The Best Protein Shakes for Caregiving Challenges

Protein shakes mightn’t be as healthy as a balanced home-cooked meal, but there are many times where they can be a powerful choice. The challenge is the sheer number of products on the market. How do you decide which ones to go with?

We’ve talked about some of the options before, like in our post on Boost vs Ensure. This time, we’re looking at the best protein shakes for specific caregiving challenges. After all, needs vary from one situation to another.

You can choose whether to read through the full post or jump to a specific area using the list below:

• Senior Who Refuse to Eat
• Diabetic Seniors
• Seniors Who Need to Lose Weight
• Seniors Who Need to Gain Weight
• For Seniors Who Need More Protein
• For Picky Seniors Who Need More Protein
• Seniors Focused on Healthy Living

The Best Protein Shakes for Caregiving

If you’re looking for general shakes, the following three are our top recommendations.

Shakes that Address Caregiving Challenges

So then, let’s take a look at specific situations. As you’ll see, the best shakes vary depending on your situation and specific needs.

Diabetic Seniors

Most low sugar shakes will be a good choice for diabetic seniors, as they won’t cause blood sugar spikes. Many are completely sugar free and use natural or artificial sweeteners to make them taste good.

The brand Glucerna is often recommended too, as their products use a slow release carb blend. But, we don’t recommend that brand. Most Glucerna shakes are too high in sugar and carbs.

Instead, we recommend the low sugar shakes from Boost and Ensure. Premier Protein has decent low sugar shakes too, along with a large selection of flavors. These should be fantastic for seniors.

You should also talk to the senior’s doctor about meal shakes. They may offer insights about the nutrient profile you should be looking for. 

Seniors Who Need to Lose Weight

Most protein shakes can be used for weight loss if they’re eaten instead of a meal. Still, weight loss is easier when the shake is low in sugar but remains satisfying. The three shakes discussed at the beginning of this post all meet this need.

If you’re looking for another brand, make sure the shake has at least 20 grams of protein per serving. One with some fat and plenty of nutrients can be helpful too, as you’re missing out on the nutrients from your meal.

You can also look for the words ‘meal replacement’ on the shake’s label. That said, you should still check the ingredients label. Some brands use this term even when the shake is fairly low in protein.

Seniors Who Need to Gain Weight

To lose weight, you often have protein shakes instead of meals. To gain weight, you’re often having a shake as a snack between meals.

Boost Plus and Ensure Plus are excellent choices for this goal. Both are designed for weight gain. They each contain more than 300 calories, plus a decent amount of sugar and fat.

The protein content might be lower than you expect, just 14 grams for Boost and 16 grams for Ensure. This feature is helpful for weight gain, as the shake would be too filling if there were 30 grams of protein as well.

The shakes should taste decent too, much like a milkshake. That’s helpful for seniors who don’t have much appetite.

For Seniors Who Need More Protein

It’s hard to go wrong with Premier Protein if protein is your goal. The brand is excellent at providing high protein shakes that still taste good. They also have an incredible selection of flavors to choose from.

Most of their shakes contain 160 calories, 30 grams of protein, and just 1 gram of sugar. They also offer 24 vitamins and minerals, making them perfect for filling any nutritional gaps.

That said, 20 to 30 grams of protein per serving is common in protein shakes. You won’t have any problem finding shakes with this much protein.

For Picky Seniors Who Need More Protein

While Premier Protein and similar shakes are great for protein, some people aren’t fond of the flavor. In fairness, they do have a somewhat chalky taste that’s tolerable rather than actually enjoyable.

If the senior is a bit picky, you might need a shake with a little less protein and more sugar. Boost High Protein Nutritional Drink is one example of this style. It contains 20 grams of protein and 11 grams of fat. As such, it still provides a decent amount of protein, while the sugar makes the shake taste better.

For Seniors Who Refuse to Eat

Protein shakes are a great option when seniors don’t want to eat food, but what if they refuse the protein shake as well? Here are a few tricks that might help.

• Serve it cold. Many pre-prepared shakes taste much better when chilled.
• Check the ingredients. Some common ingredients can give protein shakes an odd flavor or aftertaste (particularly artificial sweeteners). If this is an issue, experiment with another shake that uses different ingredients.
• Choose sugar over sweeteners. While sweeteners are healthier than sugar (*probably), they don’t taste quite as good. Sometimes you’ll simply need to choose a product with sugar to get the senior to drink it.
• Try 15 or 20 grams of protein. Shakes with 30 grams of protein often have a somewhat unpleasant flavor. They mightn’t taste bad, exactly, but the slight ‘off’ notes might be enough to put off some seniors. 
• Experiment with products. Pre-prepared protein shakes often look similar, but can have vastly different ingredients, starting with the source of protein. If a particular shake isn’t working well, why not try something from a different brand or in a different style.
• Mix it with other ingredients. For example, you could blend a pre-prepared shake with frozen fruit and some extra milk. This would improve the texture and add some extra flavor, perhaps making it taste better.
• Focus on small servings. If a whole shake isn’t working, what about half a shake or even a quarter? Some seniors will do well with lots of small drinks, rather than one large one.

You could also try making shakes or smoothies yourself, using protein powder as an ingredient. Doing so gives you better control over the texture and flavor, so you can tailor the shake to the senior’s preferences. You also end up with a much healthier drink.   

Seniors Focused on Healthy Living 

Pre-packaged shakes tend to rely on artificial ingredients, as they need to be shelf stable. Still, some brands focus on making their shakes as natural as they possibly can.

Orgain Organic Nutrition is one example. This is a USDA Organic certified shake, one that’s also vegan friendly. It uses natural ingredients rather than artificial ones and includes organic blends for nutrients and antioxidants.

Iconic is another interesting brand. The shakes rely on ingredients like cacao powder, green blends, and high oleic sunflower oil. The sweetness comes from monkfruit extract and artificial ingredients are avoided entirely.

Final Thoughts

As you’ve probably noticed, we focused on ready-made protein shakes for this list.

Ready-made shakes mightn’t be the healthiest option, but they are incredibly convenient. This feature can make all the difference for situations where you are short on time.

If you’re looking for more nutritious alternatives, check out our other food-related posts: