A complete approach to fitness is important. Considering nutrition as part of your fitness plan can help improve your health and help you achieve your goals quickly. At Rising Fitness in Houston, TX, we encourage both a healthy diet and regular exercise. Part of your healthy diet can include using a protein supplement, particularly after an intense workout. To get the maximum nutrition from your protein supplement, make your own home protein shake. You can include a number of ingredients and make it a drink you’ll love that’s also healthy.
A protein shake as a meal replacement.
While a protein shake can be a quick after workout snack to replace the glycogen lost and boost muscle repair, it can also be a whole meal. You can make it a meal replacement by including both fruits and vegetables. Cut out the added sugar and rely on natural sweetness of the fruit to add flavor. In this case, a half a frozen banana and a fourth cup of blueberries provide the sweetness. Add to those fruits, ¼ cup coconut yogurt, ½ cup almond milk, ¼ cup frozen spinach, 1 tsp chia seeds, ½ grated ginger and 2 tablespoons of plain or vanilla protein powder. Blend it and enjoy. You can substitute kale or other green leafy veggie for the spinach or add extra blueberries on top for even more sweetness.
Treat yourself and your sweet tooth to a healthy protein drink that’s delicious.
You can choose regular whole milk, low fat milk or oat or almond milk for this recipe. The whole milk variety will have far more calories. You can also use vegetarian protein powder or a non-vegetarian variety. Combine ½ banana—frozen or fresh, 1/8 cup walnuts, 1 cup of milk of your choice, 1 tsp dark chocolate morsels, 1/3 cup chocolate protein powder and six ice cubes.
Make it fancy with a swirl.
Treat yourself to a special smoothie and make it fancy. You can use frozen fruit for this one. Combine a ½ cup of frozen blueberries, blackberries or raspberries with 1/3 cup of orange juice and blend. Pour equal amounts in the bottom of two glasses. Clean the blender. Put in 1 ½ cup frozen peaches, a ripe banana that was cut into chunks and frozen, two 5.3-oz serving sizes of vanilla Greek yogurt 1 tablespoon honey and ¼ tsp ground ginger. Blend until smooth, then pour over the berry mixture and swirl with a spoon. Beware when you buy the Greek yogurt. Not all are equal. Some contain a hideous amount of sugar. Icelandic style yogurt is thicker and several brands, like Siggi’s and Smari have less sugar and are made from milk from grass fed cows.
- You can also make your own vanilla yogurt without all the excess sugar by combining 10.6 ounces of plain yogurt with 1 tablespoon powdered sugar, 1/3 teaspoon vanilla and a dash of cinnamon. One tablespoon of powdered sugar is approximately ½ tablespoon of granulated, but it mixes easier.
- You can make smoothies out of most fruits and vegetables. Some smoothies are best for specific results, like getting rid of belly fat with smoothies containing kiwi, pineapple, Greek yogurt and kale.
- Another sweet treat that uses no sugar but includes 2 pitted dates and a chopped apple for sweetness is a chocolate protein shake. Combine the fruit with 1-T almond butter, 1-T cocoa powder, 1 cup milk, and ½ C plain yogurt. Blend and top with 1-T grated dark chocolate.
- If you’re using milk in a smoothie, the calorie difference between whole milk and unsweetened almond or oat milk are substantial, with the plant based milk far lower and the best option for weight loss.
For more information, contact us today at Rising Fitness Gym