Give Your Smoothies a Protein Boost

Give your Smoothie a Protein Boost

Protein Benefits Your Mind and Gives an Energy Boost

Healthy smoothies

Whether it is a hot summer's day, or you are looking for something quick and easy to make, smoothies are always enjoyable. With little time to make and only needing the bare minimum ingredients, you can make smoothies your way within minutes. All you need is:

  • Ice or frozen berries
  • Yogurt (optional)
  • A liquid to blend your mixture (apple juice, water, milk, etc.)
  • A blender 
  • Most importantly, the fruit or vegetable you are blending for your drink.

The top concern is that some smoothies don’t provide enough protein and sugar. If you love smoothies, you will learn about the reasons to add more protein to your smoothies and the types of proteins commonly used in them.

Reasons to add protein to your smoothies.

Now, why should you add protein to your smoothies? This is a good question some may have; after all, when we drink smoothies, many of us do it because it's either a hot day and sounds good or because we want to have a drink rather than a heavy meal at a particular time. Although this may be the case for some, others will grab a smoothie intending for it to be their meal, only to find themselves hungry again a few hours later. In mentioning this, this leads us to the top three reasons why you should consider adding protein to your smoothies.

1) Adding protein makes smoothies more satisfying. This is interesting to consider because when you are drinking a smoothie in general, you would think that it is satisfying enough with all the flavor you get as you drink it. However, adding protein can cause you to have a thicker drink, so you take your time drinking it.

2) Adding protein to your smoothie can make you feel fuller. Now, this has to be a lie right? But, as odd as it sounds, adding protein to your smoothies will allow you to feel fuller and make it so that you don’t need to eat anything else for a time. In addition, this makes it so that your body can digest what it has taken. 

3) Finally, like chocolate milk is used at times, it can help you with muscle recovery after a hard workout. It seems contradictory since many of us tend to exercise to lose weight and detox from our sugar intake. But it turns out that by adding protein to smoothies that you drink after working out you are taking in nutrients from the protein to help your muscles recover from the workout.

Proteins to add to your smoothies

Now adding protein powders may be the first thing that comes to mind when we talk about adding protein to our smoothies, but this isn’t the only option that there is at all. This may surprise some of you, but you already may know for others. Protein powder can become expensive and a hassle to get regularly, so you should consider these protein add-ins for your smoothie that you can buy at any of your local grocery stores. As you finish reading, you will learn about a few different proteins that can be added to your smoothies without the use of protein powders at all.

Nuts

If you are allergic to nuts, you will want to avoid adding the following to your smoothies to add protein. But if this doesn’t apply to you, here are a few nuts to consider adding to your smoothies that will make them more filling and protein, including peanuts, cashews, or almonds. Some of you might decide to combine all three types of nuts, although we aren’t saying that you should or that it is necessary to add them all together. 

When adding nuts to your smoothies, we recommend you pick one to try and see how you like it. If you do not want the smoothie you have with that particular nut blended in, proceed on to try another. You will never completely know what type of nut mixed into your favorite smoothie tastes the best without some trial and error. So again, as mentioned in the beginning, if you are allergic to nuts or a particular type of nut, please continue reading to see what other items can be added as proteins to your smoothies. And remember to proceed with caution as you try adding nuts as protein to your smoothies.

Smoothies protein
I spy with my little eye a mouthwatering smoothie made with almonds. Aside from looking delicious, it has the extra protein boost to keep you full! Image courtesy of simple green smoothies.

Bee pollen

Next, let’s get into bee pollen. Now, wait a minute, isn’t bee pollen used to make honey? If you ask this, yes, you are right. You can also purchase pollen for your smoothies. If you haven’t heard of bee pollen, it holds properties that help energize your body and can help those with allergies. 

Now when adding it to your smoothies, you don’t want to be too heavy-handed with the amount that you add in the beginning because, like many foods or products that your body may not be used to, it takes time and patience to allow yourself to become used to consuming it little by little. As you begin to notice your energy levels become more stable, you will also start to see how it takes less and less of your smoothie to become full, as the protein in bee pollen helps to fill you up faster.

Bee pollen in smoothies
And a spoonful of pollen will make your energy go up. Just a spoon full of pollen will make you feel full of energy! Image courtesy of natural hormone healing.

Soy Protein

Now, we all know that soy is a type of bean that we grow and use as a substitute for several products that would otherwise use dairy. But what is soy protein? Soy protein is the protein we can isolate from the soybeans and create a powder. Then, like other protein powders, you can add soy protein into your smoothies, and they become more filling and more beneficial.

Smoothies with soy
It is interesting how we can isolate soy protein from these beans and how the powder it creates can provide our bodies with protein and keep us full. Image courtesy of green queen.

Now it’s your turn!

Now that you have learned why adding proteins to your smoothies can be beneficial, it is time to try it. Keep in mind that it may take some trial and error before you find a smoothie that works best for your smoothie needs. However, don’t allow yourself to become discouraged, as you will find something that works best for you over time.