Mango Piña Colada Shake

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Mango Piña Colada Shake – Tropical flavors abound in this quick and easy shake. Mango, pineapple, coconut milk, and greek yogurt blended with a Glucerna pre-made vanilla shake become a tasty meal replacement or even a dessert.I’ve mentioned my gastric bypass surgery often here. Every day I think about it. I have to. I have to remember to take a huge handful of vitamins every day or I weaken and easily tire. I have to think about it when I make decisions about what to put in my mouth, the good, the bad, the ugly. A signification portion of my reasons why to have the surgery are in my About Me section of the blog. But I didn’t actually talk much about my overall health there-or eventual health.Ironically, I was healthy. I did not have heart disease, my cholesterol was the high end of normal. Blood pressure was the low end of normal. No diabetes. Other than weighing 310 pounds, I was ‘healthy.’ But that wasn’t going to last much longer. I was at risk for all of these issues plus countless muscle and joint issues. My dad had high blood pressure before his own gastric bypass surgery. My grandfather, my dad’s dad, had Type 2 diabetes. Heck, many members of my De La Cerda family members have Type 2 diabetes. This would be my fate if I didn’t take drastic measures. My doctor told me that my weight coupled with my Hispanic heritage (6 million Hispanics in the US have diabetes) was a ‘ticking time bomb‘ for the disease.

This was 2008. In 2006, I lost my grandfather. He died from complications of his diabetes. He had a stroke that the doctors said was directly related to his Type 2 diabetes. In a couple of months, it will be 9 years since he left us. My loss is still very real. I miss him greatly.My grandfather was not overweight. He looked fit, trim, and strong as an ox. Yes, he was getting older, maybe his muscles weren’t as strong as they were when I was a kid, but he looked healthy. Looking at him, no one would say, “wow, that man is sick.” He was sick on the inside. His body was being ravaged by diabetes. His feet, his eyes, his heart, all being affected by it.

My surgery was equally motivated by wanting to have a child and not getting Type 2 diabetes and suffer the way my grandfather did. I am healthy now. Sure, I am carrying a few extra pounds (again), but nothing that I am overly worried about. I have my annual work up in a couple of weeks and I expect my blood tests to reveal I am still diabetes free.

To ensure I continue to stay diabetes free, I have to follow my dietary protocol, which ironically is VERY similar to the diet a diabetic should follow. Lean meats, vegetables, low carbs, healthy fats, and so on.When the opportunity to partner with Glucerna through Social Fabric came about, I was readily on-board. If this post can reach ONE person to watch how they eat, to monitor their blood glucose levels, to gently encourage a single loved one to take better care of their already diagnosed diabetes, then my work was not in vain.

Glucerna has a full line of shakes and bars that help satisfy your hunger without spiking those sugar levels. I use them for weight loss or maintenance which they are also designed to do. Whether you are managing your diabetes or solely working on prevention and weight-loss these low calorie options are excellent. If you need help or ideas for meal plans, click here. 

I am busy, I work a lot of hours. In fact, my best friend Darla just called me a workaholic when my sister Ashley was in town this past weekend. It’s true. Luckily, I love what I do. You see the food I produce, but I am not always eating that. Breakfast is often something that fits my dietary protocol: beef jerky, low/no sugar/carb protein shakes, nonfat Greek yogurt, protein bars, and such. Walmart, like other stores, do not have a specially marked section for ‘gastric bypass’, but they do for diabetes and those products work perfectly for me most of the time.I picked up some pre-made shakes and just keep them in the fridge for when I need a quick meal. I decided to play with the vanilla shake and see if I could make something that resembled a milk shake of my yesteryear, the stuff I cannot drink anymore. I’m pretty pleased with the results. Sure, you know there is NO ice cream in the shake, but the flavors are so good, your tastes buds forgive the lack of ice cream in this ‘milkshake.’

For ease of use, I used canned fruit. Canned mangoes are in a light syrup so I made sure they were thoroughly drained, but I added all the juice from the canned pineapple. However, if you have the time and the inclination, use fresh, ripe mango, it will just take a bit longer to blend up. If you like really thick shakes, increase the amount of Greek yogurt. I like to slurp them up with a straw, so I make mine thinner. Also make sure there is no added sugar in the coconut milk. Look for pure coconut milk, as some brands will sneak in sugar. This works great as a breakfast for me, high in protein but honestly it tastes like dessert, making it a win-win in my book.

Here’s a $1 off any one Glucerna product COUPON to encourage you all to try it. And if you want a little chuckle, check out this Steady Ahead Video. It’s just the type of video my grandpa would have laughingly rolled his eyes at but would be secretly amused–much like me.

Thank you for sharing!