Since so much of the bariatric diet depends on blended things for the first couple of months, I’m exploring various kinds of smoothies. I’m in my last two weeks pre surgery, so I’m trying to do a smoothie for breakfast every day. Not a fan of smoothies, but it’s doable. Here’s what I’ve discovered.
I’ve said this before, I’ll say it again: GET A NUTRIBULLET. Unless you have a Vitamix or Ninja already, which I did not. These things make the best purees you’ll ever see and they are MUCH more affordable than a Vitamix.
Protein powder is your best friend. I got vanilla and unflavoured. I buy from vitacost.com and I recommend them for good prices and good quality products. They also have a 100% satisfaction guarantee, which I used with the first thing I ever bought from them, an old lady supplement that had bad side effects for me. They gave me credit and I didn’t even have to return the unused product.
Anyway, protein powder is a necessity when you only eat 1/4 cup at a time. The vanilla powder has 11gm protein per scoop and the plain has 18gm. I’ve found that the plain is fine in anything: soup, smoothies, purees, whatever. It has no effect on the end product other than just a little thickening, which is why I recommend not adding it until you are serving. I’ve been using the vanilla in breakfast smoothies and 2 scoops work fine when making about 3/4 to 1 cup. I’m trying to get the recipes down to about 1/2 cup – it’s harder than you think!
What I’ve been using in various combinations are these ingredients:
Silk Vanilla (it is fortified with more protein and calcium than dairy milk; 6gm protein/cup)
Greek yogurt (LOTS of protein: 23gm per cup! I like Fage.)
Natural peanut butter, smooth (8gm protein per 2 Tbl)
Vanilla protein powder (Vitacost brand, 11gm per scoop)
Unflavoured protein powder (Vitacost brand, 18gm per scoop)
frozen fruit; strawberry, blueberry and mango blend
Agave syrup if I want something sweet (rarely)
Fruit Smoothie (About a cup)
1/3 cup Silk Vanilla
1/4 cup greek yogurt
1/3 cup frozen fruit
2 scoops vanilla protein powder
This will blend up and gain volume to about a cup. About 35gm of protein. I’m working on smaller portions.
Peanut butter banana smoothie (about a cup)
1/3 cup Silk
1 med banana
2 Tbl smooth natural peanut butter (or ANY nut butter)
1/4 cup greek yogurt
2 scoops vanilla protein powder
2 cubes of ice if you want this cold
About 37gm protein.
Peanut butter smoothie
Same as above but no banana. Add ice if you want this cold.
I’ve seen various recommendations for protein intake, from 50gm to 100gm per day. Judging by these smoothie recipes, I’d say that getting in 70gm is totally doable even if you just drink these two smoothies all day. I’m going to try to see if I can make one that’s half a cup finished AND has 2 scoops of protein powder. I’ll update this post when I do that.
The reason people lose hair is the decreased protein intake and not taking enough B12. You MUST load up on gummy vitamins! I’ll make a separate post about that. Protein and supplements are not negotiable. Same for omeprazole (Prilosec), which is necessary in the first few months while the stomach adjusts to its new size.
I also have lots of veg purees that I intend to use for high protein soups. I’ve tried this with the unflavoured protein and it is EASY to put in 2 scoops (36gm) per 1/2 cup serving. So one smoothie and one serving of soup will give you plenty of protein if you keep the flavour profile up. I don’t like fruit much, so I’ll probably eat a lot of soups. I need flavour, which is why all my purees have onions, garlic and S/P in them. I refuse to give up FLAVOUR just because I have to eat purees! Neither should YOU.