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Monday, May 21, 2012

Smoothie, Anyone?

I have a new obsession...smoothies!  A few months ago, I started eating protein bars after my class at the gym because I was starving and would usually overeat once I got home because I was so famished.  A friend told me about protein powder too, where you mix the powder with water or milk for a fast "shake".  I picked up some Jillian Michaels Protein Whew Something-or-other at Stuff Mart and decided to give it a try. I haven't tried it with water yet, and it's ok tasting with milk, but I don't love it.  If you've ever had Slim-Fast shakes, this shake tastes pretty bland.  (But bland can be good because that means there's less sugar and artificial taste-enhancing gunk in it!)  Anyhoo, I saw some recipes on Facebook a few weeks ago that a friend was posting to another friend.  They had both joined an up & coming weight loss program (which shall remain nameless) where you drink shakes twice a day, like the Slim-Fast plan.  But these shakes sounded AMAZING!  So I did some research and compared their powder with the Jillian powder that I was using.  I found that they were very similar nutrition-wise, and that you had to use only 1 scoop of the Jillian powder compared to 2 scoops of the other powder.  And the Jillian powder is way cheaper!

Why am I telling you all of this?  Well, first of all, I'm bored, and secondly, I'm excited about my new found smoothies!!  I want to share my favorite shake recipe with you.  It's ultra yummy and approximately 365 calories.  It makes a great breakfast or lunch on the go.  I just had one for a mid-afternoon snack because I sort of snacked through lunch and was starving come 3 pm today! 

Ok, I'll quit rambling and give you the recipe!

Chocolate PB Banana Protein Smoothie

8-10 oz of milk (I use 8 oz to cut down the cals a bit and because it really is filling, so 10 oz is a bit too much for me)
1 scoop Jillian protein powder (I use vanilla, but you could probably use the chocolate too)
1/2 banana, sliced (or a full one depending on whether you have someone to eat the other half or if it will just get wasted)
1 Tbsp PB (I use my homemade natural PB that has a bit of coconut oil and honey it, but regular creamy PB works well too!)
1 Tbsp (or less depending on your taste) instant chocolate pudding mix

Throw it all in the blender and blend.  Then pour into a cup and enjoy!  I think the pudding mix and banana make this shake a bit thicker, so if you popped it in the fridge or freezer to chill it, it would taste like a milkshake.  I just love this recipe!  I'm hooked!  There are lots of other recipes that are yummy and I will share them with you too in future posts.  Let me know if you try this one and if you liked it.

1 comment:

A.K.W. said...

We don't eat or drink anything with peanut butter though and we don't often put bananas in smoothies or any type of drink though and we don't buy banana yogurts, etc., we like our bananas plain or with cool whip, etc.

Amy