Unflavored Protein

 Can someone please tell me how I'm supposed to use the unflavored protein?  I'm still in the full liquid stage of my post op diet and I added one scoop to a pretty big batch of soup.  Since I blended the soup, I can't taste it.  It looks like there are bits of it not dissolved, but other than that, it seems non existent.  Given that the batch of soup was big though, I'm not sure how much it helped.

So I made another batch of soup today that was half the size of the other.  It fit into a large saucepan as opposed to a big pot.  I added one scoop of protein.  I guess it dissolved, but it made the consistency of the soup nasty as well as the taste.

I was hoping to blend it into yogurt and potatoes and such once I start my soft foods, but I'm afraid now because it won't dissolve.  Should I just be using a little at a time?  Does that even help?  If so, how much is a little, a tsp, a tbsp????

I think I have a good suggestion but I haven't tried it out yet myself. I bought the shaker at bariatricfusion.com to mix my shakes and it's perfect! It comes with this grid thing you place at the top and that help break up the tiny pieces so it's more uniform. Now I have also learned that my shakes are going down better if I use 4oz of water instead of 8oz.  Sooooo I say mix one scoop with 4oz of water first and then mix that into your serving only--not the whole batch. It will probably blend nicely. Or maybe use 2oz of it if it's too much liquid for your bit of potatoes. Then you know you got half the amount of protein for that scoop--math is easier...

Well, I have a couple of thoughts.

First, there is no such thing as a totally unflavored protein. It just means that there hasn't been an additional flavor to mask the protein taste added to it. If you mix an unflavored with a strongly flavored food, the protein tast should be reduced, but you may notice it. Mixing it with something mildly flavored means that you WILL taste it.

Second, any powdered protein supplement that you mix with hot liquid is likely to clump into disgusting little BBs that taste even worse than licking up the powder. You need to mix the protein powder into a paste with a cool liquid, and then mix it with the hot liquid (like soup), or put the protein into the soup before you start cooking it and heat it all up together.

What I wound up doing early out was mixing unflavored protein (a scoop/serving of protein for each serving listed on the package) with jello or pudding mixes. It was ok, not great, but worked.

A couple companies offer chicken soup flavored protein powder (one is Unjury, another is Bariatric Advantage), and I would mix a portion of a scoop with a portion of the liquid. So for example, if a scoop was to be mixed with 8 oz of liquid, and I was drinking 2 oz, I would measure out 1/4 scoop (a good scale that measures in grams is very helpful for this), and mix that amount.

I do mix flavored protein (vanilla or chocolate, I'm just not a strawberry fan but it would work as well) with my greek yogurt each day. I also add sugar free preserves (Smuckers makes several flavors) that work well and are smooth for early-out pouches.

I hope that helps a bit - it's an interesting progression to figure out how to add in the protein!

DO NOT add protein to hot cooking liquids.  If using with hot foods, put hot food into serving bowl or on plate.  Add protein to food directly, or dilute with a slight amount of water to it's a paste or creamer consistency.  Adding protein to boiling fluids will end up making "erasers" , little bits of protein and will not dissolve properly.  Each unflavored protein will vary slightly in taste. I found an unbranded generic one that I love and many in my post op groups use the same one.  I add it to SF pudding or oatmeal and other foods weekly.  Taste issue are not uncommon with post ops, as your tastebuds are sensitive, and you'll likely be sensitive to food odors also. DAVE

Here are two tricks for unflavored protein.

1.  When you want to put it in something hot like soup, put it in a cup first and add a little bit of room temp liquid.  Stir it so you have a paste, then stir that paste into the soup.  It dissolves a lot better that way and usually doesn't make the little lumps.

2.  If you put too much protein powder in something, it will change the texture.  How much you can put it just depends on what you're putting it in.  But first thing in the morning, put one scoop of unflavored protein in a dish on your kitchen counter.  All day, whenever you eat something that you can stir some protein powder into, put some in.  Not the whole scoop, just add a little, stir well, and see if you think you could put a little more in.  by the end of the day, you'll have gotten a whole extra scoop of protein in.

 Awesome ideas.  Kelly I really like the one about putting a scoop in a bowl in the morning because  I was wondering how to keep track of the protein.  

I use unjury unflavored and use water and ocean spray cran mixes with it, seems to work good for me, also the chicken flavored and they say no hotter then120 deg or it will clump so I re-heat a couple of times as eating.

 Protein tea or coffee or chai....

This is for a "large" size drink - like 12 oz, I think.

Put whatever type milk you like in a 2 cup  measuring cup - maybe about 1/3 cup. Put in any SF syrup you like, or leave plain. Add any sweetener, or not.  Microwave for 30 seconds just so that it is room temp.  Put in up to a scoop of protein powder - I usually use about half a scoop.  Whis****il dissolved.  Brew your coffee or tea separately.  Pour the milk mixture into the bottom of your drinking container of choice.  Pour the tea/coffee into it - hold the pitcher/pot of tea or coffee high up over your cup while pouring so the force of it really mixes with the protein mixture.  Enjoy!   I make myself the milk mixture to take to work so that if I purchase tea/coffee in the cafeteria, I can mix it in.  Keeps the protein happening!  

I'm in the pureed food stage.  I add a 1/2 scoop of unflavored protein to slightly cooled broth based soup with some pureed meat.  I like the chicken soup flavor as well.  Since I can't have any lactose, I need to make puddings etc with lactaid, and haven't tried the unflavored in that yet.  I've found that I don't like chocolate stuff very much any more.

okay, im buying unflavored protein and am a coffee drinker, so could i measure out the amount of liquid needed to make the coffee, add the protein to the water, dissolve it, then put it through the coffee pot? or, gross i know, take the protein add it to water then make instant coffee in the microwave? will it still turn rubbery since its already dissolved??