• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

  • Fitness
  • Workouts
    • Best Shoulder Workouts
    • Best Chest Workouts
    • Best Leg Workouts
    • Best Leg Exercises
    • Best Biceps Exercises
    • Best Kettlebell Exercises
    • Best Back Workouts
    • Best HIIT Workouts
    • Best Triceps Exercises
    • Best Arm Workouts
  • Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Pre-Workouts
      • Best Whey Protein
    • Equipment
      • Best Home Gym Machines
    • Certifications
      • ISSA Review
  • News
  • Exercise Guides
    • Legs
      • Back Squat
      • Bulgarian Split Squat
      • Goblet Squat
      • Zercher Squat
      • Standing Calf Raise
      • Hack Squat
    • Chest
      • Bench Press
      • Dumbbell Bench Press
      • Close-Grip Bench Press
      • Incline Bench Press
    • Shoulders
      • Overhead Dumbbell Press
      • Lateral Raise
    • Arms
      • Chin-Up
      • Weighted Pull-Up
      • Triceps Pushdown
    • Back
      • Deadlift
      • Trap Bar Deadlift
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Inverted Row
      • Bent-Over Barbell Row
      • Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
      • Pendlay Row
Healthy Eating

5 Nutrient-Packed Protein Smoothies of 5 Ingredients Each

These five smoothies will help you recover from workouts and meet your daily nutritional needs.

Danielle Harlan

Written by Danielle Harlan Last updated on July 21, 2014

Whether you’re trying to build muscle, lose weight, aid your recovery, or just jumpstart your day with a nutritious breakfast, protein smoothies are an efficient and convenient way to fuel your body for optimal performance and recovery.

Moreover, incorporating a few other key ingredients to your protein smoothie is easy to do and will provide additional health benefits. The ideal nutrient-packed protein smoothie has five key ingredients:

1. A Protein Source

Our bodies mainly use protein to build and repair tissues, but this macronutrient is also an important building block in key metabolic and growth processes. Unlike carbohydrates and fat, the body does not store protein, so you need to incorporate protein into your regular diet in order to maintain healthy levels.

If you eat protein from animal sources, then whey protein, casein protein, nonfat yogurt, and Greek yogurt are all great sources of milk protein to include in your protein smoothie. Egg white protein is another increasingly popular type of protein. If you prefer plant-based foods, soy (including raw tofu), hemp, pea, and rice proteins are all suitable choices.

Depending on the sensitivity of your digestive system, you may prefer some forms of protein more than others, and you may have to try a few until you find the one that works best for you.

2. A Liquid

There are a variety of liquids you can add to your smoothie to improve its consistency and to meet your nutritional needs and preferences. If you include animal sources in your diet, then low-fat and skim milk are both effective low-carbohydrate options that also pack an additional protein punch.

If you prefer plant sources or are just looking to try a non-dairy alternative, unsweetened almond, coconut, and rice milks are all good options. Just be mindful to read the ingredient list since some plant-based milks include questionable additives like carrageenan.

Looking to increase your smoothie’s sweetness? Adding fruit juice can be especially tasty in smoothies that contain green vegetables. But if you do choose to use fruit juice in your smoothie, be sure to watch the sugar content or use half juice and half water.

Lastly, if you’re looking for an energy kick, try adding green tea, which provides a small amount of caffeine to your smoothie.

3. A Green Vegetable

Research abounds telling us that we should eat more green vegetables, but it’s not always easy to remember and incorporate this advice into our busy lives. Throwing a handful of green vegetables into your protein smoothie is a simple and tasty way to get your greens.

Good vegetables to try in your protein smoothie are kale, spinach, broccoli, alfalfa, and chlorella. (Chlorella is a freshwater algae that can be usually be found at health food stores, nutritional supplement stores, or online.)

4. Fruit

Adding one or more fruits to your smoothie will kick up the natural sweetness and may also provide countless other health and nutritional benefits such as decreased blood pressure, protection from certain cancers, and reduction in the risk of heart disease. Fruits can also be a great source of other vital nutrients such as vitamin C, potassium, and folate.

You can experiment to see which fruits you like best, but bananas, berries, mango, pineapple, peaches, cherries, goji berries, and dates are all outstanding options. If you’re concerned about the fruit going bad before you use it, try frozen or unsweetened canned varieties.

5. A Nutritional Boost

Depending on your particular health and dietary needs, you can also try adding some of your own nutritional boosts to your protein smoothies. Some popular boosts to experiment with are flax or chia seeds (rich in omega-3s), nut butters or avocado (rich in monounsaturated fats), a fiber source or supplement (to aid in digestion), or even additional fruit.

5 Simple Protein Smoothies

The human body requires protein in order to live, and drinking a daily protein smoothie is an easy and flavorful way to ensure you meet your daily protein requirement, while also fueling up on other important nutrients your body needs. You can try one of the below recipes to get you started, but don’t be afraid to experiment with the ingredients until you find the variation (or variations) that you like best and will drink regularly.

The Kale Classic

Ingredients:

  • ½ cup Greek yogurt
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • ¾ cup kale
  • 1.5 cups mixed berries
  • 1 banana

Directions:

Put all ingredients into a blender, add up to one cup of ice (if desired), blend, and enjoy!

Very Verde

Ingredients:

  • 1 serving hemp protein (usually 2-4 Tbsp.)
  • 1 cup soy milk
  • 1 cup spinach
  • 1 cup pineapple
  • 1 Tbsp. flax seeds

Directions:

Put all ingredients into a blender, add up to one cup of ice (if desired), blend, and enjoy!

Tropical Paradise

Ingredients

  • ½ cup tofu
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • ¾ cup kale
  • 1 banana
  • 1 cup pineapple

Directions

Put all ingredients into a blender, add up to one cup of ice (if desired), blend, and enjoy!

Berry-Green Delight

Ingredients:

  • ½ cup low-fat or Greek yogurt
  • 1 cup of milk
  • 1 tsp. chlorella or ½ cup alfalfa
  • 1 cup mixed berries
  • 1 Tbsp. chia seeds or ½ cup Medjool dates (pits removed) for extra sweetness

Directions:

Put all ingredients into a blender, add up to one cup of ice (if desired), blend, and enjoy!

Peanut Butter Rapture

Ingredients:

  • 1 serving whey protein (usually 2-4 Tbsp.)
  • 1 cup almond milk
  • 1 tsp. chlorella
  • 1 banana
  • 1 Tbsp. peanut butter
  • Optional: add 1 Tbsp. cocoa powder for an extra antioxidant boost and delicious flavor twist

Directions

Put all ingredients into a blender, add up to one cup of ice (if desired), blend, and enjoy!

What’s your favorite protein smoothie combo? Share your favorite ingredients in the comments below.

References:

1. JK Tobacman. “Review of Harmful Gastrointestinal Effects of Carrageenan in Animal Environments.” Environmental Health Perspectives 109 (2001): 983-94.

2. Van Duyhn, Mary Ann S, and Elizabeth Pivonka. “Overview of the Health Benefits of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption for the Dietetics Professional: Selected Literature.” Journal of the American Dietetic Association 100 (December 2000): 1511-1521.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

Danielle Harlan

About Danielle Harlan

Danielle Harlan is the founder of The Center for Advancing Leadership and Human Potential, an organization devoted to helping leaders and entrepreneurs be exceptional and maximize their impact on the world - while also effectively managing their health and wellness. She received her Ph.D. and Masters degree from Stanford University and is a certified fitness instructor.

Prior to launching the Center, Danielle was the Chief of Operations for the Carnegie Foundation, an organization that uses networks and quality improvement strategies to solve important problems in our world. She also has extensive teaching experience, and in addition to teaching in the United States, has taught in Brazil, China, Costa Rica, and South Africa.

In her spare time, Danielle enjoys trail running, yoga, high intensity interval training, snorkeling, climbing, reading (good) fiction, and creating mixed media art.

View All Articles

Recommended Articles

carrotcr
Mash for GAINZ: 4 Simple Recipes for Performance
eggwithlemonricotta
The Keto Diet: Basted Egg with Lemon Ricotta
loxstuffedavocadosheadline
A Free Keto Diet Recipe Book: Lox Stuffed Avocados and More
parmesancrustedwalleyeheadline
Eating Well As We Age: Parmesan Crusted Walleye

Primary Sidebar

Latest Articles

Strongman Legend Hafthor Björnsson Receives International Sports Hall of Fame Induction

Iain Valliere Believes the 212 Division Should No Longer Exist in Bodybuilding

Ryan Terry Diagrams His Ambitious 1,874-Calorie Mass-Building Protein Shake

Andrew Jacked’s Trainer Thinks His “Best” Will Come at 2023 Arnold Classic

Latest Reviews

ISSA Personal Trainer Certification Review

ISSA Personal Trainer Certification Review

Best Whey Proteins for Packing on Muscle, Shredding Down, Meal Replacement, and More

Best Pre-Workouts for Building Muscle, Running, Taste, and More

Best Home Gym Machines

Best Home Gym Machines

woman lifting barbell

Be the smartest person in your gym

The Breaking Muscle newsletter is everything you need to know about strength in a 3 minute read.

I WANT IN!

Breaking Muscle is the fitness world’s preeminent destination for timely, high-quality information on exercise, fitness, health, and nutrition. Our audience encompasses the entire spectrum of the fitness community: consumers, aficionados, fitness professionals, and business owners. We seek to inform, educate and advocate for this community.

  • Reviews
  • Healthy Eating
  • Workouts
  • Fitness
  • News

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed

© 2023 · Breaking Muscle · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy · Affiliate Disclaimer · Accessibility · About