Dances with DS

Note:  I have posted two blogs today!  Made a bit of a hash here as this one is a follow on from blog (8)!  So if you want a more logical read it’ll be best to scroll down to get to blog 8 - then read this one.

Sorry bout this hassle factor!

WLS PRODUCTS:

Supplier: http://www.wlsproducts.nl/site/eng/index.php?id=homepage

Except for the bars,  these products are not listed on the above site but the supplier can be contacted through the site for info and prices on any of the products. The Soups, bars and puddings are avail in different flavours.

These protein products come from Holland.  The supplements are based mostly on egg white with some soy in them.  Egg white means that they taste much better than whey or  all-soy products.

As I decided what I was going to test taste first I suddenly thought maybe I had nothing to get all green eyed about after all!  I mean - a cinnamon bar…a hot choc drink with 19gms protein  (not an expresso perhaps but a hot choc is even better!), even a butterscotch caramel pudding…not bad eh!   And Holland is not so far away either!  After some deliberation I settled on the choco -peanut protein bar, the cinnamon bar, broccolli soup & butterscotch pud to start with.
Cinnamon Protein Bar:

15gms protein

This bar resembles a  real piece of confectionery which I much prefer to some of those stodgy bars out there that look horrid. First bite tells me that I really like this bar. It’s very crispy - not unlike eating a rice crispy bar. I don’t feel a desperate urge to spit it out not at all - infact I find myself reaching for the next bite rather eagerly.  I do get slight taste on the back of my tongue which I can’t define - slightly soy I think,  but it’s really unobstrusive, fleeting and quickly taken care of by the gorgeous cinnamon flavour and texture of the bar. The top is slightly chewy - like a nougat layer and it has brazil nuts pressed into it. What I like is the ‘lightness’ of this. It’s soooo much better than other bars I have tried in the past which seemed to taste like whey powder suspended in gooey oversweet toffee that could not mask the awful taste.  The cinnamon is not too strong - just right imo. The sweetness is really good - it’s so not sickly sweet…and I don’t get any underlying aftertaste at all. After eating it I had a sense of ‘creaminess’ in my mouth.   I think this is a very more-ish bar. I had the idea to eat half of each of the bars I have, but I ended up eating this entire bar in one sitting!   I am now deeply regretful that I don’t have more of these in my store cupboard.

Rating: Very good.

Choco peanut Protein bar:

15gms protein

This bar has a chocolate nougat layer on top. Just as the above bar the overall texture is the same - very crispy and crunchy. There is a definite flavour of peanuts and for me this flavour is more prominent than the chocolate taste. I think I would like slightly more chocolate taste…but then again the peanut taste is REAL and soooo good!   I found the little aftertaste on my tongue a teeny bit stronger than with the cinnamon, but again it did not stop me reaching for another bite!

Rating:  Fair -Good.

I agonised on this one dithering between upper end fair and good. I  wanted more chocolate taste…and I found the aftertaste just a smidgen more prevalent with this bar. However, I am comparing it with the yummilicious cinnamon bar above which is not reallly fair.

Both bars are light and easy to eat.  My daughter happened to be around as I was testing these and she said: ‘Oooo those look really good!’  This is a first in my household as usually if I offer my protein supps around, everyone suddenly finds excuses not to be in the room!

So I asked her to test try them.  She liked the choco peanut one and commented on the lovely light crunchy crispy texture. But I wish I had a pic of her face when she tried the cinnamon…she said that it was ‘really really good!’.

In fact she said it was the best protein bar she had ever eaten, which made me laugh as she’s a ‘normie-gut’.  So that’s two of us lovin’ this bar.

Veloute Broccolli Soup:

19grams protein

The WLS products soups are powders.  I mixed mine up according to instructions and added salt as recommended. I whisked it well as advised. I found the smell while it was heating up vegetable like and pleasant. The colour looks natural.  I think the consistency of the soup is good - not too thick and not starchy. I like the flavour - I can taste broccolli for sure. I can’t taste whey in this nor anything too chemical which I think is a big plus.   I did find it grainy despite my whisking.  It has a different texture to the mushroom soup.  The granular quality is quite soft, not gritty and once I got used to it it did not bother me greatly.    However if I could get this perfectly smooth it would be perfect allround.   I found it easy to eat.  Halfway through eating it I decided to add some grated cheddar, as is my usual soup habit, and it was very good with this soup. I polished off the lot and felt satisfied.  I did not get any lingering aftertaste.

Rating:  Fair. A difficult one  because it tastes very nice, but on balance I think it would have been better smooth.

Caramel Butterscotch pudding:

19gms protein

As you all know I have been searching for a great ‘no fuss’ protein pudding. Puddings kind of take a back seat in my life for several reasons. Firstly they are mostly carby or sugary. Secondly after I have cooked up a regular DS meal of meat and veg, I have had enough of the cooking!  To make a high protein pud from scratch is often a palava and an added mess in the kitchen.  Hence my quest!

The first thing I noticed about this pud was the lovely butterscotch aroma it had. It wafted out the packet and I just wanted to eat it on that alone!  It mixes up easily to a smooth velvety texture.  I made this with water as advised.  I do taste sweetener in it - but obviously any low carb ’sweet’ has sweetener.  It’s on par with sugar free angels delight with one big difference - this has 19grams of protein!!!   19 gms is pretty amazing considering that I don’t taste whey or soy bean at all.

Wish I had this when I was a newbie post op as I think it might a fantastic addition to a diet that is sometimes boringly bland in the first post op weeks. I’d have killed for this!  If it tastes too sweet for newbie ( everything used to taste very sweet to me - but that soon went unfortunately) - it could be added to some homemade custard to knock the sweetness back.   At last a pudding I personally LOVE!

This is one I intend to order shortly as I know I will be tucking into it often. It’s really fast and easy to mix. I could even drink this if I diluted it with milk…yea that’s an idea… off to try that right now!

Back with a little of the made pudding diluted with milk. I made a thick milkshake consistency and by gawd it is just the best.  The sweetener taste is also considerably knocked back by doing this.  I think for the purposes of losing weight or tackling a regain though, this really must be made with water. And imo it stands as very good just with water.

To keep it  low carb the DS clan could use half cream half water instead of milk. This is a very nifty way to cut the carbs from milk out, and still get that good mouth feel of ‘creaminess.’   Of course it won’t be as nutrient rich as it would be with milk, but who cares just for once!   For those who are not concerned about some additional carbs such as me (currently) - I’m going to use milk to make this up in future. Then I am going to top it with whipped cream and my own homemade low sugar caramel sauce. I think I might slice half a banana into it and while I am at it add chopped walnuts, macadamia nuts or brazil nuts to it.  Yup this one is for me! My imagination is already finding lot’s of ways to eat this.

I rather fancy it with a spoon of peanut butter in it as well…mmm…let me try that with the last two spoonfuls.  Okay - just tasting it now.  I don’t want to tell you this because now I am waxing very embarresingly lyrical …but I am in lurve. I just added the tip of a teaspoon of peanut butter to this and it tastes amazing…so good that I caught myself poking around the glass container with my finger to get at the last remains of it!  I have not done that in a very long time!

By using this powder with vanilla, half ricotta cheese and half milk or sour cream,  I think I could muster up a very nice mini fridge tart.

This is the sort of pudding one should get one’s hands on to substitute damaging sweet stuff. It’s a very good replacement indeed. Fast to whip up, lovely to eat and extremely versatile when the sugar devil strikes!

My advice is that you please don’t order this just yet - at least not untiI I have stocked up on it!

Rating: Very very  good … I love it.

Note: I had the broccolli veloute (with added cheese) and the Butterscotch caramel pud for a replacement lunch.  I feel if one really needed to go on meal replacement therapy due to regains…these products would do the job really well. It’s early evening as I write, I have not felt like having a snack and I am not hungry. Between these two I have ingested 38gms of easy to make protein. My cheese addition would add another 5 gms or so - totalling 43gms.

Added a few days after trying the above:

After the butterscotch pud I continued to crave it!  But it was all gone!  So I bought some Angels Delight SF instead thinking I’d compare the two. Did I say the butterscotch above was on par with Angels delight?  I have to retract that  - it is nowhere close!  WLS products butterscotch pud is streaks ahead. The SF tasted starchy, the butterscotch taste was minimal and the protein is minimal. A sad experience…not to be repeated. In my opinion it’s about time Tesco stocked this product!

At the moment WLS products is waiting for stock of the butterscotch pud to arrive ( I did contact WLS Products to place an order - yes I really do like it that much!). If you want to order give Mel a shout and ask her to notify you when her stock arrives.  It comes in satchets or in a big container. Please check with her for alternative flavours and prices.

Mel also stocks some really great vitamins and a calcium citrate powder (that I use) - I credit it with giving my bones a pretty good dexa last time because my bone loss had not increased since using it!   I always get my Virgin coconut oil from her as well - it’s great quality!  I use it daily in many ways. So if you are thinking of ordering anything maybe take a few minutes to browse her other products while you are at it.

WLS PRODUCTS:

Supplier: http://www.wlsproducts.nl/site/eng/index.php?id=homepage

Contact: Melanie Wouters

Except for the bars,  these products are not listed on the above site but the supplier, Melanie,  can be contacted through the site for info and prices on any of the products. She’s always willing to help anyone understand the products better. The Soups, bars and puddings are avail in different flavours.

Hot chocolate protein drink:

19 grams protein

Late night mid way through watching a recorded episode of The Dog Whisperer  with my two poochies next to me on the sofa (they like Ceasar too!) I needed a mug of something hot in my life. And what better than two warm little animals, my fire fending off the chill and a toasty mug of Hot Chocolate?  And 19grams of protein into the bargain?

First thing I noticed was how easily the powder dissolved into the cold milk. Please use water if you are using this to lose weight! I popped it in the microwave to heat it up and put a large dollop of cream on top - cafe style!

One taste and I am sold. This is chocolate at last! Wooohooo!  I think I might have found my holy grail! It has barely any aftertaste that I could discern and it is not as sweet as all the protein drinks I have tried before.  I know I said you must not smell protein products and it’s best to seperate out smell & taste, but I’m finding out that with some we really don’t need to do that - thank heavens!  It has the silkiest texture - just ever so  slightly thick.  I hate thick drinks and find them cloying, but this one’s consistency is just right.  I am loving this - Laine are you out there???!… because when my order arrives I am sending you a packet of this to try!  

When I looked over my reviews on these products (there’s another blog to follow this one shortly), I was struck by how well balanced protein and taste are in them. I think this is because the owner of WLS Products is a WLS patient herself.

I have known Mel a long time and I was VERY worried and nervous about testing her products. I questioned if I had the stuff it takes to potentially lose a valued friendship if I did not like her products. One thing to say one doesn’t like something - quite another to blog about it.  I worried about not being impartial and objective enough.

I really need not have worried because I feel her products can stand up to anything out there on their own merits.  Like many of us I am pretty sure she has tasted her way through many gagworthy products.   So I know much thought and test tasting went into them. They are aligned towards us WLS patients…unlike so many supps that were devised for the body building industry.

To my taste buds most of these food type supplements outstrip the previous tastes of the protein drinks I bought in.  I only wish I had test driven these first as they would have made a good barometer for what is actually achievable with protein supplements. I’m a bit gutted I did not - but this has been a rapid learning curve for me and the point was to get a well rounded idea of what the market place offers by the end of this experiment.

Just the other day on a UK forum a friend mentioned that she ate for nutrition but pleasure was better sometimes. It made me chuckle - boy do I know! 

It made me think if I could have only one supplement I would battle like anything between the hot choc & butterscotch caramel pud - and end up buying them both . Why? Because for me - both nutrition (in terms of protein grams) and pleasure converge in these two supplements.  A rare phenomenon. The cinnamon bar comes in hot on their heels . (See next blog for details.)

To my mind it is very hard to find a protein supplement that enters into the realm of ordinary real food, regarding taste. During the course of this experiment I have often felt  if I compared supplements to the real mcoy - most would hit a poor to fair rating…which is why I have treated them as in a class of their own. But the products above do enter into the realm of real food taste and for me, they are invaluable as a result.

But back to this hot choc -  it slipped down like a dream.  I was gutted when it was gone and as I said - I’m ordering this one, oh woe to my poor old credit card!  But it is worth it…and as I have been beating myself up recently with a devilish self critic on my shoulder hitting into my insecurities, I am going to tell myself in true l’oreal style, that I am worth it too!  It’s perfect on cold nights, it’s comfort food and it’s delish!

Rating: Very good

Mushroom soup:

19 grams protein

This comes in a sachet and gets mixed into water that is at near boiling point. Salt is added to taste.  First impression is it looks just like mushroom soup and has a lovely earthy  smell of mushrooms.  It’s wonderful to not smell whey lurking!  The consistency is very smooth and creamy.  First taste and I like it.  I get a little soy taste but not off putting at all - much like the Advilite soup I tried, it sits right.  There are dried mushroom bits in this that are delicious. I found they got soft in the soup fast and have a wonderful intense mushroom kick.  I can’t believe how easy it is to eat and in a few minutes I’d polished off the bowl!

This is also a soup that could be used as a sauce, simply by adding less water.  It would be a powerhouse of protein poured over some chopped cooked chicken. I’d add some ham, fresh mushrooms, basil and parsely to it to create a fantastic fast supper or lunch dish. Sort of a take on a fast chicken a la king. Using a chicken breast one would net iro 64 grams of protein !!!  Now that might seem too much, but for those with relatively tight restriction it could be split into two portions and you’d get a perfect amount of protein from it.  I think for those who need work lunches these would be great soups. One could prep the chicken the day before - heat it in a microwave at work & make & pour the soup over it as a sauce all in minutes flat! Or just have soup with a slice of soy linseed bread for dipping.

Rating: Good.

Other ‘waffly’ stuff,  more about life than protein! :

Today I am posting up two blogs about WLS products.  The next  blog covers  more soup, some bars and a Butterscotch pud…to die for (sneak preview!)  After that I’ll be getting back to my gardening for a week or so.  I blogged last year about my little Japanese garden project that involved building the bigger birds in the garden a bird bath out of concrete & landscaping around the area. It used to break my heart to see them struggling in the tiny little bird bath…it reminded me of my own saga’s when I was big, squodging myself into our family bath.  :-(    I’m pleased to tell you that the pigeon ‘lake’ is in full use. They come everyday to use it and I have great pleasure watching them. It’s magic!

The last leg of the project is that the area needs soft landscaping and I seem to be constantly nipping into nurseries to buy plants. I’m not a very functional person logically. I tend to develop temporary obsessions. Right now the obsession is with hardy ferns of all things!   Sometimes I think the fact that I have blogged on for so long about my WLS is a miracle in my ‘temporary obsessed mindset’.

At night I am working on a bold new blog site - another thing long overdue & heaven knows when it will be completed!  I also  have a trip to South Africa coming up soon that I better get on with planning, my family there are calling me!  I’m burning too many wicks at the same time and doing things pretty badly but I am perservering anyway!

That is the beauty of my surgery - it allows me to get so busy and do so much physically. Building the pigeons a bath for example was just mind blowing for me - the once reclusive indoor couch potato. It’s no mean feat to mix a large load of concrete woman alone!  Now I know some would think this frivolous because pigeons could find puddles - but why should they!  ;-)  Seriously though I believe in the importance of connecting with nature. In doing something for nature we can regain a certain peace that our regular fraught lives cannot reach. Why? I feel because nature is the biggest teacher of the need for beauty and balance in our lives. It’s all about letting go and flow. In our haste & drive to control and survive, we forget it to our own detriment.  This is why mental disorder is so prevalent in our society…and yet we do so little about it.  I know it is not that simple…but maybe it is?  Part of the cure is to reconnect with nature in some way…to just be able to BE.

So I have to remind myself it’s okay if things take time…because they are happening…and that is in itself something pretty danged super fantastic!!!!  

Enough now, let me post up the next blog!  

I’m onto test driving solid protein ‘food-type’  supplements at last!

Changed my plans to start with WLS products which I will do soon, and decided to start with Dietimeal products from the  Avidlite website.

Lunch today is onion soup and cherry jelly.

DIETIMEAL SOUP:

Flavour: Toasted onion with croutons

Supplier, price & more info: http://www.avidlite.co.uk/acatalog/SOUP.html

18gms of protein

This mixed up very easily to a creamy looking soup with an onion colour, which did not put me on any high alerts due to odd colouring etc.

First spoonful is good. The texture is very smooth, like a white sauce - I had to look twice at the box to see if they had used any flour products and indeed they had!  There is wheat flour but the total carbs of the soup is only 2.3 gms, which I feel is honestly not worth blinking about.   I do taste soy but for the first time in my life I would say it is not at all horrible. Maybe soy is suited to soups rather than drinks. It imparts a bean flavour but it sits right in a soup. It feels natural, warm and hopefully filling!

There are three teeny croutons - more token than anything else. They taste lovely - I just wish there were more! The soup tastes of onion just as it should. There are even some bits of dehydrated onion in it which spring to life at the bottom of the bowl - I like them! The only aftertaste I got was onion!

After polishing it off I thought it would be very nice with a dash of sour cream or marscapone - or any cheese for that matter.

This soup could be used to make a fast easy very protein rich cheese sauce and in the future I will be trying that. I think it would be very nice spooned over a chicken breast or just a plate of veggies - maybe with some bacon added.

Rating: Good.

DIETIMEAL CHERRY JELLY:

15gms protein

Supplier, price & more info http://www.avidlite.co.uk/acatalog/DESSERTS.html

When I opened the packet I was dubious as a synthetic cherry blast hit my sense of smell, but never easily deterred, I continued to prepare the jelly. It looked unpromising at first - a sickly pink mix. It mixed quite easily although I confess I did beat the life out of it!  Not so sure why now!

Popped it into the fridge for under an hour and it has set firm. Amazingly enough the cloudy sickly pink has given way to a deep jewel like dark red-pink and it looks pretty darned good. On par with any other jelly - except perhaps for a little pink froth on the top of it which is probably the result of my strong-hand beating method. It wobbles just like a good jelly should.  It does have a strong sweetener taste, perhaps more so than regular jelly but other than that it looks and tastes similar to  regular Sugar free jelly. Find it a little strange that I can’t taste any whey/soy in it - so let me check the packet quickly.

Ahhhhh. Well this explains it:   ALL the protein in this is collagen based - Sigh.  Another one bites the dust! I suppose this was to be expected, it is a jelly after all!  However I think if one markets it as high protein one expects high protein. Not high but inferior protein.  So basically one has to ask if it is worth paying for this jelly considering that it’s unlikely to do much for one on the protein score…bit of a rip off if you ask me.  I’m quite disappointed as I’d hoped for a proper source of protein in this jelly.  I rated it as below :
 Rating:

Taste:  Fair.

Protein: Poor

Note:  The manufactures do include a warning that there is sulphite in the product which may cause an allergic reaction.  Considering this on top of the lack of any viable protein, frankly - I don’t see the point in buying this…I’ll be sticking to SF cheap and cheerful jelly in the future!

Since exploring and adventuring into the world of protein supplements several strange things have happened to me.  I’m really enjoying testing these out - something I did not think would be possible for a meat, milk and veg girl.  My addiction to buying ridiculous kitchen gadgets that end up stashed in a cupboard has been replaced with buying supplements currently. Mind you it’s a mission to find enough storage space for them!

What I am not proud to admit is that along with the adrenaline rush of a new supplement to try out…I am actually dealing with the green eyed monster.     It’s terrible because usually I am kind and benevolent, even if I pat my own self on the back for those virtues. But here I am all sour grapes.

The issue is that my WLS sisters and brothers in the USA have something we in the UK are slow on the uptake with. Loads of protein and other WLS supplements to have fun with. Life need not be boring out here on the protein edge. Not only that, but to add insult to injury the supplements are cheaper there too.

I was okay with it. Even when they got calcium citrate wafers in flavours to die for, years ago!  I turned a blind eye.  Well almost. Between you and me only - I tried to order some but no one would ship it out to me at the time.

Here we do get protein drinks. And generally gross protein bars specially designed for body builders. Oh - and Instone protein pudding (bleeughhh!). But that’s it.  We don’t get amazing high protein cereals in a choice of thirty three different flavours (well collectively ).   We are lucky to rabbit up one or two from the Atkins site.

It hurts. Not having the BIG choice.  It hurts to think the USA might just be ‘bigger and better’ after all.  I now understand totally why Obama did not spend much time discussing anything with Gordon… but nevermind, I have even better things to fret over.

It seems like in the US you can even go to a store to pick up your fast protein fix…you know, go shopping and come back home laden. Imagine that!   You can see the packaging in real life and finger the biscuits so to speak. But here in the UK…you have only the joy of waiting for your internet parcel to arrive. With some hard sourced protein based goodies you know might taste positively ghastly. Free shipping is the consolation prize on unlucky days.

We have evolved to shooters here over the past few years.  It was celebration time when these arrived some years back I tell you!  We did wait an age, but eventually they came our way.   So that is something positive right!      But do we get hot expresso protein drinks???  HUH?! With 15  grams of protein & apparently no aftertaste…. like on meltingmama’s site… noooooo…. Dayum.  http://www.meltingmama.net/wls/2008/06/something-click.html

Okay the truth is I never ever drink expresso - never -  but suddenly reading meltingmama’s review on ‘Click’ I wanted one - reaaaally badly.  I even thought I should take another holiday in the US sometime soon - just for the protein expresso drink. How sad is that!  But if you can’t have something you console yourself.  So if like me you’d fancy one of those don’t fret too much,  you too can join the ‘let’s be creative cooks expresso club!’  Make your own with marvel fortified milk! Wayhey.    It will taste probably taste more like latte but if one pretends hard…

Maybe all of this is actually good and some day we will be grateful. We have to cook. We might not grow odd cells in the future…or pervert the course of future DNA.

I know, I know , this is a low blow borne out of ugly jealousy.

In the USA those reviewing products are actually sent samples. I swear it - meltingmama just puts out her call into the wilderness and the samples arrive.  What the heck?!!!  Is that reallly true?   (Green eyed monsters starts to bounce on right shoulder again!)

I wanted to try to get samples here in the UK to try out some supplements. I labouriously wrote to a few people but recieved no feedback alas.  Not even a straight : ‘NO! Now go away you are irritating us sh***ss!’   Why I wonder?  Is it because the competition here is basically not happening?  Is it an attitude of why give out a freebie - what if the consumer hates it and is loudmouth? Have they no confidence in their own products?  Maybe it is just me and I did not try hard enough. *sigh*  I don’t get it though… 

But enough of the green eyed bedeviledment. The truth is I love my adopted country. I love the humour and wit and general kindness of the people here.  Where else in the world is there a town called Ramsbottom?  Or a roadsign that depicts a little toad to warn you of them  crossing the road? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/4771130.stm In the light of this,  my supplement crisis fades into obscurity.

Today I have taken a breather from protein supps, but tomorrow I plan to try out several lines from ‘WLS products’.  I’ll start with two protein bars for breakfast: a cinnamon one and a choco peanut.

Then for lunch I will be having  high protein soup - ‘Veloute of Broccolli’ followed by ‘Caramel Butterscotch pudding’.

So, if protein is your interest at the moment - I’ll be blogging about the above in the next couple of days…watch this space!

I had a dream last night that I developed very huge muscles suddenly. I looked like one of those female body builders. In some ways that is a fear of mine as I like  ‘womanly curves’ on myself!  I went from doctor to doctor to try to find out what had happened to me overnight.   No one could figure out why my muscles had suddenly ballooned,  until I remembered I was taking lot’s of protein drinks. I hope to hell it’s not a psychic dream else I am in trouble deep!

The 2009 understatement of the year: I think protein supplements are playing on my brain. Plus side is my tummy feels firmer. Do I feel a muscle there? So help me gods..after that dream…!

I might have lost a smidge of weight. Quite surprising as I’ve not been doing this for very long. Might just be coincidence or my imagination.  I might weigh in today & monitor it for the next week - oh the joys. I sincerely  hope my scale is broken when I drag it out from under my bed,  so I can get out of weighing myself .

SYNTRAX NECTAR SWEETS:

Flavour: Chocolate Truffle

More info plus supplier:

http://www.cheapuksupplements.com/shop/product.php/14/essence

I opened the plastic tub and oh the sorrow and sadness …this is not ’sweets’.  Not like you & I recognise them. Not even just a little bit close.   It’s powder!  Surprise!  Good old whey again - aaarrrrgh….

I think calling this ’sweets’ is somewhat misleading and coupled with the lovely looking sweets boldly emblazoned across the tub, one could be forgiven for thinking this was what one was buying.  True I should have researched better up front.  But hope is such a wonderful feeling. * sigh *

I mix up the glass for a late ‘breakfast’. This powder looks like it will be best in milk, so milk it is.  The manufacturers recommend one scoop to 8 ounces of liquid.  Take a sniff of it and get a mild whey whiff plus I can smell sweetener.   It seems to dissolve easier than the Syntrax Matrix.

I can see why they call it ’sweets’. It is  sweet.  Among the sweetest of all the drinks I have tried, except perhaps the Elite ’shooters’.  I am a person who has a sweet tooth. Admittedly it is subdued after years of eating a DS diet. But I am just not sure even my tooth is this sweet. I can do the Elite because that is just a few big gulps and 45grams of protein. But this is a glass full…

What I do like is the light creaminess of this drink. The flavour must be truffle…because this is not chocolate to my mind.   I pick up just the mildest inkling of chocolate. Even the colour of it is not a nice deep deep chocolatey colour. It’s a delicate milky chocolate colour.   I almost want to throw a tantrum now. I want REAL ROBUST chocolate flavour. I’m getting desperate for it.

I’m not saying it is not palatable. It is very palatable. I’m not feeling like I’m going to retch. I’m not running to the basin to spit it out. The texture is smooth. It’s very drinkable.

I think I came into this particular review with my expectations in the high groove. I’m just not learning fast enough - if one has expectations of these drinks they are usually dashed to the ground on the first taste.  People who are trying protein drinks for the first time generally seem to go through a ‘yeeeucch’ factor of varying degrees.  Occassionally lady luck smiles on them and they happen upon the right ‘fit’ first time.  Those who use them frequently will be more jaded I think, more conditioned and resigned to judging them in a class of their own. I have fast learned to never take a deep smell of a drink - the smell can be very off putting.  In the mouth the drink  kind of adjusts itself, it is an exercise in seperating out the senses..quite a strange thing to do.

So…have no expectations and it might go a little better, I remind myself.

Using reverse psychology - this drink might be just the job for those who have a big sweet tooth. I think if I was craving sweets right now, after drinking this the craving would go to it’s grave. Fast.  So it could be useful as a replacement for sweets and sugary food cravings.

RNYers who dump on sweeteners should think  about this one. This sweetness is coming from a generous dose of sweeteners. No doubt about that. It has both Splenda (sucralose) and Acesulfame-K.   I know aspartamine can trigger dumping, however splenda seems to be better on this score - but just be aware.  You’d probably get away with it provided you don’t drink too much - so if you think this one might be for you - test your limits slowly. I find it has a sweetener aftertaste that lingers a little more than the ‘matrix’ drink.  I don’t find the aftertaste  unpleasant, but it’s unmistakeably there.

I took this drink along with the others I’ve reviewed  to our local WLS meet. I wanted to know what others thought of them.  I asked people to rate the drinks as yuck, fair, good and very good.  Most people who gave it the test taste rated it as either good or very good. 12 people filled in the forms.

This drink scored higher than the matrix which was rated as yuck to fair by the majority, with only one  person rating it as good. I was quite surprised - I prefer the Matrix and find this one just too sweet for my tastebuds.

The Roadside lemonade scored the best .One person rated it as yuck. One rated it fair. The rest rated it good to very good.

Dymatize Elite shooter was a mixed bag. You either like it or hate it. I think those who like it,  do so more for the fact that it is sooooo convenient to swallow, than for the taste. I noticed those who regarded it as ‘medicinal’ felt fine about knocking it back.  5 people voted it as  poor to fair.  7 voted it good to very good.  In the comments some said it would be nice diluted. I have found that to be the case.

Instone pudding scored poor every time.  I was not surprised!

The above reiterates that our tastebuds vary considerably…aside from the Instone which is just gross.  Try to read other reviews on the products or better still wangle samples of supplements - I think this is the way to go. But be warned - everyone might find a drink super-delicious except you!

I have found that after a few days of staying with a drink my tastebuds appear to adjust more.  Also that playing around with additions and ways of taking the protein can make quite a difference to how palatable it is.   At this stage of the game I am leaning towards the Elite shooters for fast quick boosting on rushed days.   I find I am no longer drinking the matrix - I like it wayyyy better as banana rollups with cinnamon.  Right now it’s my fav breakfast. With the egg added to it I think it must rate pretty high on the nutrition score. I will try this with the Nectar sweets tomorrow and see if it works as well.   Roadside Lemonade will probably step in it’s place for the summer.  If we get a summer!

QUICK RATING:

Ease of use :  8/10

Taste: 7/10 (note - this would be lower than what the others rated which was more iro an 8/10)

Versatility: 7/10 - I think one could make rollups with this drink & possibly use for baking too. Not tested yet.

Packaging: 10/10

Protein power: 9/10

Value for money: 8/10

Longerterm use:  8/10 it’s a fair amount of powder

Good for:

People who crave sweet things.

Contains:

There is calcium, phosphorus and sodium in ‘Sweets’.  The sweeteners used are both sucralose and acesulfame-k.

Possible Side effects:

The usual sweetener possibilities of runny tum etc.
Acesulfame-K:   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acesulfame_potassium

My goodies have arrived and I am so excited. The big problem is which to try first -  I’m like a kid in a candy store! There is Protein Onion Soup, Protein Cherry Jelly, and wait for it a pudding - actually - what the heck is with me and this pudding thing!  Call it a pudding and I get drawn like a moth to the flame!   LOL.   There is a low carb flour and almond flour for baking with. There is nectar Roadside Lemonade too.  I decided to quit eating breakfast and lunch for the next few days,  so that I can test drive the goodies faster.  I refuse to forgo dinner, mainly because I have this amazing huge salmon that is due for dinner tonight with roasted veggie mix - butternut, red onions, red pepper and courgettes, fresh rosemary and olive oil. Wild horses are not going to stop me from enjoying it!

But enough nattering - onwards with the reviews!

SYNTRAX NECTAR:

Flavour: Roadside Lemonade

Supplier and more info:

http://www.cheapuksupplements.com/shop/product.php/13/nectar

Basic’s: 23gm protein per scoop, 0 carbs, 0 fats

What is nice about buying from the above supplier is the free shipping. There is a faster shipping option too - it only costs .99p extra. My order arrived in the stated timescale.  I sent them a query and got a fast response from them - so a thumbs up to these suppliers!

It’s great to see the old container is still here!  It’s much better than the other one.  The info says that nectar  mixes with a spoon, but I still get a few lumps. It’s not bad though and after standing a little it’s possible to smooth them out completely.

First sip and I get that lemony tang. I do get aftertaste but it is not unpleasant. Nor is it over ridingly sweet…the lemon taste knocks back sweetness. I already see why so many people like this drink. The color is lemony - it looks opaque but real and the taste and colour are harmonious unlike the blue Nectar I tried all those years ago. This one is MUCH better all round.

A couple of sips later and I’m sold. The aftertaste is something I will easily adapt to. It does have a very mild bitterness to it but then so do lemons. This drink ticks the boxes for me.   With ice it would look the part.   Bring on the summer, because as I suspected this one is going to be my mainstay summer drink!

I don’t find the nectar as nearly filling as the other one. I think it is possibly a mental thing as it is very much like a soft drink. And I have never associated soft drinks with being filling.

** (Updated several hours later) **:

I hang my head in shame and fess up to eating  after all that about not doing it! Shortly after discovering the Nectar was not going to have the same satiating effect on me as the Matrix  I regret to say the spicy chicken wings in my fridge started to call my name.   I only had 2 of them and a half slice of burgens bread to dunk in the sauce… but now I am STUFFED.  The plus is I have learned some things - firstly that eating  a small snack-meal on top of this drink  is actually very filling for me. Both tummy wise & from the satiety signal angle.

Secondly, it is easier said than done for me not to reach for the real food - so I may adjust my original thoughts and have a healthy snack plus this particular protein drink rather than just the drinks at two mealtimes. I did think of rewriting this blog so as not to fess up …but then I thought  that actually this is the kind of thought thing each of us must work out for themselves…because at the end of the day whatever we do must work for us as individuals. It reminds me that the approach should always be ‘let’s experiment’ this way we don’t get stuck in the ever present lurking failure number some of us, myself included,  are so good at.

So begone oh my shame! Live & learn instead… 

To test for how versatile this protein is I made sweets out of this. How neat is that!  

I used nothing more than water. It was a sticky mess and there is some waste, as it stuck to my fingers - but it works really well!

Here’s how:

Carefully drip water onto a scoop of nectar - very slowly and stir until it looks lumpy and unmixed. Take some dried nectar and roll the mix into it kneading it with your fingers until it takes the shape of a sweet. Finish by rolling the sweets in nectar powder.  I think if one left them to stand they’d dry out a little sans heat but I was impatient.   I dried mine out in a very low oven (try to keep the heat off and just use the fan  to prevent loss of protein) for several hours. After an hour they had a slightly crusty outside texture and a chewy center.  I decided to dry them out totally.  Unfortunately they crumbled to bits so I’d stay with the chewy sweet version with minimal drying.I thought they tasted quite nice. You can also eat this powder dry if you like.

I now mildly regret that I ordered the Nectar sweets as well (coming soon!) as these would do me fine.  But I may still like the one’s Syntrax manufacture much more, lets see.

I also tried  to make a 20gm shooter out of this. I mixed it with the same amount of water the Elite brand would have used. Then stuck it into an empty Elite vial, for effect.  I often go out for the day and it would be nice to carry a light weight protein store.  I’m testing it out it as I write…it’s honestly not bad at all.  Sweeter and tart-er than mixing it as the manufacturers suggest, but as tolerable imo as the Elite shooter. Not as much protein of course but at a pinch it’s a good shooter.

The bowels:  I had slightly ratty bowels in the evening. But nothing to write home about. My body is not used to sweeteners. I reckon  once I have told my DS to get the message and simmer down a couple of times, it will adjust. If not, I will update. I think the drink is worth me putting my foot down over my current little madam of a DS!

QUICK RATING:

Ease of use :  8/10

Taste: 9/10

Versatility: 8/10 - not every drink can make sweets!

Packaging: 10/10

Protein power: 9/10

Value for money: 8/10

Longerterm use:  8/10 it’s a fair amount of powder

Good for:

Summertime!!! Or those days you just don’t feel like a heavy drink.

Contains:

There is calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium in this one.  The sweeteners used are both aspartame and acesulfame-k and it has colourants added. The aspartame must be what gives it that little bitter aftertaste that I detected.

I nearly had a panic attack at the ‘bovine serum albumin’     …until I recalled in a musty corner of my brain that it is found at low levels in milk. Years ago the same thing came up on a topic at WLS info as I remember.  I tried to do a little further research but could not come up with much.  Seems it’s a perfectly innocent addition derived generally off whey protein  and won’t harm us except mentally!    I just wish they would give it a better name.  It is a protein that has a good amino acid profile.

In rare cases it has caused allergic responses.

It should not be heated as heating denatures this protein…seems this process starts at around 50 degrees C.

Moving on - Gardenia extract. What is that!??? It’s a plant extract, I kind of guessed that. It has a bitter taste so maybe this is the bitterness I picked up - heck what do I know I never ate gardenia extract before!   Seems it might have a positive effect on diabetes in one abstract I read. Or it might be added for the lemony taste or some other unbeknown quality. Probably does no harm at all but that’s not my point really.  I just wish the manufacturers would briefly explain why they use a certain ingredient as for us laymen it is difficult to decide if we actually want to use it without any facts.  Little rant over!

Possible Side effects:

I did a search on the possibility with this drink and could find no personal accounts of side effects ( which doesn’t mean there are not any!)  However if they occur they must be too mild to warrant attention (like my ratty bowel episode.)  Most patients love this drink as proteins go and seem very happy with it. But ever the cautious that I am,  below are a few possibilities should you experience something out of the ordinary.

Bovine albumin : allergic reactions

Aspartame: Many are listed. From the vague to the more serious. It is possibly related to the amount consumed daily, length of time consumed… etc.

Acesulfame-K:   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acesulfame_potassium