Protein Shakes!

Ladies and Gentlemen....start your blenders....

Protein shakes have gotten a bad reputation in the past.  People think they don't work, or they will make you fat, or they taste chalky and awful.  I truly never understood why anyone would think this..because I absolutely love them!  They've worked wonders for me with my athletics too.  I call them steroids. But there's one thing that makes protein shakes even better than steroids:  they taste AMAZING!! Way, way, way better than Muscle Milk or any of those body builder shakes you get in containers.  These protein shakes that I make honestly taste like they could be from a fast food restaurant. Except you don't have to feel guilty about drinking them. I use AMP protein powder from GNC, and they are truly, very effective.  I could see and feel results in only a few weeks, and I wonder why I never tried them sooner. Like my oatmeal, I almost never make the same shake twice, since there's hundreds of different ingredients you can throw in. Not only do these taste delicious, but you will actually look better after drinking them as well.


Peanut Butter Cup:
2-3 Scoops Chocolate Protein Powder
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder (optional...would make it more dark chocolate-y)
1 cup milk
4-6 ice cubes


Rich Chocolate:
2-3 scoops chocolate protein powder
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup milk
4-6 ice cubes


Rich Vanilla:
2-3 scoops vanilla protein powder
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk
4-6 icecubes


Almond (my personal favorite):
2-3 scoops vanilla protein powder
2 drops of almond extract (you can alter this slightly, depending how almond-y you like it)
1 cup milk
4-6 ice cubes


Chocolate Covered Almond:
Sub vanilla protein powder for chocolate protein powder above


Dark Chocolate Almond:
Add 1-2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder to Chocolate Covered Almond Recipe above


Peanut Butter and Jelly:
2-3 scoops vanilla protein powder
2 tablespoons peanut butter
2 heaping tablespoons strawberry jelly (I haven't tried grape yet)
1 cup milk
4-6 ice cubes


Peanut Butter and Nutella:
2-3 scoops vanilla or chocolate protein powder (depends how chocolatey you like it)
1-2 tablespoons peanut butter
1-2 tablespoons nutella
1 cup milk
4-6 ice cubes


Peanut Butter:
2-3 scoops vanilla protein powder
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1 cup milk
4-6 ice cubes


Peanut Butter and Banana:
Add half a banana to peanut butter shake above


Vanilla Banana:
2-3 scoops vanilla protein powder
1 small banana
1 cup milk
4-6 ice cubes


Chocolate Banana:
substitute chocolate protein powder for vanilla above.
*optional: 1 tablespoon cocoa powder


Oranges and Cream:
2-3 scoops vanilla protein powder
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup milk
4-6 ice cubes


another version:
2-3 scoops vanilla protein powder
1/4 teaspoon orange extract
1 cup milk
4-6 ice cubes


Orange Kissed Chocolate:
2-3 scoops chocolate protein powder (or mix vanilla and chocolate)
1/4 teaspoon orange extract
1 cup milk
4-6 ice cubes


Dark Chocolate Orange:
Add 1-2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder to Orange Kissed Chocolate Recipe above


Berry:
2-3 scoops vanilla protein powder
1 cup milk
3/4 cup your choice of berries
4-6 ice cubes


Nutella:
2-3 scoops vanilla protein powder (or chocolate, or both, depending how chocolatey you like it)
2 tablespoons nutella
1 cup milk
4-6 ice cubes


Snickerdoodle:
2-3 scoops vanilla protein powder
1 cup milk
2 dashes of cinnamon (or to taste)
1 tiny pinch of nutmeg (optional)
4-6 ice cubes


Sweet Pumpkin:
2-3 scoops vanilla protein powder
2 tablespoons pumpkin butter (I used William Sonoma)
1 cup milk
4-6 ice cubes


Sweet Potato (or sub pumpkin, if you prefer..they taste extremely similar):
1/4 cup mashed sweet potato
2-3 scoops vanilla protein powder
dash of cinnamon (optional)
dash of nutmeg (optional)
1 cup milk
4-6 ice cubes


Vanilla Latte:
2-3 scoops vanilla protein powder
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
1 cup milk
4-6 ice cubes


Mocha:
sub chocolate protein powder for vanilla in Vanilla Latte above


Chocolate Syrup:
2-3 Scoops vanilla protein powder
2 tablespoons chocolate syrup
1 cup milk
4-6 ice cubes


Triple Chocolate:
2-3 scoops chocolate protein powder
2 tablespoons chocolate syrup
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup milk
4-6 ice cubes


Chocolate Covered Strawberry:
2-3 scoops chocolate protein powder
8 medium-large strawberries
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)
4-6 ice cubes


Strawberry Nutella:
2-3 scoops vanilla or chocolate protein powder
8 medium-large strawberries
1 cup milk
4-6 ice cubes


Rasberry Nutella Truffle:
Replace strawberries above with 3/4 cup rasberries


Chunky Monkey:
2-3 scoops chocolate protein powder
1 small banana
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)
1 cup milk
4-6 ice cubes


Cashew Butter:
2-3 cups vanilla protein powder
2 tablespoons cashew butter
1 cup milk
4-6 ice cubes


Almond Butter:
Sub cashew butter in recipe above with almond butter
**any nut butter will work well here


Mexican Chocolate:
2-3 scoops chocolate protein powder
2 dashes of cinnamon (or to taste)
1 cup milk
4-6 ice cubes