As most of you know, my husband (Andy Larson) is a general surgeon who has a special interest in surgical nutrition and also does a great deal of lap-band bariatric (weight loss) surgery. After weight loss surgery it is crucial for his patients to optimize nutrition and make every bite count. Although we should all be eating a nutrient-dense diet everyday, anyone who has had weight loss surgery (or anyone who purposely limits their calorie intake) needs to be especially conscientious to eat a nutrient-dense diet.

I thought I’d share with you some nutrient-dense “no-milk” shake recipes my family loves but also ones that Andy recommends to his weight loss surgery patients. Andy and I love these shakes as a before or after workout snack and our 9-year old son actually drinks them before his football games. So don’t feel that if you haven’t had weight loss surgery you can’t drink the shakes!

To jump right to the recipes just scroll right on down….but you might want to read more on what makes a protein shake healthy or not.

The REAL Scoop on Protein Shakes

Although the average person doesn’t need to worry about getting adequate amounts of protein, having weight loss surgery makes protein shakes essential (this is especially true for patients who have had gastric bypass as they will not absorb protein very well.) Athletes and weekend warriors often drink protein shakes because they have been brainwashed into thinking they are healthy or because they think the protein shakes will somehow help them build bigger muscles or burn more fat (which isn’t true!)

The problem is, many protein shakes are made from artificial, nutrient-poor ingredients. I just asked my husband to give me the name of a popular name brand protein shake that dieticians often recommend to bariatric patients and he told me Myoplex was one of the most often recommended brands.

ALWAYS!! Read the Ingredients List

So, I looked up Myoplex Original Shake Ingredients and found stuff I didn’t like one bit … including dairy creamer with corn oil, corn maltodextrin, artificial flavors, and milk protein isolate. It’s bad enough Myoplex contains highly processed, nutrient-poor ingredients but just as bad is that it is completely devoid of disease-fighting, immune-supporting plant-based phytonutrients and anti-aging antioxidants. Myoplex is simply a highly processed food product.

If you read the Nutrition Facts on Myoplex you’d think you were getting a healthy product, but the Nutrition Facts are highly misleading and tell you absolutely nothing about the intrinsic nutritional properties of the food. The Nutrition Facts don’t tell you anything about whether the food is actually healthy or not. The Nutrition Facts will only tell you about the macronutrient content (carbs, fats and protein) of the food, but they tell you absolutely nothing about the micronutrient and phytonutrient (also called phytochemical) content.

Phytonutrients Make a Shake SUPER Healthy

Phytonutrients are disease-fighting substances found only in plant-based foods. You want a shake made with lots of phytonutrient-rich plant-based foods including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans and legumes. This is because phytonutrients not only help protect the plant, but also you, the plant-eater.

Plant-based foods contain literally hundreds of different phytonutrients that work synergistically on many different cellular levels to optimize health. The greater variety of phytonutrients you get, the better protection you have.

Phytonutrients are one of nature’s most powerful antioxidants; they work to prevent both visible and cellular aging. Scientific evidence supports the value of phytonutrients in preventing and treating at least three leading causes of premature death including cancer, hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

Phytonutrients also enable your body to burn fat faster by stimulating PPAR’s (peroxisome proliferator activated receptors). PPAR’s reduce fat-storing insulin levels and even lower cholesterol.

Note: Animal foods do not contain phytonutrients so any shake made with animal foods (such as milk or whey protein) is not going to include phytonutrients.

The Healthy Juice Plus+ Complete Shake

We discovered the Juice Plus+ company from a general surgery patient of Andy’s. If you aren’t familiar with it, Juice Plus+ is a “whole food” product containing fruits and vegetables in a capsule form and is extremely rich in phytonutrients. Juice Plus+ has a tremendous amount of clinical research behind their product line. My husband was so impressed with the product that he began recommending it to his patients (we were also one of the keynote speakers at the Juice Plus+ International Conference in Memphis.) In addition to loving the Juice Plus+ capsules we also discovered (and love!) the Juice Plus+ Complete shake formula.

The Juice Plus+ Complete is a whole-food based shake that is very rich in phytonutrients. It’s a vegan protein-rich shake made from a vegetable protein blend (including chickpea powder, rice protein, tofu powder), 8 different fruits (apples, oranges, pineapple, cranberry, peach, acerola cherry, papaya), “super” greens including spirulina, kelp and wheat grass, and 8 different vegetables (carrot, parsley, beet, broccoli, kale, cabbage, spinach and tomato). Juice Plus+ Complete delivers whole foods nutrition with a superior phytonutrient profile. It’s simply a super healthy nutrient-dense shake for kids, active adults, seniors and bariatric patients.

Protein Content in Juice Plus+ Complete Verse Myoplex

In case you are curious, per 100 calorie serving the vegetable-protein based, phyotnutrient-rich Juice Plus+ Complete contains 11 grams of protein and the Myoplex contains 14 grams of protein.

The ingredients of the chocolate and vanilla Complete.

How to choose correctly in this protein powder saturated market

Ok, enough of the science! On with the recipes

10 “Eat Clean Recipes”

Phytonutrient-Rich “No-Milk” Shakes Using Juice Plus+ Complete

Why “No Milk” While we don’t completely avoid dairy, Andy and I have decreased our dairy consumption substantially over the years. We now mostly use just a little cheese here and there for flavor, but no milk at all. If we buy yogurt we buy only organic grass-fed, but this isn’t the easiest to find. And, since between 30 and 50 million people in the United States are lactose intolerant I think it’s best to provide lactose-free shake recipes. We prefer plant-based phytonutrient-rich almond milk and hemp milk to dairy milk (both are easy to find in any supermarket and come in soft box containers.) You could also use unsweetened soy milk if you prefer (such as Silk brand) but since Juice Plus+ Complete includes soy we think it’s a good idea to incorporate hemp milk or almond milk for diversification.

What are Hemp Seeds? We use hemp seeds in most of the recipes because they are super nutrient-dense. They are rich in essential omega-3 and omega-6 fats and contain about 25% protein and 10 to 15% fiber. Hemp seeds add a nutty, rich taste to shakes and also provide a rich array of minerals, particularly potassium, magnesium and calcium. Hemp seeds can be purchased in nutrition stores or Whole Foods Market. They are also available online at www.nutiva.com (look for Nutiva “Organic Shelled Hempseed”)  For more information on Hemp Seeds click HERE.

**All recipes are vegan, gluten-free, wheat-free and dairy-free

Recipes for Vanilla Juice Plus+ Complete:

1. Cinnamon-Blueberry Sensation

1 scoop Vanilla Juice Plus+ Complete

1/2 cup hemp milk or almond milk

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, plus more to taste

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons hemp seeds

For additional sweetness use Truvia or Purevia to taste (both are made from Stevia)

Blend ingredients for 30-40 seconds in a high speed blender.

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2. Lemon-Peach Pie Smoothie

1 scoop Vanilla Juice Plus+ Complete

1/2 cup hemp milk or almond milk

1/2 cup frozen peaches

1/4 teaspoon pure lemon extract

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons hemp seeds

For additional sweetness use Truvia or Purevia to taste (both are made from Stevia)

Blend ingredients for 30-40 seconds in a high speed blender.

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3. Raspberries and Cream Smoothie

1 scoop Vanilla Juice Plus+ Complete

1/2 cup hemp milk or almond milk

1/2 cup frozen raspberries

1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons hemp seeds

For additional sweetness use Truvia or Purevia to taste (both are made from Stevia)

Blend ingredients for 30-40 seconds in a high speed blender.

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4. Coconut-Mango Delight

1 scoop Vanilla Juice Plus+ Complete

1/2 cup hemp milk or almond milk

1/2 cup frozen mango chunks

1/4 teaspoon pure lemon extract

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons unsweetened, un-sulfured raw shredded coconut

For additional sweetness use Truvia or Purevia to taste (both are made from Stevia)

Blend ingredients for 30-40 seconds in a high speed blender.

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5. Orange Vanilla “Dreamsicle”

1 scoop Vanilla Juice Plus+ Complete

1/2 cup hemp milk  or almond milk

1 whole orange, peeled and cut into chunks

1/4 teaspoon pure lemon extract

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon hemp seeds

For additional sweetness use Truvia or Purevia to taste (both are made from Stevia)

Blend ingredients for 30-40 seconds in a high speed blender.

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6. Coconut-Pineapple Lime Slushy

1 scoop Vanilla Juice Plus+ Complete

1/2 cup hemp milk or almond milk

3/4 cup frozen pineapple chunks

1/4 teaspoon pure lemon extract

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons unsweetened, un-sulfured raw shredded coconut

Juice from 1/4 of a lime

For additional sweetness use Truvia or Purevia to taste (both are made from Stevia)

Blend ingredients for 30-40 seconds in a high speed blender.

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Recipes for Chocolate Juice Plus+ Complete

7. To Die for Chocolaty Peanut Butter Banana Shake

1 scoop Chocolate Juice Plus+ Complete

1/2 frozen banana, cut into chunks

1/2 cup hemp milk or almond milk

2 teaspoons all-natural peanut butter

1/4 cup water

2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder (such as Ghirardelli brand), optional

For additional sweetness use Truvia or Purevia to taste (both are made from Stevia)

Blend ingredients for 30-40 seconds in a high speed blender.

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8. German Chocolate Cherry Cake

1 scoop Chocolate Juice Plus+ Complete

1/2 cup frozen cherries

1/2 cup almond milk

2 teaspoons almond butter

1/4 cup water

2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder (such as Ghirardelli brand), optional

For additional sweetness use Truvia or Purevia to taste (both are made from Stevia)

Blend ingredients for 30-40 seconds in a high speed blender.

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9. Next Best Thing to an “Almond Joy”

1 scoop Chocolate Juice Plus+ Complete

1/2 cup almond milk

1 tablespoon almond butter

1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract

2 tablespoons unsweetened, un-sulfured raw shredded coconut

1/2 cup ice cubes

For additional sweetness use Truvia or Purevia to taste (both are made from Stevia)

Blend ingredients for 30-40 seconds in a high speed blender.

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10. Chocolate-Almond Raspberry Decadence

1 scoop Chocolate Juice Plus+ Complete

1/2 cup almond milk

1 tablespoon almond butter

3/4 cup frozen raspberries

1/4 cup water

1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract

1 tablespoon hemp seeds

For additional sweetness use Truvia or Purevia to taste (both are made from Stevia)

Blend ingredients for 30-40 seconds in a high speed blender.

To learn more please watch the Webinar below by Jan Roberto MD on the role of Juice Plus+ and Juice Plus+ Complete in your health, fitness and nutrition program.