Now that flip-flop season is in full swing, you can give your blender a hard day’s work. Done right, smoothies won’t just help you beat the heat; they will also fill your body with the nutrients you need to get back to your workout or jump start your day. That is why they have become the heroes of many gym brothers.
Smoothies, or protein shakes if that’s your preferred lexicon, are one of the easiest and most versatile things to make. But some missteps can quickly derail what should be a nutritious and equally delicious muscle-building drink. Done wrong, a blender drink can go from nutritional hero to problem child.
Here’s how to make a better smoothie from the blades up.
How Many Calories Should a Protein Shake Have?
If you’re crushing calories through your training, it’s perfectly acceptable to take in a few extra calories. But you should still be aware of how much energy your daily smoothie delivers; it may surprise you. A few tablespoons of peanut butter, two tablespoons of protein powder, and full-fat yogurt can add up to a large calorie load. This is very important because liquid calories are less filling than solid ones, so 500 calories from a smoothie won’t suppress your appetite like 500 calories from solid food. In general, a smoothie should have no more than 400 calories with a little wiggle room if you swallow it as a meal or immediately after a calorie-suppressing warrior workout.
Why Bananas Might Not Be the Best Smoothie Ingredient
It’s understandable why bananas are a favorite smoothie ingredient for many people. They mix into drinks easily, add sweetness, and help make smoothies creamy—especially if you use frozen bananas—and they’re inexpensive compared to other fruits. But there can be a dark side to using them in your blender drinks.
Researchers at the University of California, Davis, found that adding bananas to smoothies containing berries can significantly reduce the body’s ability to absorb flavanol antioxidants found in a variety of foods, including blueberries, blackberries, grapes and even cocoa. Flavanols are naturally occurring plant compounds that have been linked to a number of health benefits such as improved heart function. The problem is that bananas have high levels of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, which can significantly reduce the amount of flavanols your body absorbs. Who knew?
The problem isn’t that bananas are an unhealthy ingredient in your protein shake. The bottom line is that bananas may not be the best choice if you want to increase the essential flavanols you drink in a blended drink. Fruits with low polyphenol oxidase activity include pineapples, oranges, and mangoes.
How to Balance Protein, Carbs, and Healthy Fats in a Smoothie
A well-made smoothie should be macro-balanced and not limited to protein or carbs. That means you want to hit on ingredients that give you a healthy amount of all three macronutrients. So fruits, vegetables, dried fruits, and oats for carbs; things like flax, hemp seeds, nut butters or avocado for healthy fats, and yogurt, protein powder, highly filtered milk, or cottage cheese for muscle building. Now that’s a recipe for a satisfying drink.
Choosing the Best Protein Powder for Your Shake
Skim the label on almost any protein powder and you’re bound to find a few non-protein ingredients. Namely, emulsifiers—food additives found everywhere including gums that are now found in most protein powders. This is added to help improve the way powders mix with liquids and increase shelf life. But it’s concerning to see research suggesting that high exposure to these food additives can damage the microbiome, and increase the risk of health conditions including diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers.
It probably doesn’t matter if the only emulsifiers you’re eating are from a scoop or two of protein powder, but maybe if you’re eating them from other foods like protein bars, salad dressings, and bread then you might be heading into the emulsifier red zone. Fortunately, you can find protein powder brands that have these additives mixed into some of their products. These include Drink Wholesome, Nutritional Nutrition, Equip and Momentous. It can be difficult to find plant-based protein powders that are not made with emulsifiers.
Add a pinch of salt to Recovery Smoothies
It’s a good idea not to go overboard with your salt intake, but adding a handful of white crystals to your recovery smoothies can serve a purpose beyond just making them tastier. The sodium in salt can help retain water, which, in turn, helps with rehydration efforts after a sweaty workout. Water likes to follow sodium, the electrolyte in salt. The more you sweat, the more you can benefit from post-workout sodium intake. You don’t need much; one 1/8 teaspoon added to the smoothie mix should be enough. Remember that if you’re mixing ingredients that contain salt, like cottage cheese, you probably don’t need to add any more.
The Best Vegetables to Add to Protein Shakes
We tend to overlook that smoothies can be a sneaky way to eat more vegetables, something many guys need to eat more of. And certainly the easiest way to prepare for use. Everything from spinach to cauliflower to carrots to cooked beets can work well in a protein shake. You can even use frozen vegetables for this purpose, making the whole process easier and giving your smoothies an icy edge. Perhaps mixing green vegetables into smoothies makes them even more nutritious.
Research in a journal Food Chemistry determined that cleaning green spinach can cause more antioxidants to be released from the leaves. And when paired with flavorful ingredients like frozen berries, spices, and cocoa powder, it won’t make your shake taste like a salad. Of course, this won’t work if your idea of a smoothie is simply protein powder and water thrown into a shaker cup.
How Excess Sugar Can Turn a Healthy Smoothie into a Calorie Bomb
Fruit, honey, dates, juices and unsweetened non-sweetened milk can all combine into a blender drink that’s not too far from liquid candy. In general, aim to combine items that contain more than two sugars, even if those sugars are naturally occurring, such as in fresh fruit. The truth is, fruits should provide almost all the necessary pleasure. If you mix in yogurt or non-dairy milk like almond or soy, be sure to use unsweetened varieties.
Health Benefits of Adding Spices to Smoothies
What’s the best way to make a smoothie way more fun to drink? Move the spice drawer. Not only can spices like cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and even a little cayenne transform a smoothie from meh to wow, but they’re also an amazing source of concentrated antioxidants that can give your creamy drink a big boost. Now how easy was that?
Berry Cheesecake Smoothie Recipe
Not only is this protein-packed drink tasty enough for dessert, it follows our guidelines for making a smoothie of your choice.
- 3/4 cup milk of choice
- 3/4 cup of cottage cheese
- 1 teaspoon vanilla or plain protein powder
- 1 tablespoon of almond butter
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon of ginger powder
- 3/4 cup frozen blueberries or blackberries
Place all ingredients in a blender in the order listed and blend until smooth.
