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Prep time: 10 min
1 serving should aim for roughly: Carb: 10g, Protein: 20g, Fat: 30g  

A protein shake can be both great tasting and if it includes the right ingredients, a complete Paleo or Keto meal! My husband has been having a Paleo-based protein shake for his breakfast every day for the past 15 years! It’s a great way to start your day. As many of the ingredients are dry, he can even pack shakes to take when we travel – he just adds water.  I recommend trying different protein powders and ingredients until you discover the recipe that works for you. Then, consider adding a protein shake into your weekly (or even daily!) diet.

The general recipe has 5 parts:

• – a liquid (unsweetened almond milk, unsweetened coconut milk);
• – a carb such as vegetable (spinach, kale, green food powder, etc) or berries;
• – a protein powder (we recommend plant-based low-carb Pea Protein powders such as Naked Pea and Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Organic Plant Based Vegan Protein Powder);
• – a fat (coconut cream, coconut oil, nut butter, avocado, etc);
• – a fiber (fiber powder, flax seeds, chia seeds, etc)

Using the template above, the possibilities are endless! The most common one made by my husband is as follows:

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk
• 1 tsp green food powder or 1 firmly pressed cup spinach leaves
• 2 scoops protein powder
• 2 heaping TB coconut oil
• 1 TB flax seeds (whole or ground)
• ice

Looking for the best blender for your shake? I own and recommend the Ninja 1100 Watt, as it’s specifically designed for making smoothies and it comes with 2 smoothie cups so we can make 2 at a time.  My husband makes his in the evening, but leaves the ice out. Then, in the morning, he just adds in the ice; blends it up; and he’s off to work with a complete breakfast! Ninja has many other great blenders here.

FAQs

Protein shakes give me gas – how can I reduce or eliminate this?

You need to chew your shake. What?!?!? Yes, you do. Digestion starts in the mouth when digestive enzymes in our saliva are released during the act of chewing (i.e our jaw going up and down). If you drink your shake (and skip the action of chewing) the gastric juices aren’t released, and the protein powder may not get fully digested, causing gas, bloating and even cramps. Rather than blending all your ingredient, stir in the flax, chia seeds or berries in at the end to create ‘lumps’ that you chew along the way.

I’m still hungry after my post-workout shake – what ingredient am I missing?

You’re missing a little extra carbs and protein in your post-workout meal. Put 1/2 a banana (15g carbs) or 1/2 cup blueberries (10g carbs) in your post-workout shake to replenish your depleted carb reserves, and add another 1/2 scoop of protein powder.

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It doesn’t get any easier than this! Just combine all the ingredients in a blender (I recommend the Ninja), add ice and blend to taste!