I’ve been making protein shakes for six years.I used to buy all sorts of fruits and liquids and would mix in crazy amounts of powder in search of the perfect taste and texture.
I’ve since simplified my recipe to what I think is the perfect shake. And I don’t have a professional blender, either. If it was up to me, I would have bought one. But see, my wife is not only beautiful, she’s smart.
When I wanted to buy a new blender, I started looking at the $400 level. She’s smarter than to fall for just price. A quick look at online reviews shows that this Kitchen Aid model crushes all of the $400 blenders and is 1/4 of the price.
So that’s what we have.
Into the blender goes eight ounces of vanilla-flavored almond milk with one overflowing cup of frozen blueberries. I used to use vanilla rice milk, but I prefer my shakes thick and find that the almond milk creates a thicker end product. I also like wild blueberries, they’re smaller and sweeter than the larger ones.
From there, I add three heaping tablespoons of protein powder. I love the Nutiva Hemp powder, I’ve been using it from the beginning. I used to use the triple berry, but they no longer make it, so I’m stuck with the vanilla – which is actually really good.
This mixture gets blended for about three minutes, but since the blueberries are start out frozen, it sometimes takes a little longer.
From there, I add two scoops of Hammer Recoverite (they include a scoop in each package) and a banana. I love the chocolate Recoverite. I started adding this powder after an injury last year when my body guy told me about it. He thought I needed more electrolytes in my system after the awful long summer runs and recommended Hammer products. Who am I to argue?
I pour the whole thing into a large glass and then sit in front of the computer obsessing over the Garmin file I just uploaded to Strava.
I end up with 400 calories that includes 40 grams of protein and carbs, a great electrolyte mix (Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Chromium, Sodium, Potassium, and Chloride) and it tastes like dessert – blueberry/banana/chocolate, how can you go wrong?
