One of my favorite kitchen discoveries has been the imersion blender. I’ve always loved smoothies and in the last few years have become addicted to protein shakes. But it’s kind of a ginormous pain in the you-know-what to have to clean a blender every day. Protein powder and fruit tend to gum up in the bottom, discouraging me from ever wanting to come near the thing. The immersion blender is much easier to clean, smaller, fits in a drawer instead of taking up valuable counter or cabinet space and can crush ice in milliseconds. So with that said, here are some of my recommendations for immersion blender smoothies “Reece’s Smoothie”: 1 cup skim milk, 1 tablespoon peanut butter, 1 scoop anywhey protein powder, 1/2 scoop (use the protein powder scoop) of sugar-free, fat-free instant jello pudding mix chocolate flavor, 2-3 ice cubes. 300 calories/29g protein “Good morning sunshine”: 1 bottle Starbucks mocha latte (from grocery store), 1 scoop chocolate protein powder, 2-3 ice cubes. about 300 calories/almost 40g protein “Eggnog Delite”: 1 cup skim milk, 1 scoop of anywhey protein powder, 1 graham cracker (approx. two squares), 1/2 tsp. allspice, 1/2 tsp.cinnamon, 1 scoop of vanilla sugar-free, fat-free jello instant pudding mix, 2-3 ice cubes. 280 calories, 26g protein. “apple pie”: 1 apple (peeled, cored and sliced), 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder or anywhey, 1 cup skim milk, 1/2 cup of vanilla or apple pie flavored yogurt, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 2-3 ice cubes. 280 calories/29g protein.
5. May 2009 at 11:13 am
I am in the process of having my surgery approved by insurance but I am collecting information now to use after my surgery. I love this site and all the usefull info. Thanks
5. May 2009 at 3:04 pm
Thanks! I’m glad you find it useful. Come back and visit often
11. May 2009 at 9:27 pm
Thank you for the recipes…. now, I just have to get one of those gadgets….
11. May 2009 at 11:09 pm
Here’s a cool one on Amazon.com that I wish I knew about before we got ours.
22. July 2009 at 2:19 pm
I need help on some protein ideas that I can drink so I can get my protein in every day. My doctor started me out with 65 grams of protein and now they have up it to 75 grams of protein so could some one help out on what I should do to get my protein in. Thanks so michelle from OKC
22. July 2009 at 5:13 pm
I agree with the 65-75g of protein per day, but it has to be in the context of an overall low-calorie diet. Not knowing your specific height/weight/activity level, I can’t say what your actual calorie target should be, but in general, women need about 1200-1600 calories/day to lose weight. Some excellent low calorie protein sources include: cottage cheese, skim milk, protein powder (“AnyWhey”brand is easy to add to any cooked recipe), grilled fish and chicken.
14. September 2009 at 3:52 pm
Be sure and write the recipes down, I went to see Dr. H today and realized I have been making the “reeses” smoothy wrong. Mine had almost 500 calories. It sure was good though
I also have just found some peanut butter extract from Watkins and I can’t wait to try it, maybe that will cut out some of the calories too.
Live and learn.
Annette
14. September 2009 at 3:54 pm
I am using Whey Protein Isolate unflavored from the Grainery. Where do you get the Any Whey?
Annette
5. July 2010 at 11:49 am
I had my Lap Band surgery mid June. I have been making shakes with Slim Fast and about 1/2 blender full of ice. It usually takes me about an hour for me to drink the shake. Now I am wondering if this is ok since you are not supposed to drink before or after your meals and since the ice does melt?
7. July 2010 at 6:33 pm
I would say that it’s fine to have a shake as long as you’re not drinking it with solid foods, but instead using it as a meal replacement (i.e. instead of a meal). The ice gives the shake a little extra volume and should help to make it more filling, so I imagine it would make a good breakfast or afternoon protein snack. Used as a lunch or dinner though, you might get hungry fairly quickly since the shake doesn’t really stay in the pouch very long and so won’t fill you up very much. Therefore, probably best as first thing in the morning meal when the band is at its’ tightest. If you get sick of Slim Fast, do a Google search for low-calorie/high-protein smoothies and you’ll find dozens of great recipes to substitute
23. July 2010 at 9:01 pm
THANKS! I think the imersion blender might be the answer to my problem. At home, I have a “huge” healthmaster blender that is great for making hot soup with all those rpm (250), but unless you are wanting mass quanities of smoothie it seems that a large portion has to be put in the freezer for later, well that’s not too bad in an of itself, BUT having the handy dandy imersion blender would be advantagous. It’s protable and I could make a single serving protein smoothie at work and kill that 3PM Hungar Monster when it starts pulling my hair! Argh! I really appreciate the Doctors and Staff at Presion Surgery. You guys are AWESOME! I have been banded only 2 weeks, have lost 10+ pounds and feel Great! Looking forward to the future! Thanks Again!
24. July 2010 at 3:57 pm
Thanks for the kind words! We’re glad you find the blog useful. We hope to be able to give tips, tricks, and gems to LapBand patients. Check out all the prior posts.