Laureanne, Sounds like you have gone through a great ordeal as well, your surgery sounds quite similar to my husband's. So nice to be past those days and only have this to struggle with. My husband makes shakes with Ensure, muscle milk, bananas, and ice cream every day. I juice fruits and veggies mostly every day. He did not like the grainy effect of protein powder so we have not been using it. Thanks so much for your response. Best of luck to you.