Tips to Create The Best Protein-Rich Smoothies
Who doesn’t love a brightly colored glass of smoothie? Protein smoothies are a quintessential breakfast or pre- or post-workout food as well as a nutritious and low-sugar dessert. These wonderful shakes can pack quite a punch since they are super high in proteins, fiber, and vitamins.
The best part is that these mouthwatering drink can be made takes just a single minute to make!
How to Make a High-Protein Smoothie
Making a fun and healthy protein smoothie is very simple. A thing to remember is that it is essential to have a minimally-processed, low-sugar protein powder that does not have artificial flavors or colors and has a lot of good taste.
To make a simple smoothie, just blend in your choice of non-dairy milk, fruit, and a scoop of protein powder or protein source. The result is a thick and smooth drink that contains the nutrition of a full meal.
Adding Super Food In Your Smoothie
If you want to level up your smoothie, adding a few super foods into the drink not just evolves the taste and texture but you also get some science-backed benefits. There are plenty of other yummy ingredients you can use to add protein to your smoothie:
- Hemp seed
- Cacao
- Goji berry
- Matcha
- Nut butter like peanut butter or almond butter
- Chia seeds
- Flax seeds
- Oatmeal
Non-Dairy Milk to Use
Some people are not able to stomach dairy milk. Regardless whether you are lactose intolerant or have ethical views, there are plenty of delicious options for non-dairy milk you can use in your smoothie. These include:
- Almond milk
- Coconut milk
- Rice milk
- Cashew milk
- Hemp milk
- Soy milk
Fruit That Make the Best Tasting Protein Smoothies
The best thing about smoothies is that it only requires ingredients that are usually present in your home, including common fruit. To make your smoothie more fun, you can take any one of the fruit below, freeze it, and then blend it.
- Banana
- Strawberry
- Blueberry
- Raspberry
- Mango
- Pineapple
- Melon
Some of the favorite non-fruit ingredients you can add in protein shakes are spinach, cucumber, and avocado.
Easy-Peasy Protein Smoothie Recipes
The possibilities for super-fun and healthy protein smoothies are endless:
1. Pina Colada Smoothie
All you need is:
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 frozen banana
- 1 cup frozen pineapples
- 1 tbsp coconut shreds
- 1 scoop Elevate Vanilla Milkshake Protein Powder
Blend away!
2. The PB&J Protein Smoothie
All you need is:
- 1 1cup oat milk
- 2 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 cup frozen strawberries
- 1 scoop Elevate Vanilla Milkshake Protein Powder
Blend away!
3. Chocolate Banana-Berry Smoothie
All you need is:
- 1 cup vanilla almond milk
- 1 frozen banana
- 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
- 3 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 scoop Elevate Chocolate Brownie Protein Powder
- Chocolate chip for garnishing (optional)
4. Coconut + Peanut Butter Smoothie
All you need is:
- 1 ½ cups coconut milk
- 1 tbsp almond butter or peanut butter
- 1 banana
- 1/4 shredded coconut
- 1 scoop Elevate Chocolate Brownie Protein Powder
Blend away!
5. Green Pineapple Smoothie
All you need is:
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 cup pineapple chunks, frozen or fresh
- 1 cup spinach
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
- 1 scoop Elevate Vanilla Milkshake Protein Powder
Blend away!
6. Purple-Power Blueberry Smoothie
All you need is:
- 1 cup almond milk
- ½ cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
- ½ cup avocado
- 2 tsp chia seeds
- 1 scoop Elevate Vanilla Milkshake Protein Powder
Blend away!
Healthy Tips for High-Protein Smoothies
To make sure your smoothie is super-healthy, keep these things in mind:
- Use unsweetened non-dairy milk as it is low in empty calories and high in protein, vitamin, and minerals
- Your blender will work the best if you load liquid at the bottom, fresh fruit or veggies on top of it, greens over that and frozen fruit on the very top. You may also add protein powder at the very top.
- If your smoothie is too sweet, add some lemon juice. If it is too bitter, add banana, orange, or pineapple.
- If you want to make your smoothie sweeter and kid-friendly, natural honey or maple syrup are good substitutes for sugar.
- Very ripe bananas make sweeter smoothies.
Are Protein Shakes Healthy
If you use the right ingredients, smoothies are super-healthy:
- Do not add grocery store juices to your smoothie. These have added sugars, colors, and artificial additives. Use fresh fruit and unsweetened milk of your choice. The best choices are almond milk, coconut milk, soy milk, and hemp milk.
- You can add avocado, nut butters, or coconut-milk yogurt to get healthy fats, antioxidants and protein.
- Add cinnamon, maple syrup or agave as sweeteners.
- A couple of handful of spinach or kale in your smoothie can add extra nutrients.
The possibilities for making fun and healthy smoothies are endless. Aside from consuming them at home, you can also send your kids to the school with a smoothie to give them an extra boost of protein and vitamin.
Written By: Elevate Founders, Jillian Salomone and Paul Salomone
