If you haven’t jumped on the smoothie bandwagon, jump on it! Smoothies are an excellent way to get some really dense nutrition into a small package. There are endless smoothie concoctions to satisfy everyone’s tastes whether it is sweet or savory. Smoothies are a great way to add dark leafy greens to your diet without even tasting them! Just sneak them into your kid’s smoothies and they will never know they are eating healthy veggies! Smoothies are also a great way to bulk up on extra nutrition by adding powdered supplements, dietary fiber, healthy fats like coconut oil, avocado, nuts and nut butters, and seeds such as hemp, chia, and flax. By adding spices like turmeric, cinnamon, and ginger you boost your immune system because spices are full of antioxidants as well as all kinds of fruits.
One great way to add fruit is to freeze it first. This turns your smoothie into an ice cold thick shake! You don’t even have to peel your apples when you cut them up. There is a lot of nutrients in the skin of that apple! You can easily freeze berries right in their container. Just make sure they are completely dry after you wash them.
Smoothies are great for someone on the go. You can put all the ingredients into the blender the night before and in the morning all you have to do is blend and go!
You can use many types of liquid in your smoothie. Any type of milk, juice, water, coffee, tea…. use your imagination!
Smoothies are a great way to get extra protein into your diet. Choose a high quality protein powder made from natural ingredients and watch out for added sugar. If you add fruit to your smoothie, you may not need to add any sweetener. You can also substitute yogurt for the protein powder. Yogurt contains calcium too!
Sweeteners like honey, agave, and natural sugars are fine, but they do add lots of calories and aren’t good for people who have blood sugar problems. Natural sweeteners like stevia are a good choice and won’t affect your blood sugar.
Here are some of my favorite protein smoothie recipes. I hope you enjoy them. Feel free to use cold coffee or use a teaspoon of instant coffee, cold chai tea, to add an extra depth of flavor! Don’t forget to add dark leafy greens too. Yum!
Milk of choice or a combo of milk and coffee, tea, or chai tea
1/2-1 Cup frozen fruit such as banana chunks (half of a banana) strawberries, blueberries or a combo
Chocolate or vanilla protein powder
A big handful of dark leafy greens
Milk of choice
Chocolate protein powder
Peppermint extract (a few drops)
Tastes like chocolate mint ice cream!
Milk of choice or a combo of milk and cold India Spiced chai tea (brew the night before and put it into the refrigerator)
Frozen apple chunks
Cinnamon
Vanilla protein powder
Tastes like apple pie!
Freeze canned pumpkin in an ice cube tray and add a few chunks to your smoothie
Milk of choice
Vanilla protein powder
Pumpkin Pie Spice or use some cinnamon and nutmeg
Tastes like pumpkin pie!
Frozen cherries
milk of choice or a combo of milk and coffee (or use a teaspoon of instant coffee with the milk)
Chocolate or vanilla protein powder
Milk of choice
Frozen pineapple chunks
A few drops of natural coconut extract
Vanilla protein powder
Tastes like a Pina Colada!
Milk of choice
Peanut butter powder (unsweetened)
Frozen banana chunks
Chocolate or vanilla protein powder
For a more savory smoothie
Milk of choice
Neutral tasting protein powder
Big handful of dark leafy greens
Half of a ripe avocado
A little sweetener (optional)
A TBSP almond butter
1 tsp each of cinnamon, turmeric, and ginger powder
The recipes are endless! Play around with them and have fun with the different flavors you can come up with!
One great way to add fruit is to freeze it first. This turns your smoothie into an ice cold thick shake! You don’t even have to peel your apples when you cut them up. There is a lot of nutrients in the skin of that apple! You can easily freeze berries right in their container. Just make sure they are completely dry after you wash them.
Smoothies are great for someone on the go. You can put all the ingredients into the blender the night before and in the morning all you have to do is blend and go!
You can use many types of liquid in your smoothie. Any type of milk, juice, water, coffee, tea…. use your imagination!
Smoothies are a great way to get extra protein into your diet. Choose a high quality protein powder made from natural ingredients and watch out for added sugar. If you add fruit to your smoothie, you may not need to add any sweetener. You can also substitute yogurt for the protein powder. Yogurt contains calcium too!
Sweeteners like honey, agave, and natural sugars are fine, but they do add lots of calories and aren’t good for people who have blood sugar problems. Natural sweeteners like stevia are a good choice and won’t affect your blood sugar.
Here are some of my favorite protein smoothie recipes. I hope you enjoy them. Feel free to use cold coffee or use a teaspoon of instant coffee, cold chai tea, to add an extra depth of flavor! Don’t forget to add dark leafy greens too. Yum!
Smoothie Recipes
Coffee Berry Greens
Mint Chocolate Smoothie
Chai Tea Vanilla Smoothie
Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
Cherry Protein Smoothie
Tropical Smoothie
PB Banana Smoothie
Green Smoothie
The recipes are endless! Play around with them and have fun with the different flavors you can come up with!
