How to Make a Protein Shake or Smoothie

Shakes and smoothies may be the simplest and most effective way to supplement your diet with protein and other essential nutrients that you may be missing out on throughout your day.

The good news is, there are no skills or prerequisites to making a smoothie. That's right, you can be wholly inept in the kitchen and still manage to fix yourself a great tasting and nutritious smoothie. If you can put things in a blender, you're good to go.

The following are 4 simple steps to creating an effective smoothie. Don't be afraid to get creative and stray from the lists of ingredients provided. Smoothies are a great way to consume foods that you wouldn't normally, but should, consume (i.e. probiotics, kale, spinach). When you start to look at smoothies as simply a vehicle for healthy foods you'll find fun new ways to balance both nutrition and taste.

Step 1: Pick a Dairy Free Base

The reason we specifically say "dairy free" is because dairy bases like milk and yogurt are not paleo, but if you can tolerate it, feel free to indulge. For the rest of us, the most commonly used bases to use are coconut milk, almond milk and cashew milk. Most of these come in cartons and at times are filled with gums and other fillers that you want to avoid. If your going for thickness cashew milk and coconut milk are your best bet. Once you've decided which base to use, pour about 1 - 1 1/2 cups of liquid.  

BEST CHOICE: Canned Coconut Milk and Water. Canned coconut milk is the optimal choice in smoothies for 2 reasons: 1) it provides a thick texture that the cartoned milks can't replicate and 2) it's pure coconut milk, loaded with all the healthy fats and has less additives. You only need about a 1/3 cup of this stuff and you can just add water for the remaining liquid.

Step 2: Add Some Ultimate Paleo Protein

Throw in your favorite Ultimate Paleo Protein powder. Both our performance formula and original formula add a nice fluffy texture and perfectly sweet flavor to each smoothie or shake. Simply pick your favorite and add a scoop to the base. Each scoop contains over 23 grams of protein!

TIP: Once you've added both your base and your protein, briefly blend until powder has dissolved. This ensures that the protein powder doesn't spray when the frozen ingredients are added. 

Step 3: Add Some Fruits & Veggies

This is where you can get creative. Pick your favorite flavors and mix and match until you land on something tasty! If you struggle to eat enough veggies throughout the day this is the perfect opportunity to throw in some spinach, kale and other superfood vegetables. You'll find that the vegetables flavors are subtle or almost non-existent (if your skeptical, try our Shamrock Shake).  If you use frozen fruits and veggies the you can add little to no ice at the end. If they are not frozen add 5-6 ice cubes. 

BEST CHOICE: Bananas and avocados go well with just about every flavor. Bananas provide a subtle sweetness while the avocados thicken the shake and are a great source of healthy fats.  

Step 4: Add Some Healthy Boosts

"Healthy Boosts" is simply a general term to refer to any additional ingredient you think might add nutritional value to your shake or smoothie. Don't be afraid to branch out and get creative. If you struggle to get enough probiotics throughout your day, this is a great opportunity to fulfill that need. 

BEST CHOICE: Dynamic Fruits & Greens is like a multivitamin in powder form. It contains over 20 servings of fruits and veggies per scoop! Plus it comes in an assortment of flavors like chocolate, espresso, berry, grape and more. 

Bottom Line

Shakes and smoothies are a super easy way to fill the gaps in your diet. It's the most painless way to make sure you're getting adequate protein, healthy fats and other nutrients. And on top of all that, they taste amazing!

Resources

Smoothie Examples
Shamrock Shake
Every Day Breakfast Smoothie

Products Mentioned
Canned Coconut Milk
Dynamic Greens