My Favorite Macro Balanced Smoothie

 

A smoothie is an easy way to get a little bit of extra protein in your day, And adding it in around your workout can help with muscle gains! Until recently I really tried to get that protein within 20 minutes after a weightlifting workout. We’re beginning to find that it’s ok before as well!  And anything that makes it more convenient to get what you need is a good thing.

The catch with smoothies is that it is super easy to fall into a sugar trap. People often load their smoothies with fruit. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to vilify fruit, but if you are trying to watch your sugar/protein balance it’s suuuper easy to overdo the fruit/sugar. 

Of course even a fruit laden smoothie is a healthier choice than a snickers bar, juice, or even a sweetened yogurt, but when a smoothie is carb and sugar heavy it may wipe out some of the benefits that you’re shooting for.

Why High Protein Smoothies?

• Higher protein is good for muscle building, weight loss, energy, sustained blood sugar and preventing inflammation.

• It’s an easy peasy meal.

• It’s super refreshing.

• It’s a healthy meal choice!

My Staple Smoothie Recipe

Please note you may have to get used to the less sweet taste. Trust me, it will happen pretty quickly!
Also, of course feel free to mess around with the recipe and/but if you’re shooting for balanced macros make sure to plug in the changes so it’s in line with what you’re shooting for. 🙂Screen Shot 2015-03-29 at 1.12.36 PM

  • 1/2 banana OR 1/2 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)- you can leave this out for an even higher protein:carb ratio
  • 1 cup unsweetened nut or seed milk (I like Pacific brand vanilla hemp milk and Califa almond-coconut best.)
  • 2 tsp chia seeds or 1 TBSP ground flax seeds (or both!)
  • 1 TBSP almond butter or peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 30 g of protein from protein powder: organic whey protein if you eat dairy, pea protein, veg protein or egg white protein or hydrolyzed collagen protein. Click here and scroll to the bottom for the brands I tend to use. Click here for a blog post on protein powders.
  • Ice and additional water to taste and texture (ice can really hide the protein powder texture!)
  • Spinach or other dark greens to taste. Put in as much as you can stand! If you’re using kale make sure to strip the leaves off of the stems. And note that spinach is easier to blend in if you don’t have a power blender like a Vitamix. You can get 3-4 handfuls in before you even notice a change in the taste!
  • Other optional add-ins: 1 tsp spirulina, local bee pollen, acidophilus powder, ground flax seeds, avocado if you’re trying to get your calories up.

The Nutritional Profile

Here is the nutritional profile (calculated in My Fitness Pal) for this recipe with and without the banana. If you use blueberries instead of banana it’s the same profile just 2 g lower for the carbs. Note also I chose different almond butters by happenstance in putting these recipes in, and there is a small difference in calories on the almond butter. It’s always good to double check the nutritional panel when you’re tracking food!

 

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And no thank you, I would not like to submit this recipe to the MyFitnessPal recipe database!

Enjoy,

Dr-Samantha-Signature-siggy

 

 

My Favorite Pre-workout, Post-workout, or Anytime Smoothie

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