration (and water, of course). I believe the Prime Hydration drinks have a couple carbs per bottle but they do not taste "diety" at all and are made with coconut water so they taste lovely and are great on a hot day when you've been sweating a lot. I also do a lot of the "liquid drink enhancer" in water (Mio, etc).