There are several ways to go about blending your perfect post-workout protein shake. You want to be sure your shake is providing you with the right balance of calories, protein and energy boost. But you also don’t want to be stuck drinking the same bland shake day after day! Let’s go over some typical ingredients for a protein shake, and then look at some ways that we can spruce up the traditional recipe to create something with a bit more excitement and a lot more flavour.
First off, you’ll need to use some type of whey powder. There are lots of different brands that sell protein or whey powder, so take your time while shopping around to choose which one is best for you. The recipes we’ve come up with use a variety of flavoured protein powders, so switching flavours each time you buy a new tub of whey powder will help inject more variety into your shakes.
There are some of the key ingredients that can be added to a protein shake in varying quantities to provide you with a large repertoire of shake recipe.
- Whey powder (available in a variety of flavours) – Required
- Fresh or frozen fruits (my favourites: bananas, raspberries, blueberries) – Required
- Fat-free plain or fruit flavoured yogurt – Required
- Non-fat milk, almond milk, strawberry almond milk – Recommended
- Ice (crushed) – Recommended
- Peanut butter – Recommended
- Hazelnut spread – Optional
Once you’ve got your hands on the required ingredients above, you’re ready to start mixing and matching until you find your favourite flavor of shake. To get you started, we’ve already tested out a bunch of delicious combinations:
The Basic Shake:
- 1-2 scoops vanilla whey powder
- ½ cup plain fat-free yogurt
- 1 banana
- ½ cup strawberries
- ¼ cup non-fat milk
The Upgrade:
- 1-2 scoops chocolate whey powder
- ½ cup Strawberry yogurt
- 1 banana
- ¼ cup blueberries
- ¼ cup almond milk (any flavour)
- 1 tbsp. peanut butter
Berry Blitz:
- 1-2 scoops vanilla whey powder
- ½ cup mixed berry yogurt
- ¼ cup strawberries
- ¼ cup blueberries
- ¼ cup raspberries
- ¼ cup strawberry almond milk
Strawberry Fields:
- 1-2 scoops strawberry whey powder
- ½ cup strawberry yogurt
- ½ cup strawberries
- ¼ cup strawberry almond milk
- 1 tbsp. hazelnut spread
Reese’s Pieces:
- 1-2 scoops chocolate whey powder
- ½ cup plain non-fat yogurt
- ½ cup chocolate almond milk
- 2 tbsp. peanut butter
- 1 tbsp. hazelnut spread
- Crushed ice
*If you’re using fresh fruits instead of frozen, you should include crushed ice to cool down and thicken the protein shake. If you’re using a combination or fresh and frozen or just frozen, I’d add less ice or just skip on it unless it’s a particularly hot summer day as ice can be difficult to blend.
