How Do I Add Protein To My Smoothie Without Using Protein Powder?

After having my second child, a lactation consultant came to my house. We were discussing my diet and I thought I was doing an amazing job with my spinach smoothies with protein. However, my consultant frowned when I brought up protein powder and explained it is not pure protein and may contain added sugar or even toxins, such as chemicals. She even told me protein powder was not considered a popular product. It was the first time I had ever heard protein powder was not healthy. Obviously, I am uneducated on this topic so I began researching and learned in the article HOW TO ADD PROTEIN TO YOUR SMOOTHIES WITHOUT PROTEIN POWDER” from the blog Nourished By Caroline” that you can add protein to your smoothies in many ways, which are:

Soy Milk
Pea Milk
Hemp Hearts
Chia Seeds
Nuts
Nut or seed butter – Anything with peanut butter or almond butter has my attention.
Tofu – This sounds crazy to me, but it does hardly have any taste so why not?
Lentils – I have never even thought of putting lentils in my smoothies, but am willing to try. .
Beans
Greek Yogurt

Protein Powder-Free Smoothies

Protein Smoothies Without Protien

I still very frequently make smoothies with protein powder, not all the time, but sometimes, but felt it was important to add this information for those who do not want to use protein powder.

Low-Calorie Smoothies

Are smoothies good for weight loss?

I am not really qualified to answer this question, but from life experience, I have found that eating 1200 calories a day is the best way for me to lose weight. This usually gives me about 300 calories to eat in the morning, 300 for lunch, 400 for dinner and I end the day with a glass of wine!

What types of greens should I use in my smoothie?

There are many types of greens available to use in smoothies, but spinach has always been my go to leafy green of choice in all food items. I remember my mom first making me smoothies in high school. Thanks, Mom. They were not green, but purple and consisted of spinach, blueberries, milk and protein powder. I remember being grossed out initially and then loving them and wanting one everyday.

I still love my spinach smoothies but I have recently been reaching out to Kale due to all the health benefits I have been reading about. I was first introduced to Kale Smoothies by Joe Rogan. My husband and I were doing a detox for our wedding and Joe Rogan’s smoothie was part of our plan. Not only am I no longer really a Joe Rogan fan, I also did not think it was to terribly delicious so I started to branch out a find more kale based smoothies.

Here is a list of vegtables I have tried in smoothies over the years:

Leaf Greens including spinach, Kale, Romain, Chard and Collard greens
Avocado
Zucchini
Sweet potatoes
Winter Squash
Beets
Peas
Carrots
Celery

What I love about Low-Calorie Smoothies.

Smoothies are nice a versatile. You can play around with smoothies all day to find your favorite recipes and find ingredients you love and are suitable to your needs. For instance, I love pineapple. And, I have now learned it is a superfood. Read more about “The Power Of Pineapple.”

Smoothies are so easy to make. And, they take minutes. But there is room for error. For example, sometimes, when I make a smoothie, I come out with four or five cups of smoothies instead of the two I was aiming for. At first, I just drank them assuming it was supposed to be like that, but I do not think that is the case and I was probably really overdoing it on the fruit. I have googled this and have not found other people having this problem. Since this problem still occurs even when measuring out the ingredients, I freeze the remainder for later. I read you can leave a smoothie in the refrigerator for two days, but I personally do not think they keep and just do not think they are that good.

I prefer frozen fruit to ice in my smoothie.

I tend to get hungry after a couple of hours after a smoothie so I like to keep some carrots on hand to avoid any junk food mishaps.

I try and taste my smoothie before pouring it out just in case I need to add anything to it. I feel like this is like tasting food before adding salt.

My husband told me drinking from mason jars is very early 2000. I do not know if that is true or not, but I love my mason jars and use them for my smoothies with reusable straws such as metal.

Smoothies are easy and quick to clean up if you clean your blender right away.

I am not going to lie, my vegetable intake would be very limited without smoothies. It just never occurs to me to make sides with my meals and sides are usually vegetables. So, unless I made salad, there are not vegetables

Equipment is everything. I feel so lucky because my sister in law gave me a Vitamix a few years back, which is completely life changing. Prior, I used the bullet and it is just not the same. It works, but a nice blender is ideal.

Lastly, I find green smoothies an excellent way to get vegetables into my kids diet. They get a little messy, but whatever works.