How to Enjoy Smoothies Without Getting Fat
Written on December 16, 2012 at 7:28 am, by Eric Cressey
Smoothies are something we utilize all the time with our athletes at Cressey Performance as a means of getting in calories easily. You see, it’s very easy to add 500-1000 calories to a skinny athlete’s diet by just blending up a shake.
Plus, they can be a great way to “sneak in” foods you want an anything to eat. Rather than just having an athlete crush a ready-to-drink shake that’s loaded with not-so-stellar ingredients, you can “hide” things like spinach, fruits, oils, and other ingredients that these athletes might not enjoy by themselves.
That said, I’ll be candid: I am a fat kid at heart. I can put away a ton of food and really don’t need help sneaking in more calories; I’d rather taste all my food. Moreover, I don’t partake in any of our “go-to” CP smoothies simply because I’m a guy who doesn’t need a lot of carbohydrates, so these 80g shakes would go directly to the wrong places, if I was to consume them. Accordingly, I don’t make a lot of fancy shakes – until now.
You see, my buddy Joel Marion just released a recipe e-book called 53 Fat Burning Smoothies and Milkshakes. What I really like about this resource is that it provides higher carb, moderate carb, and – for folks like me – low carb shake recipes. Joel agreed to let me reprint a few of my favorites so that you could try them out, too. You’ll notice that both these shakes are high in fiber and low in carbs – but still bring you back to a few of your childhood favorites: peanut butter and jelly and pumpkin pie.
PB & J Protein Smoothie
Ingredients
2 scoops Biotrust Low Carb Vanilla Protein Powder
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1 tbsp natural peanut butter
5 frozen strawberries
Stevia (to taste)
5 ice cubs
Nutrition Facts
Calories (cal): 384
Fat (g): 15
Carbohydrates (g): 21
Fiber (g): 7
Sugar (g): 8
Protein (g): 43
Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
Ingredients
2 scoops Biotrust Low Carb Vanilla Protein Powder
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Stevia (to taste)
5 ice cubs
Nutrition Facts
Calories (cal): 243
Fat (g): 6
Carbohydrates (g): 22
Fiber (g): 10
Sugar (g): 5
Protein (g): 27
Notes for both shakes: Put all ingredients in a blender and enjoy! These smoothies are great meal replacements to use at any time of day.
If you’re interested in learning more, the good folks at Biotrust (a company Joel co-founded) are making this 53-recipe e-book available – along with a free shaker bottle and free shipping – to anyone who places an order for their low-carb protein powder by the end of the day Monday. Click here for more information.
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December 16th, 2012 at 8:09 am
In my opinion I would have the athlete use grass fed raw milk and Great lakes gelatin powder hydrolyzed, with organic coconut shreds, some grass fed cow butter, stevia, Organic cocoa powder, salt and baking soda.
December 16th, 2012 at 10:50 am
3 scoops Elite Mass Weight Gainer, 2 cups whole milk, a couple of handfulls of frozen mixed berries, a banana
about 900 calories and about 55-60 g of protein.
December 16th, 2012 at 11:41 am
Recipes sound ok, but I have to say to anyone that hasn’t tasted Stevia yet that it is a vile tasting product. Don’t believe the hype.
Nothing touches sugar.
December 16th, 2012 at 3:36 pm
Sounds Great but when I go to the BioTrust website and look at their product, they do not show a label. I am trying to figure out how far a bottle will go (i.e. scoops/weight, etc) for the money. Thank you
December 16th, 2012 at 3:48 pm
B,
Drop them an email; I’m sure they can answer your question better than I can!
http://www.biotrust.com/customer-support/
December 16th, 2012 at 3:49 pm
Caber1,
I haven’t found that to be the case at all. I think it’s better than sucralose and certainly aspartame, both in terms of health implications and taste.
December 16th, 2012 at 3:49 pm
Abe,
Thanks for the contribution!
December 16th, 2012 at 8:13 pm
As far as stevia and any artificial sweetners goes, I will stay with sugar (stay with the devil you know). I feel we don’t have enough information on these other sweetners and how they’re metabolized…..sugar ain’t great but at least we understand it.
December 17th, 2012 at 9:35 am
Eric, (or anyone that wants to chime in):
I work with a high school athlete whose mother will not allow protein supplements (she thinks they are a waste of money and that they go right through you). What would you suggest as a way to work around this besides whole foods obviously. For instance a smoothie option without protein for easier post workout nutrition possibly.
Any help would be appreciated.
December 17th, 2012 at 11:46 am
OK… so isn’t 900 calories per shake the OPPOSITE of the purpose of this article?
99% of fitness enthusiasts would blow up like a tick drinking that.
December 17th, 2012 at 2:10 pm
Recipes sound great! My standard is usually just raw oats, milk, peanut butter, protein powder, and frozen fruit, which is decent but get pretty repetitive when you drink it multiple times a week. I need to try these out for some variety!
December 17th, 2012 at 4:15 pm
Re: taste of stevia–there are many different products out there. Unfortunately the easiest to find seem to also be the least tasty. So keep looking if you are committed to staying away from sugar and/or other artificials.
December 17th, 2012 at 8:22 pm
Brian,
Try chocolate milk; it’s another good option. Some greek yogurt with fruit in it works well, too.
December 18th, 2012 at 1:14 pm
Thanks for the response! I will spread the great info.
July 3rd, 2013 at 7:28 am
I am about to order a container of BioTrust protein powder but wonder if the vanilla is the most versatile to use in the smoothie recipes I should receive when I make my purchase. I thought I had heard Joel refer to a strawberry flavour but don’t see that listed. Thanks!
July 3rd, 2013 at 9:13 am
Jane,
For me, nothing is as versatile as vanilla. You can use it for shakes, baking, you name it!