Since February 5th, I have started an exercise and nutrition program and I’m loving it! Along with that, I started using protein powder in smoothies and my breakfast oatmeal, now turned Porridge -one of the program creators is from Scotland 🙂 I had been realizing by making an effort to balance my macros, I had not been getting enough protein. Macros, short for macronutrients are carbs, fats and proteins. I use fitness pal to log my meals and stay within my macros. I have mine set at 40% protein, 30% fat and 30% carbs.
This is especially important when you are doing strength training. I found a protein powder that works for me, it may not be the best but I love it and it helps make the smoothies thicker. The one I use is Quest Vanilla Milkshake- yum! I find that vanilla is more versatile in all the smoothies I make.
If you are not into smoothies but want to get your protein in shake form, you might want to try Rockin’ Refuel, in the muscle builder formula. This is also recommended by bariatric surgeons in which their patients are told to make sure they are getting enough protein daily.
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Let’s be honest, the type of smoothie I go for more often is a Chocolate Dream Breakfast Smoothie. In these I put the following:
- Handful of Spinach- I get a big bag of baby spinach in the salad/produce area and I recently read that it freezes great too. It will just break easily so beware of that when taking it out of the bag each use. I put that in first.
- Handful of Blueberries- I either add frozen or fresh
- Banana- A whole or half, this is key! This flavor changes everything! Ever hear that puréed frozen banana makes good ice cream, same key here- it helps make it creamy.
- 1 scoop of Protein Powder- one scoop of your choice. Again, I use Quest Vanilla Milkshake. You decide, sometimes with protein powder it’s trial and error.
- 1 tablespoon of Unsweetened Cocoa (or Cacao) Powder- I hardly ever used up my cocoa powder, hmm now I do! Never knew Hershey’s Unsweetened Cocoa Powder was acceptable lol. Check out the back label, awesome!
- 1 tablespoon of Peanut Butter- Again you choose your brand. I use JIF natural, it may not be the best choice but I’m a JIF girl. I also bought the store brand Organic powdered peanut butter but sometimes I add the JIF because I want some extra creaminess.
- Water- I eyeball this. Again, depends how thick you want it. But it does need some liquid to get everything nice and mixed up.
- Add anything else you want. now would be the time to add a powdered probiotic, Collagen peptide that the blogger world is talking about, etc. I add Chia Seeds which are great for you but I recently heard that you need to watch these because they’re fattening- hmm. I need to read up more on that.
Give it a good whirl. I use the KitchenSmith Personal Blender by Bella. Since at the beginning of my program I wasn’t sure how much I would love smoothies, I decided not to spend a lot of money on one. I wanted something easy to blend up my smoothies in when I am in the morning rush on my work days. I opted for a personal blender. I thought it would be quieter- it’s not but it does the job. I can blend in the cup, put a lid on it and put it in my lunch bag. It comes with two sizes. As an added bonus it can also grind coffee beans, nuts, cheese, etc with another attachment. I also have my old blender on standby if I ever needed it. Click the picture at the end of the post to take you to the page you can order or find out more information on it…
Another smoothie I like is a berry one~
- Handful of each type of berry you would like to use. For this one I used and berry mix of blueberry,raspberry and blackberry
- Handful of spinach
- 1/2to 1 cup of nonfat yogurt or Greek yogurt
- 1 tsp of honey
- Water- again I eyeball this.
Give it a good whirl.
My toddler has tried these and loves them. Of course with anything, he doesn’t finish a whole cup full but it is also a great way for the kids to get their fruits and veggies in!
Give it a try! And I encourage you to start a fitness program if you haven’t already! I have been so encouraged by the program I am doing and have seen results! I use to workout a ton before I got married but ever since then it was hard to stick to a plan and now I have been and I am starting to get addicted to working out!
Do you drink smoothies? Tell me which ones you love in the comments!
Click picture below if you would like to order or learn more about the personal blender…
