Protein Smoothies
I love protein shakes. It hasn’t always been that way though. I’ve tried a lot of nasty tasting protein powders. Some of them tasted more like chalk than chocolate, others tasted like they should be fueling your car instead of your body. Blech! Having said that, I have done a bit (okay, a lot) of experimenting to find my favorite combinations of fruits and veggies to add my protein to. The end result was yummy tasting smoothies that covered up the taste of my nasty protein powder. (Don’t worry, I have since found a much better protein powder that is yummy just mixed with water.)
I was cleaning out a drawer in the kitchen the other day and ran across all of my concoctions. I thought I’d share the love. Below you’ll find the recipes, try them out and decide which ones are your favorites. For all shake recipes the directions are the same. Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy!
Chocolate-Peanut Butter (my favorite)
- 1 cup milk, soy milk or rice milk
- 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
- 1 Tbs all natural peanut butter
- 1/2 banana
- 1/2 cup carrots
- 4-5 ice cubes
Chocolate Raspberry Bliss
- 1 cup milk, soy milk or rice milk
- 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
- 2/3 cup raspberries, washed
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground flax seed
- 1 tbs wheat germ
- 4-5 ice cubes
Chocolate Cherry Cheer
- 1 cup milk, soy milk or rice milk
- 1 cup spinach, washed
- 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
- 1/2 cup frozen cherries
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1-3 ice cubes
Nilla-Berry
- 1 cup milk, soy milk or rice milk
- 1/2 cup cooked beets
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
- 3/4 cup frozen berries
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Strawberry Sunrise
- 1 cup soy milk (I really like the very vanilla from Silk)
- 1 cup spinach (I know what you’re thinking…just trust me)
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- 1/2 cup strawberries (washed)
- 1/2 banana
Tropical Yumminess
- 1 cup water, milk, soy milk or rice milk
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
- 1/2 cup carrots
- 1/4 cup frozen mango chunks
- 1/4 cup frozen pineapple chunks
- 1/2 tsp coconut extract
- 2 large strawberries (washed)
Pina-Colada Pleaser
- 1 cup very vanilla soy milk
- 1 cup washed spinach
- 1/2 cup fresh pineapple
- 1/2 tsp coconut extract
- 1 tsp flaked coconut
So there ya have it….a good blend (no pun intended) of nutritious foods that makes a great way to start your day. But don’t limit protein smoothies to breakfast, they are also a good way to get your energy up if you’re feeling a bit sluggish in the early afternoon.