Review of Protein Powders

As you may know, the reduced size of the stomach means that the post-op weight loss surgery patient needs to make each calorie count. For those who have had certain surgeries, including the Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (my surgery), our bodies also have difficulty absorbing nutrients from the food that we can consume. This means that nutritional supplements become a very important part of our lives. I will review some products that are more along these lines in a future post.


I mentioned in my very first post that protein is a focus of the post-op diet. Because of our small stomachs and need for fluids, a lot of patients choose to use protein supplements in shakes and smoothies. Below are reviews of some different protein powders that I have tried.


This morning I had a Bariatric Advantage Strawberry Meal Replacement shake. If you follow the link, you will see that this supplement includes a lot of vitamins and various other nutrients, which adds to its appeal. I prepared this with 8 ounces of 1% low-fat milk, instead of the water recommended in the directions. The milk made it really thick, and I wonder if I might have liked this better with a thinner texture. On the other hand, I wasn't a big fan of the flavor. However, I think it may just be that I don't like artificial strawberry flavor. I'm looking forward to trying the other two flavors that I ordered: Chocolate and Banana.


Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value Whey Protein Powder
Natural Vanilla Flavor
The flavor link is to the LiveStrong page, for nutritional information, although the numbers don't completely match the label on my cannister. Lately, I have been mixing a scoop of this powder with frozen mixed berries, frozen banana slices, lemon-flavored liquid calcium citrate, and liquid whey that was strained from my homemade yogurt, and sometimes spinach. I wouldn't drink the whey powder without the fruit, but it tastes good in the smoothie described. 


Natural Chocolate Flavor
This is just okay in smoothies, but I recently had success mixing it with sugar-free fat-free instant chocolate pudding, made with 1% low-fat milk. In stage 2, this pudding counted as a "full" liquid, so it's a bulked up version of liquid and protein. It tastes pretty good too.


These are some reviews that I wrote on Facebook in late October.

Vega Whole Food Smoothie Infusion

http://myvega.com/products/whole-food-smoothie-infusion/features-benefits

I had this in my morning smoothie today (October 20th), along with frozen mixed berries (blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries), fat-free plain Greek yogurt, skim milk, a tablespoon of blueberry-flavored liquid calcium, and half of a banana.  This normally promising smoothie was utterly ruined by the powder!  I tried adding in a sweetener packet to lessen the effects, but was not successful.  It has a thick, almost gritty texture, in addition to the unpleasant flavor.

Tera'swhey Pomegranate Cranberry Goat Whey Protein

http://teraswhey.com/store/20-single-serve-pomegranate-cranberry-goat-whey.html

I had high hopes for this one, since pomegranate is my favorite fruit, and it ended up being "just okay."  Part of that may have to do with the way (whey, ha-ha) that I prepared it: straight with skim milk, shaken.  I might try it again in a smoothie setting - perhaps with actual pomegranate seeds and cranberries.

Tera'swhey Organic Blueberry Whey Protein

http://teraswhey.com/store/12-single-serve-organic-blueberry.html

I had this one with the same mix used today: frozen mixed berries, fat-free plain Greek yogurt, skim milk, a tablespoon of blueberry-flavored liquid calcium, and half of a banana.  I really enjoyed this smoothie!  I caught the faintest taste of the whey, but it did not overwhelm or contradict the rest of the smoothie flavors.

Jay Robb Whey Protein - Strawberry

http://www.jayrobb.com/cat_proteinWheyStraw24.asp

This was the first one I tried, and the whey definitely overpowered the smoothie.  This might have been overcome, had I added banana, which I usually do.  This smoothie contained frozen strawberries, fat-free plain Greek yogurt, and skim milk, in addition to the powder.  I would probably not try this one again.

Jay Robb Egg White Protein - Vanilla

http://www.jayrobb.com/cat_proteinEggVan_12.asp

I couldn't stand the Vega smoothie, so I dumped it and made the same combination, but with the Jay Robb Vanilla Egg White Protein powder.  Verdict, it smells great, but tastes, unsurprisingly, very egg-y.  I will finish this one, but I probably wouldn't buy this mix again.  The egg flavor really overwhelms the other ingredients, which is not what I want from a smoothie.

The other ingredients used, specifically, are:

• Hood Simply Smart Fat Free Milk http://www.hood.com/Products/prodDetail.aspx?id=599&lb=862
• Chobani Plain 0% Greek Yogurt http://www.chobani.com/products/c/nonfat
• LifeTime Liquid Calcium Magnesium Citrate - Natural Blueberry Flavor http://www.lifetimevitamins.com/products/lifetime_calcium750.html
• Wyman's of Maine Quick-Frozen Strawberries and Quick-Frozen Mixed Fruit (no sugar added) http://www.wymans.com/retail/products.php 
• Bananas - whatever is currently being sold at Shaw's Supermarket :-)