You may have read about my struggle to find the perfect protein powder to add to my smoothies. I’m trying to find one that is nutritionally complete; not low carb or necessarily low fat, and one which is not animal derived. It also needs to be tummy-friendly. I’d really prefer it to be organic, and from a company that is passionate about what they do. Turns out this is not such an easy feat!
This morning’s task was to blend up a smoothie which has the same amount, or more, of protein as a scoop of protein powder. A scoop of Isowhey, which I’ve been using for about a year now, yields about 15g of protein. When you consider that wheatgerm, for example, has 24.4g of protein per 100g, and 1/2 cup (150g) of greek yoghurt has 5.1g, that’s actually not so hard to obtain! Maybe I’ve found my answer there, do not worry about protein powders, save the money and use natural foods instead.
I set the amount of serves at 2 for this recipe, but I drank the lot myself. Drinking the whole smoothie gives you a whopping 21. 28g of protein!
Smoothie nutrition, per serve (total recipe = 2 serves)
- Calculated without golden syrup
- Calories: 313
- Protein: 10.64g (the lot = 21.28g of protein!)
- Fat: 13.8g
- Carbs: 32.5g
When you consider the ideal ratio of fat, carbs and proteins, this is a well balanced, nutritional smoothie; ideal as a pre or post workout booster drink, a snack, breakfast… Ideal for whenever really.
- Fat 20-35% (This smoothie: 24%)
- Protein 10-35% (This smoothie: 18.7%)
- Carbs 45-65% (This smoothie: 57%)
High Protein Oat Spinach Smoothie
A yummy, high-protein, smoothie for breakfast, lunch or snack (or dinner why not). Perfect for pre or post workouts.
- 1/2 cup oats
- 1/2 cup green yoghurt
- 1/2 cup soy milk (or other milk)
- 1/2 cup grapes (or any other sweet fruit)
- 1 handful spinach (or other greens/veg)
- 1 tblsp almond nuts (raw)
- 1 tblsp golden syrup (Optional, if you’d like more sweetness)
- Add the liquids to your blender. Add oats. Add remaining ingredients. Blend for 30-60 seconds until desired consistency. Enjoy!
- You can substitute any fruit. My 4 year old and I really like this smoothie with just the grapes or 1 frozen banana, and we do not add sweetener. It has a very mild taste, so add sweetener if you want a bit more flavour.
- Feel free to substitute any greens, and any milk, all will work well.
- The almonds can be substituted for other nuts or seeds. If you’re going to use small seeds, pre-grind them for a smoother smoothie
- Add more milk if it’s too thick. You’ll find it will get thicker the longer you take to drink it; that’s the oats working their fibre-magic.
Nutrition, per serve (total recipe = 2 serves. Calculated without golden syrup)
- Calories: 313
- Protein: 10.64g (I drank the lot = 21.28g of protein!)
- Fat: 13.8g
- Carbs: 32.5g
