Meal replacement shakes are an excellent way to manage weight and nutrition. A meal replacement shake allows you to pack a nutrient rich meal into very few calories. Shakes can also be "tuned" for particular needs and tastes. With a few tips you can turn a tolerable meal replacement into a great tasting diet shake.

Not all meal replacement shakes taste great out of the box and there are a few things you can do to improve the taste and texture as well as customize them for your personal needs and goals.

Of course you should be aware the manufacturer's guidelines. Read the label and make sure you know the content of carbs, protein, fiber and other nutrients so that you don't add excessive calories and defeat the purpose by turning your healthy shake into a caloric weapon of mass destruction.

A good place to start is with texture. Some brands of meal replacement shakes call for water, others offer milk as a substitution. Soy milk-also rice or almond milk-make excellent substitutions. Since your goal is to replace a meal with fewer calories, most generally non-fat milk is used.

Soy milk and other non-dairy options usually offer a richer texture and higher protein than non fat milk. Dairy can also upset the digestive system and not necessarily due to true lactose intolerance.

Frequently people start ingesting 16-20 ounces of milk each day with their diet when they are not used to consuming that much dairy and they end up bloated. The milk is the culprit but often the shake is assumed to be causing the distress and the dieter abandons his program.

Adding fruit is a great way to improve the texture of a shake. Choose berries as they are high in nutrients and rich in fiber. If you are a club shopper most have bulk bags of frozen berries that make it convenient to add a half cup to each shake. Avoid canned fruit as it often has added sugar. Bananas are also a worthy standby but are high in natural sugar. You can also experiment with combinations such as banana and strawberry, strawberry mango or blends of different berries.

Just remember to do the math on the calories you are adding. Typically a half cup is around 90 calories but you can check it out on calorieking.com.

Tune your shake by adding additional protein, fiber and even instant herbal tea. A body composition evaluation will help you tailor a plan for your goals and you can build your shake formula accordingly.

Using soy milk and adding fruit are great ways to add flavor and texture to your shake. For the best results, less mess and most complete blending use the following technique:

• Pour your milk in the blender and turn it on low.

• Add the appropriate amount of meal replacement shake powder and any other dry ingredients such as fiber or protein.

• Once blended either stop the blender and ad the fruit or add the fruit through the port in the lid (if you blender has one).

• If you want a dessert-like concoction you can toss a few ice cubes in the blender.

• Blending longer will reduce the size of the fruit more so experiment for your preference.

• Blending too long can cause your shake to become frothy.

• Too much ice can cause it to freeze and refuse to blend.

Shakes are an excellent way to deliver nutrient-rich low calories meals when you are focused on weight loss and a little practice makes perfect.