With just a few ingredients, you can make a super healthy protein shake that supports fat loss goals. Here’s how (plus tasty recipes!).
Protein smoothies/shakes are excellent ways to sneak in high quality sources of protein, fat and fiber to help shut off sugar cravings, reduce hunger and support a body recomposition goal.
But in order to get the benefit of a protein shake, it’s crucial you make it the right way.
Today I’m sharing everything you need to know to make a healthy protein shake plus 5 of my all time favorite high protein smoothie recipes!
Ways to add protein
There are a variety of ways to add protein to a smoothie, but it’s important to opt for the highest quality protein for best results.* Some high protein foods (like peanut butter or other nuts) are actually very poor quality proteins and shouldn’t be relied upon as protein in your shake.
*Want the science-y deets behind the best proteins for weight loss? Checkout THIS blog for those details.
Below are great high quality sources of protein to add to a protein shake or smoothie:
- Protein Powder: In 2022, I created a clean, pasture-raised, zero sugar protein powder that tastes amazing in smoothies. Just add 1-2 scoops for an extra boost of protein in your smoothie. You can find it HERE.
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- Greek yogurt: I recommend greek yogurt over regular yogurt because it’s significantly higher in protein. Stick with full-fat greek yogurt to maximize the nutritional benefit of vitamin K2.
- Skyr: This is similar to greek yogurt, but even higher in protein.
- Plant-based greek yogurt: Usually plant-based greek yogurts are made by adding protein powder into a nut or coconut based yogurt. This won’t be a very nutrient dense source of protein, but it’s a good option if you are plant-based.
- Cottage cheese: Also very high in protein! You can use cottage cheese in place of greek yogurt or skyr in any recipe.
- Kefir: Kefir is not nearly as high in protein as these other options, but you can use it as the liquid base in combination with protein powder for some additional probiotic perks. You might want to thin it out with a bit of water – kefir can be quite thick!
Top 5 Healthy Protein Shakes
These are some of the community’s all time favorite protein shakes that you can start whipping up today!
- Blueberry Lemon Pie Smoothie
- High Protein Greens Smoothie
- Almond Butter Recovery Smoothie
- Strawberry Protein Smoothie
- Cinnamon Roll Smoothie
75+ High Protein Smoothie Recipes
Autumn’s Official Smoothie Cookbook
Autumn’s Official Smoothie Cookbook brings together over 75 smoothie recipes from her programs, blog, YouTube, plus brand-new creations covering fruity, chocolate, veggie-packed, coffee flavors, and more!
FAQ’s
A protein shake is a smoothie that focuses on high quality protein. Other smoothies tend to prioritize fruit and are much higher in sugar.
You can also find “ready to drink” protein shakes at the grocery store, but these tend to only be made of ultra processed ingredients that are high in sugar and very low in nutrients. You often will find inflammatory seed oils in “ready to drink” protein shakes as well.
All of my protein shakes are made with high quality sources of protein as well as whole food, nutrient dense ingredients to help support both a weight loss and wellness goal.
Protein shakes are high in protein, which is crucial for helping to reduce hunger and shut off sugar cravings.
Many people find getting enough protein into their diet to be quite tricky, so using a high quality protein shake helps to easily (and quickly) get a boost of protein, fat and fiber to help support their goals.
When done they right way, protein shakes can help support a weight loss goal by providing protein, fat and fiber.
Adequate protein is a requirement to prevent muscle loss during the weight loss process. By preventing muscle loss, this helps the body to primarily focus on burning fat as fuel without significantly slowing the metabolism.(1)
Protein, fat and fiber! This combination helps to raise satiety hormones that tell the brain you’re full, satisfied and don’t need to keep eating.
You can find a complete list of best proteins to add to a smoothie below.
Fat is used to raise the satiety hormone CCK, which also helps to shut off hunger. Great sources of nutrient dense fats to use in a smoothie include chia seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, almond butter, peanut butter, tahini, cashew butter, brazil nuts, hemp seeds and cacao nibs (to name a few).
Related Video: How much fat to eat per day to lose weight?
Fiber acts on the stretch mechanism in the stomach to signal to the brain that you’re full. My favorite sources of fiber are those naturally occuring in chia seeds, edible basil seeds, raspberries, almond butter, cacao nibs and flax seeds. In addition to fiber, these foods are also packed with high quality sources of fat and/or micronutrients.
I’ve found that opting to have a protein shake as a meal rather than a snack is crucial for best results.
Typically, having the protein shake as a breakfast (break-fast) or lunch is ideal. However, they can also be used on the occasion as a dinner when in a pinch.
A common mistake made with protein shakes is adding in a lot of fruit, sweetener or fruit juice. This will rapidly spike blood sugar levels and lead to increased hunger and cravings earlier in the day.
Ingredients like fruit juice, honey, dried fruit and maple syrup should generally be avoided. It’s also important to not overload the fruit either. It’s best to stick to 1-2 servings of fruit (preferably, low sugar fruit).
Related Reading: 15 Best Fruits For Smoothies To Lose Weight
