Life's Basics Plant Protein NOT whey based!

I've been complaining a bit about having a difficult time choking down protein shakes because I just can't stand the after taste. It makes me gag and then I can't drink another one for days. This was really concerning me because, really, how much protein can you eat at three weeks out? Not much. I was having visions of me in the ER getting fluids. Scary...

So today I ventured out to Whole Foods to get some critter (animal based proteins not contaminated with nitrites/nitrates) and they had a huge display of this protein powder. I ignored it at first because, ewww...plant based protein? Sounded yucky and the taste surely must be horrible. I spent a good couple of hours in the store and wandered back to the display  but this time I saw the canteen that was filled with the stuff to sample. I tried it and I was blown away. No yucky after taste. The protein powder comes in vanilla and chocolate but they only had samples of the vanilla. I asked the guy who ordered it if it woud be suitable for me (once I explained my surgery to him and assured him it was not RNY) and he said as it had no artificial sweeteners or other artificial ingredients, it should be perfectly fine for me. He said it was highly absorbable, very important for us DS people.   It is loaded up with all kinds of nutrients and one scoop provides 22 grams of protein. It also provides those all important Omega's that we have a hard time getting post DS.  I'm too lazy to type everything that is in it so here is a link:

http://www.lifetimevitamins.com/products/lifetime_plantprote in.html

For those of you who cannot tolerate the whey protein powders, this might be perfect for you.  If you can get to a Whole Foods to try it, please do. You might be as surprised as I was by the taste. You can order it online too if you do not have access to a Whole Foods.  There is an email address and toll free number on the website and you can ask them if they offer samples before you buy.

Sandy,
I looked at the link. How many carbs is in a scoop? Just interested. I do fine with Champion.

Carbs = 5g.

Hmmm, maybe I will go check it out. This could be of interest to us too: http://www.lifetimevitamins.com/products/lifetime_osteo_den.html

glad you found one you can tolerate!

Sandy, tread carefully, the rice powder may equal gas.  Boo hoo. 

Good to know. As soon as I have one, I will post here about my reaction to it.

Ok, so I actually sucked one down today for breakfast and here are the results thus far.

First of all, they don't tell you how much water to mix a scoop of powder with so I guessed. You can add fruit if you are so inclined but I wanted to try it straight. The scoop size is smaller than other protein shakes so that was a nice bonus. At first it looked like it was going to have a pudding like consistency so I kept adding water. I just needed to let it sit for a few minutes and it would have dissolved on its own. Lesson learned. I ended up with a total of about 9 oz. in my blender cup between the water and protein powder and I think, based on the taste of the sample I had at the store, it was too much water. A double scoop of protein would have probably been better for that much liquid. Also, it took me all of The Barefoot Contessa and Giada at Home to drink all that (one hour) so next time I will use less water. Still, the watered down drink was not bad. Instead of having that yucky whey after taste that I can no longer tolerate, the after taste was more like flour. It really was mild and not at all awful. I am thinking had I used less water, that strong vanilla taste I remember from the sample would have eliminated the mild  floury taste.

The shake was still somewhat thick in spite of using too much water and I am almost certain it was mostly from the roughly ground chia seeds. One problem was that the seeds kept sinking to the bottom so I was constantly stirring it. It looked almost like coffee grinds at the bottom of the cup. However, the chia seeds made the drink kinda crunchy. Since they were roughly ground, they developed a pulp and it was kinda fun to sort of chew them. I realize this texture may not be appealing to some but I really liked it.

It's been about 40 minutes since I finished the drink and it is sitiing very well. I am not bloated or gassy but it is early. I am waiting to see if the rice flour causes me any issues but so far, so good. I started drinking this an hour and 40 minutes ago so I really don't know how long it would take for a gas issue to occur but I will certainly post back here if I do develop any gas. Stay tuned...

So it's hours later and I have had no gas issues, yay!  The only complaint, if I can even call it that, is that this shake leaves you full for a long time. It is filling. I wonder if using less liquid would somewhat alleviate this. It has been difficult to eat much of anything else during the rest of the day. I suppose under the right conditions this fullness could be a good thing.

I want to try this but it is sweetened with Xylitol and that is really dettering me. Because if i drink 4  scoops of xylitol sweetened something, i am pretty much guranteed to be exploding :(