Protein Drinks 101 – how to buy em, blend em, enjoy em!

Susan Maria Leach, Author Before & After – Living & Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery, President BE, LLC and RNY post op 2001

Inspire protein drinks

Most bariatric programs require that we use protein drinks until we are able to take in at least 75 grams of protein per day via our food – we make up the difference between what we need and what we can comfortably eat with these drinks so we remain strong while we lose all the weight. For many, this means that protein drinks will be a part of our lives for anywhere from a few months to a lifetime – others rely on protein drinks as a grab-and-go solution to meal skipping in a busy world. Even ten years after my surgery I have a protein drink instead of a meal as a reliable source of sustenence. If you are on this page, let’s work from the premise that protein drinks are a given and dive right into flavors and choices.

You have probably had a negative first experience with supermarket protein drinks. No worry – protein drinks are NOT a punishment when you choose with us and make them the BE way. In fact, we hear many stories of gym-bound sons and husband sneaking your shakes once they taste the amazing concoctions coming from your bags, canisters, and bottles of powders and potions! I have been doing this so long that I can make any protein drinkable with a few additions, but it’s a lot easier to start with a great tasting base.

We have taken matters into our own hands to create our own brands and great flavors of protein drinks under our BE label. Our company is comprised of staff that has had bariatric surgery, so together we develop protein drinks that taste great and have the correct nutrition – plus we can assure that our products are made in a clean GMP certified facility.

The easy breezy way to drink protein is by grabbing a ready-to-drink protein bottle, can, or juice box tetra pack! These are called RTD’s. While this is most convenient choice, it’s also the most expensive, and many RTD’s have terrible aftertaste and problems with chunking up in the container. BE only carries a small number of brands of RTD’s because we sample everything on the market and ony choose to carry the ones that we drink. We are large enough to have access to everything and only choose the drinkable ones. It is obviously very easy to make bad tasting protein as there is a lot of it for sale out there.

Believe Italian Cappuccino Protein Energy Drink

BELIEVE bottled protein lattes, chai tea, and vanilla are the best-selling premium drinks for bariatric post-ops. Each 9.5 ounce bottle contains 20 grams of protein and 500mg of calcium; plus coffee and chai flavors provide a huge B vitamin boost that exceeds daily requirements. The best part is great taste and thin texture– think Starbucks Frappuccino in a bottle! Italian Cappuccino is a sweetened latte with a touch of vanilla & nut. Mocha Latte is a true chocolate latte. Chai Tea is a cinnamon spiced gingerbread cookie – while Vanilla Crème Brulee is a caramel vanilla and is the only Caffeine-free flavor. Beware of knock-offs as all good products have imiatators.

I am a morning coffee drinker and will use a single bottle of Believe Mocha Latte in place of creamer in my first two mugs of coffee – turning my mugs of steaming hot java into two amazing protein lattes! If you are not a breakfast eater, there is no better way to take in a smooth 20 grams of protein before 9am.

Blend Believe Protein Drink into coffee for a breakfast protein latte

Chocolate Extreme Smoothie is the best tasting & most reliable can of chocolate that is perfect to drink as-is or to divide between two mugs of morning coffee for warm mocha – providing you with a 35g protein head start. It is smooth and creamy without being too thick and does not have an aftertaste. A great alternative choice for RTD is Labrada Banana in a 17-ounce resealable tetra pack juice box. Smooth, not too thick, banana-taffy flavor – again without an aftertaste.

You can get a little creative with either the Chocolate Extreme or Labrada Banana RTD’s by adding a shot of Davinci or Toriano Sugar Free Syrup once you have taken a sip to create some room. Extreme Chocolate and Labrada Banana plus Caramel, Coconut,Hazelnut, or Macadamia Nut syrups are absolutely crazy good.

A new favorite RTD is the Isopure Yogurt Smoothie –flavored with real fruit puree, it tastes almost exactly like drinkable yogurt. Now, a single bottle does have 14 grams of sugar from the fruit used to sweeten and flavor it.

Isopure Smoothie Breakfast

By comparison, a small ‘apple’ has 17 grams of sugar and zero protein – whereas the Isopure Smoothie has 14 grams of fruit sugar and provides 32 grams of whey protein isolate. We suggest using half for breakfast and the other half as your mid morning or mid afternoon supplement ‘snack’. The Orange Peach, Berry Pomegranate & Orange Berry flavors are all fantastic . We have positive news from one of the owners of Isopure that they have listened to BE’s logic and very soon will be running these drinks a touch less sweet to bring the sugar grams down to under ten grams per bottle. (See, it pays to know folks at the top!)

Onward to making Protein Shakes using Protein Powders – it is important to start with a high quality base to make your shakes. A keg of Costco brand Vanilla protein is not going to be a bargain when your hair falls out because you can’t force yourself to drink it! Start with a high quality, vanilla protein isolate, that does NOT have a strong smell or aftertaste – make your job as a mixologist easier and you will look forward to your protein shakes and simply smile when everyone else in your support group is complaining. Honestly, if my surgeon to told me that I had to drink a dirt milkshake every day for the rest of my life to keep the weight off, I would happily ask him ‘how much dirt?’ – but many post ops are picky. BE open minded about protein and keep trying different BE brands and tips and you will eventually find one you love to drink. It is either that or lose your hair – you choose.

Rule number one – this is a tip I learned way back in freshman chemistry thanks to Mr. Wass. Avoid Lumping and Clumping by ALWAYS adding a Liquid to a Powder. Now go back and read that again – add the liquid to the powder. If you add the powder to a shaker cup filled with liquid, you will end up with an island of floating powder and the bottom of that island will NOT blend will remain as lumps in your drink.

When people write or call us about protein shakes clumping up – it is ALWAYS because they have it backwards. Put your scoop of protein powder into the bottom of your DRY shaker cup or glass and add your liquid to the powder. Then shake or stir for smooth perfection. Try it and you will be amazed that it actually makes a difference. Pass it on!

Almost all protein shakes were blender drinks when I had my surgery in 2001. These days with new processes some drinks can be blended in a shaker cup or even a glass using a spoon.

Inspire Peanut Butter Cookie Protein drink mix

INSPIRE is the perfect bariatric protein drink – because we intended it to be the perfect protein drink in taste, texture, and nutrition. It blends so easily that I have mixed it using two small plastic cups with water and no spoon, on an airplane – while sitting in the middle seat!

We created INSPIRE Pure Whey Isolate Protein Drink Mix in yummy chocolate flavors – Dutch Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge. Inspire is a pure whey isolate that has been naturally flavored in the same way I would cook with real foods in my own kitchen – with real cocoa, vanilla, toasted ground peanuts – so they taste bright and flavorful!

Inspire Dutch Chocolate Cake is the best chocolate protein drink on the planet. It is not too sweet and has a deep cocoa flavor. The Inspire flavors are made to blend with small amounts of water – most people find the proper flavor is achieved by blending a single scoop with just 4 to 6 ounces of water! So a small, delicious, four ounce Inspire drink contains 30 grams of the best quality protein, yet has zero sugar, zero fat, zero carbs, and just 120 calories.

Inspire Dutch Chocolate Cake as warm protein cocoa

WARM WARM WARM! Even better news is that you can turn that single scoop of INSPIRE Dutch Chocolate Cake into a delicious gourmet mug of warm cocoa. In fact several of our INSPIRE flavors are even better warm than they are cold. INSPIRE Peanut Butter Cookie tastes like a WARM Peanut Butter Cookie when made into a warm drink. IF YOU LOVE COFFEE – INSPIRE Cinnamon Cappucccino, and Caramel Latte are even more amazing when blended into your cup of coffee. Goodbye Starbucks!

Early on, a warm protein drink soothes the pouch – so if you have just returned home from the hospital, try your INSPIRE made as a warm drink. You will thank me!

How to turn INSPIRE Pure Whey Isolate Protein Drink Mix flavors into a mug of warm goodness!

1. Place scoop of protein into a clean dry mug

2. Add about two tablespoons of tap water and blend with spoon into smooth paste – allow to rest 30 seconds if needed

3. Slowly add hot, but NOT boiling liquid into your paste while blending
While it may seem ‘faster’ for you to blend it all up and microwave it, if you boil your drink once protein has been added, you will get cooked lumps and your drink will be grainy rather than smooth.

Tip 1. Use CoffeeMate Sugar Free Liquid Creamer instead of tap water in step 2.

Tip 2. Fill mug with about a cup (or to taste) of hot coffee instead of water.

Tip 3. Think Outside the Box – Inspire Peanut Butter Cookie is out of

this world as a warm drink!

Tip 4. Add a small swirl of Land O Lakes Sugar Free Whipped Cream to kick your warm protein drink up a notch for an occasional treat.

Tomato Soup with PURE Unflavored Whey Protein Isolate powder

PURE Unflavored Whey Protein Isolate will change your life! It completely dissolves into just a small tablespoon or two of water and then can be

blended into any semi liquid food or liquid without changing the taste or texture. PURE is the purest, most unflavored whey isolate obtainable – while other companies have no idea where their whey protein comes from or even what country, we use a single source for the pristine whey isolate protein we use for PURE. There are other brands of unflavored for sale, but none come close to this superb product.

For best results, blend PURE using the method we have explained for making warm cocoa. Dissolve your 1 or 2 small scoops of PURE into a bit of liquid, then blend your hot tomato soup, chicken or beef broth, chili, or bean soup INTO THE LIQUIFIED PURE– or on the sweet side, you can blend it into Crystal Light, Splenda-sweetened juice drinks, yogurt or really anything. Blend cold V-8 juice into liquid PURE – many early post ops have a craving for salt and this V-8 protein cocktail quenches that need.

Isopure Perfect Natural Vanilla is the best base for a flavored blender shake – hands down. While I think that their Perfect Natural Chocolate is excellent, I can make a chocolate shake by adding a tablespoon of cocoa to my vanilla, but chocolate is less flexible if you are only buying one canister. Isopure has been around for ages, and they are a top company because of quality.

You can buy cheaper protein but it will not contain the same compounds of a quality product such as Isopure or Inspire – in addition cheaper protein (called protein concentrate) contains less BIOAVAILABLE protein, meaning less gets into your body. The main difference is that Cheap doesn’t Taste as good – and if you don’t drink it, it wasn’t a good value. The best protein drink is the one that you look forward to!

Isopure Perfect Natural Vanilla

Think about protein drinks in terms of recipe flavors. If you like Peach Cobbler – understand that in the kitchen to make a peach cobbler, we would use peaches, butter,

flour, sugar and cinnamon and top it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. To make a Peach Cobbler protein smoothie, we would use Isopure Perfect Natural Vanilla, Splenda-sweeteened peaches, cinnamon, a drop of vanilla, Greek yogurt, and ice.

To bake Brownies we would use cocoa, vanilla, and nuts – so for a Chocolate Brownie Shake we would use Isopure Perfect Natural Vanilla, with cocoa powder, Splenda, a few almonds or walnuts, and ice.

Technique is important as well – if you put it all in the blender and flip the switch to ON, you will quickly have a blender full of fluffy foam that is difficult to drink. TIP: toggle the switch on the blender and pulse your drink in two second ON OFF’s – and in a minute you will have a thick smooth frosted type shake, similar to what you may have once had at McDonalds in a previous life. Proportion is important as well – do not use a lot of liquid, we want a small drinkable shake, not an entire 48 ounce blender full.

Protein drinks are designed to blend smoothly with water these days. Milk can be a bone healthy addition later in post op life, but don’t use it in your shakes. Early on, milk will give you a lot of gas – as bariatric surgery creates lactose intolerance which lasts a lifetime for some – plus the carbs and calories are just wasted, as shakes taste great when made with water and flavorings.

In the old days, the more fattening the better when making a milkshake – these days we go for lots of flavor and protein, with as few carbohydrates and calories as possible. I do notice on our message board that some will add half or even worse, an entire banana to their protein shake – a small banana can have 30 carbs and that much natural sugar can make us sick. Go with a small piece of banana to flavor a shake – cut it into one-inch pieces, pop into a zip lock bag for the freezer to use another time.

The perfect Strawberry Protein Shake

The Perfect Strawberry Protein Shake

½ cup Blue Diamond Original Almond Milk
1 ½ scoops Perfect Natural Isopure Vanilla
1 heaping tablespoon Smucker’s Sugar Free Strawberry Preserves
4 frozen strawberries
¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract – just a drop
1 ½ cups ice cubes

Pulse blender until thick and frosty.

Peach Cobbler Smoothie

4 slices Spenda-sweetened canned peaches
1 scoop Perfect Natural Isopure protein powder
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup Greek yogurt
¼ cup water
1 cup ice cubes

Pulse blender until thick and frosty.

Berry Yogurt Smoothie

½ cup frozen blueberries, raspberries, blackberries
1 scoop Perfect Natural Isopure protein powder
¼ cup Greek yogurt
¼ cup water
1 cup ice cubes

Pulse blender until thick and frosty.

Life after bariatric surgery is what you make of it. Its going to be a smoother ride if you live in the positive and be happy about all the wonderful flavors you can have while you use protein drinks to FUEL your weight loss, rather than live in sadness while mourning the flavors you believe you are losing. We lose nothing after surgery but our morbid obesity – while we gain self confidence, health, and life.

Cheers!

- SML