For those of you who are concerned with getting enough protein in your smoothies to balance all the carbs, I want to give you some options. I’m a recovering vegan (jumped off the vegan wagon a few years back and now I’m back) so I’ve been asked for years and years “What about protein?”. I think the need for protein has been blown out of proportion. But let me digress…I’ll post about that another time.
Protein sources you can use in your smoothies:
- Plain Soy Milk
- Greek Natural, Plain Yogurt
- Plain Whey Protein Powder
- Plain Yogurt – Look for brands with as little sugar as possible. Stay away from artificial sweeteners.
- Raw nuts and seeds like almonds and cashews (soak them first for 2 hours to 24 hours)
- Soy Protein Powder
- Tofu (Silken is the best for smoothies in my opinion)
- Brown Rice Protein
- Hemp Protein
Adding protein can help keep your blood sugar balanced. Buy plain protein powder that is as natural as possible. You can bring in sweetness with other ingredients like fruit, cocoa powder, stevia and honey.
Today’s Recipes
Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie – (Add a few ice cubes if you want a cool version)
- 1 cup unsweetened soy milk or almond milk
- 1 ripe banana
- 2 tbsp peanut butter, no sugar added
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp agave nectar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 scoop plain protein powder of your choice
PinaCo Protein Smoothie
- 1 1/2 cups pineapple (frozen or fresh)
- 1 apple
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 scoop of plain protein powder (half of what would be a normal scoop)
- 1 ripe banana
- 1 orange
Tofu Strawberry Smoothie
- 1/2 box soft/silken tofu
- 2 cups frozen strawberries
- 1 ripe banana
- 1 cup unsweetened soy milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp agave nectar
- 1 cup ice
Laura B. says
Hello. Where can I find agave nectar. At a regular supermarket or a specialty food store like WholeFoods?
ajima says
Laura, Yes at Whole Foods, Wegmans. I’ve seen it in some Safeways. You can also buy it from an online health food store.
Shelia says
Hello … Question the 9 day smoothie challenge .. Are the smoothie the only thing we are drinking and water… or is it a meal replacement ..
ajima says
We are doing a minimum of 2 smoothies per day, but other than that it depends on your personal eating and calorie goals. You may have 1 meal and 2 smoothies and snacks. You may have 2 meals and 2 smoothies. It depends on you how much you eat outside of the smoothies.
Shelia says
Thanks
Cynthia says
HI, If you have a Costco membership you can find agave there. You can also purchase some almond milk and other ingredients for smoothies in bulk so you wont to go back & forth to the store & be tempted to purchase other (tempting) items.
Traci L. says
I’m allergic to peanuts, so instead of the peanut butter, I’ll use 2 tbsp of sun butter. I bet it will be just as tasty. Thanks for the protein recipes.
Wanda says
I don’t use dairy, so I use almonds to make nut milk for my smoothies. You soak 1 cup of almonds overnight and rinse the water off. I then blend the plumped up almonds in 3 cups of water. It makes about 20oz of nut milk. I use half per smoothie. By the way, Brazil nuts or excellent and so are cashews for making nut milks.
For protein, I use spirulina or chlorella, hemp seed protein, and maca powder. I order these from online stores that specialize in raw and organic foods (David Wolfe, Matt Monarch, Raw Power, etc)
I naturally sweeten my smoothies with Medjool dates. I usually will chop up 2-3 medium-large size dates. They always sweeten my smoothies. Sometimes I use figs or raisins, if I run out of dates.
I like to use either two handfuls of spinach, parsley, collards, or kale for the greens in my smoothies.
I also like to add organic coconut oil to my smoothie. (So many benefits from coconut oil.)
Oh, I love cold smoothies, so I always use 2 frozen bananas in my smoothies. The bananas make the smoothie taste like a milk shake. So, heavenly! Oh. avocadoes will do the same thing. Drink to your health!