Hey all

I don't have any nutritional information on this, but I've found it makes a great pre/post workout smoothie. I imagine it would be pretty high in calories, so don't drink this on a non-workout day unless you want to use it as a meal replacement. I didn't come up with this on my own, but I can't remember where I got it, either.

1 Banana
1 cup low-fat/non-fat vanilla yogurt
1 cup frozen mixed berries (or fresh berries if you're lucky)
12 oz orange juice (the more pulp the better)
1 scoop of your favorite protein powder

Throw it all in a blender and blend away! Depending on the orange juice and mixed berries, you may need to throw a little sugar/stevia in for taste.

Well, for those interested, here is the calorie breakdown of the shake:

Banana (medium): 150 calories
1 Cup non-fat Yogurt (vanilla) : 180 calories
1 cup Rasberries: 64 calories
12oz orange juice: 165 calories
1 scoop protein powder: 55 calories

614 calories in the protein shake.

This was calculated using the Free Calorie Counter available from caloriesperhour.com.

Looks like it would be quite tasty, but everyone should consider the amount of calories and tweak it according to your preferences.

Thanks for that, Aaron!

Personally I only drink this when I'm going to be doing a major workout, but I could also halve these ingredients and end up somewhere in the neighborhood of 350 calories. Good to know.

Also thanks for the link, I will add it to my box of tricks.

Sounds good.

For mass gain, i recommend this once or twice a day (think i posted this elsewhere already?)

50 - 100grams oats
2 table spoons peanut butter
1 pint milk
2 scoops protein powder
(optional 6 raw egg whites)

~100 grams protein and 1000 cals.

NIck

Smoothies are good!

50 - 100grams oats
2 table spoons peanut butter
1 pint milk
2 scoops protein powder
(optional 6 raw egg whites)

damn, forgot to add 1 banana into the mix

heres' my fav. treat. I drink this or a variation of this for breakfast.

5 ice cubes
1 banana
1 big dollap of no fat french vanilla yogurt
1 ounce or 2 of coconut milk
1/2 can of mango juice (those skinny cans) (probably 2 -3 ounces) or 2 mango slices from a tin
2 tablespoons of crushed pinapple
some whey protein powder (1/2 a scoop or 1)

I think its pretty healthy, especially compared to my old bacon & eggs routine.

another one I like is

mango juice
kiwi fruit
blueberries
non-fat vanilla yogurt.

okay I found out that the shake is:
793.2 calories
24g of protein
29.6g of fat
116.5 carbs
6.9 fiber

it seems kind of high, is it bad?

Wow...that is pretty high in calories...I'm curious what my favorite smoothie is in calories.

Anyway, this is the smoothly I drink after hard track workouts - I usually try to drink this as a meal replacement as my workouts are late and I get home at round 9:30 - 10pm so if I were to have a full meal - I don't think it would be very healthy.

It varies in size, depending on how hungry/how hard my workout was.

1 scoop of whey protein
1 banana (medium to large)
1 scoop of peanut butter
1 teaspoon of hot chocolate powder (optional)
various fruits (e.g. an apple, an orange) (optional)
vanilla soy milk (ifor those of you who are lactose intolerant)

I hope you enjoy it.

The common ingredient is banana it seems. Between peanut butter and bananas, they keep me happy for sure. ;)

OK OK OK I am the bringer of bad news... I PERSONALLY have about 4 years in the smoothie/juice business. I do not currently work for the big guy (but did for 2 years) , but a very large smoothie chain.

For the most part, commercial made smoothies ARE NOT GOOD FOR YOU.

Alot of sugar, hell at one time there was vanilla ice cream in one. They have since replaced using mostly a "non fat" frozen yogurt, but dont let that fool you. This is the dirty secret the smoothie business will be dealing with soon.

Now of course allthis information is out there, but really very few people read this info. If you DO AS THEY INTENDED and have a smoothie instead of a meal, with a regular exercise plan, they will only contribute to your waist line...

Most people, remember I saw the customers, day in and day out... DO NOT REALIZE the amount of sugar and calories in a smoothie.

There is a regularly sold smoothie, made with peanut butter, that made as is off the menu ready to go tops 1000 calories in a 24 oz size. This is marketed as 'healthy', and it is not...

The smoothie described above is healthy, but is not typical of a smoothie in a smoothie shop... there is alot of sherbert and frozen dairy going into one 24 ox size drink... the common recipe is

8-12oz CONCETRATED SUGAR SWEETENED JUICE

2-3 4OZ SCOOPS Froazen Dairy (usually sweetened with WHITE PROCESSED SUGAR)

2-3 2.5OZ scoops of frozen fruit(thats thepart thats good for you)

Now there are exceptions on the menu, but i can tell you with 100% assusrance those are not the best sellers, nor are they first on the menu (or even promiently displayed)...

If yougo to a juice bar, stick with fresh juice, wheatgrass, at least you know what your getting...

Joe

@ Joe

Thanks for the info on the commercial smoothies. Up here in the frozen tundra we don't have a smoothie shop in town yet.

For me I am pretty plain and go with an organic smoothie mix with a 1/2 pt pt berries mixed with organic milk.

I basically have my protein drinks like this:

- 1 scoop whey protein powder (I get chocolate flavour)
- some fruit (berries, banana, or watermelon)
- water or skim milk, depending on how thick I want it
- 3-4 ice cubes

Put in blender, and serve!

I have never tried egg whites, peanut butter, or oats in the mix, but I will soon.

The adapatation I have made in smoothies is to add oatmeal. Nick alludes to that upstream. It adds some calories, but it also adds a very slow burning carb. Oatmeal will make you feel fuller til the next meal than a traditional smoothie will. And also, anything with fruit in it is sugary and oats can make that sugar influx more managable so you burn those berries longer.

The person who taught it to me was nuking instant oatmeal and then dumping it in. I use regular and just throw it in uncooked. The blender equalizes all things.

I also no longer use juice. Too many calories. Fat free soy milk works for me, and I can half it with water if I am wanting to keep the cals down.

Your smoothies sound good. Thanks you guys. One trip up though...I'm allergic to whey protein (so nutrition bars and smoothies are normally out of the picture for me). Does anyone have a suggestion on a good tasting soy powder or bar?

one question... if i take a protein shake in the morning will it matter if i work out at night? since it makes you gain weight lol

I always have my smoothies with something else, hence the low calorie count:

Smoothie 1:

1/2 banana
1 kiwi
blueberries

(About 100 calories)

Smoothie 2:

1/2 mango
1 kiwi
blueberries

Smoothie 3:

1/2 pear
some melon
raspberries


...I mean, you can vary this as much as you want. AVOID all that dairy. An all-fruit smoothie tastes great - if not better. 793 calories from just ONE smoothie? That's so completely unnecessary, and MORE THAN HALF of the recommended calorie intake for women (sans exercise added to the mix).

(Coconut milk?! That's like drinking liquid almonds!)

My fave smoothie:

1 scoop vanilla whey protein 110 cal
1/4 cup of fat free lo carb vanilla yogurt (light n lively) 20 cal
1/4 cup oats (add a little water and nuke) 75 cal
1/2 cup strawberries 25 cal
2 tbsp ground flaxseed 30 cal
tons of ice 0 cal

TOTAL CAL: 260
YUM!

Audrey, that sounds great! I think I will try that...

My favorite protein shake:

a couple scoops of protein powder
soy milk
1 tsp chocolate liquor
1 tsp instant coffee
1/2 banana
lots of ice cubes

I love the idea of adding oatmeal to the shake. Someone metioned that in a previous post. I'll have to try that. Does it mess up the consistency of the shake, or make it better?

Lesa:

Your smoothie sounds like the one I want to try. I would much rather have one that tates like chocolate or coffee rather than berries. Thanks for the post.

I live by Full Strength shakes.

300 calories, 40g protien, 25g carbs, 5g fat lots of other amino acids.

I eat 2 a day and feel light and charged all day long (usually ;)

They are not designed for super mass building, though i suppose if you ate 2 or 3 at a time you would get the desired effect.

more info here.

disclaimer: i currently work for Phillips Performance Nutrition. i really do love the shakes ;)

The smoothies all sound great!

@ elizabeth what I've tried is for a banana smoothie, I use chocolate milk instead of plain milk (lowfat/skim). (but don't put in orange juice if you do so!) it's a little more calories but tastes SO much better than a regular banana smoothie!

@everyone else As far as all those calories...well, I've made smoothies before and even though I use all of those ingredients, I only drink one cup. If you think about it, by the time you blend all of that together and it increases somewhat in volume with all the bubbles, you're only drinking a third to half of the ingredients.

Just a thought.

Kat

I wouldn't add liquor to a shake, alcohol pretty much halts your metabolism and that isn't really a good thing.

You can get the Danon Light and Fit yogurt...60 calories per cup, and it's good!

Every morning, I make a double-smoothy, which I share with my Dear Hubby:

2 scoops Hemp/Flax seed/Maca protein powder
1 banana
about a cup of frozen mixed berries
2 ounces Noni juice (it was in the cupboard, DH wants to use it up)
1/2 tsp ascorbic acid (Vitamin C, in its natural state... this equals 2.5 grams)
enough vanilla soy milk to make two 14 oz glasses of smoothie.
Occasionally, I'll mix in some juice: this week, it's aquia/pomegranite juice.

This is breakfast.

Just one teaspoon, though, of kaluha or some other liqueur is only around 25% alcohol, so around 1/4 tsp of alcohol total; I dont' think it'd do much to your metabolism in such small quantities.

Here is nutrition info for 1oz of Kahlua:
Calories (kcal) 53
Energy (kj) 221
Fats 0g
Carbohydrates 11.3g
Protein 0g
Fiber 0g
Sugars 11.2g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium -
Alcohol 7.5g

Don't know how many tsp in an oz, but seems like it'd add more of a sweet coffee-ish flavor (it's pretty strong) but be fairly negligible in the metabolism-effect department...

Now, me at the bar on Friday nights: THAT'S some real metabolism f'ing ;)


-bk