Now that flip-flop season is in full swing, you might be giving your blender a stiff daily workout. Done right, smoothies will not only help you combat the heat; they will also flood your body with the nutrients you need to bounce back from training or to jump start your day. That’s why they have become heroes for so many gym bros.
Smoothies, or protein shakes if that is your lexicon of choice, are one of the easiest and most versatile things you can make. But certain missteps can quickly upend what should be an ultra-nutritious and equally delicious muscle-sculpting drink. Done wrong, a blender drink can go from nutritional hero to problem child.
Here’s how to build a better smoothie from the blades up.
How Many Calories Should a Protein Shake Have?
If you are crushing the calories with your training, it’s perfectly acceptable to drink a few more calories. But you should still be aware of how much energy your daily smoothie is delivering; it may just surprise you. A couple of spoonfuls of peanut butter, two scoops of protein powder, and full-fat yogurt can add up to a big calorie load. This is particularly important because liquid calories are less satiating than solid ones, so 500 calories from a smoothie won’t quell your appetite like 500 calories from solid food will. In general, a smoothie should be no more than 400 calories with a little more wiggle room if you are gulping it down as a meal substitute or immediately after a calorie-crushing hero workout.
Why Bananas May Not Be the Best Smoothie Ingredient
It’s understandable why bananas are a favorite smoothie ingredient for so many people. They blend into drinks easily, add sweetness, and help make smoothies deliciously creamy—especially when using frozen banana—and are relatively inexpensive compared to other fruit. But there might be a dark side to using them in your blender drinks.
Researchers from the University of California, Davis, found that adding bananas to smoothies that also contain berries can dramatically reduce the body’s ability to absorb the flavanol antioxidants present in various foods, including blueberries, blackberries, grapes, and even cocoa. Flavanols are natural-occurring plant compounds linked to a slew of health benefits such as improved heart functioning. The problem is that bananas contain high levels of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, which can sharply reduce the amount of flavanols your body absorbs. Who knew?
The issue is not that bananas are an unhealthy ingredient for your protein shake. The more specific lesson is that bananas may not be the best choice when you want to maximize the important flavanols you soak up from a blended drink. Fruits with lower polyphenol oxidase activity include pineapple, oranges, and mango.
How to Balance Protein, Carbs, and Healthy Fats in a Smoothie
A well-crafted smoothie should be macro-balanced and not just heavily skewed towards protein or carbs. That means you want to whip in ingredients that give you a healthy amount of all three of the macronutrients. So fruit, veggies, dried fruit, and oats for carbs; items like flax, hemp seeds, nut butters or avocado for healthy fats, and yogurt, protein powder, ultra-filtered milk, or cottage cheese for muscle-building protein. Now that is a recipe for a satisfying drink.
Choosing the Best Protein Powder for Your Shake
Skim the label on nearly any protein powder and you’re bound to find a few ingredients that aren’t protein. Namely, emulsifiers—ubiquitous food additives including gums now found in the majority of protein powders. These are added to help improve how the powders blend with liquids and increase shelf-life. But it’s concerning to see research suggesting that higher exposure to these food additives may mess with the microbiome, as well as raise the risk for health conditions including diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers.
It’s likely not concerning if the only emulsifiers you consume come from a scoop or two of protein powder, but perhaps if you are already consuming them from other foods like protein bars, salad dressings, and bread then you might be heading toward the emulsifier red zone. Luckily, you can find brands of protein powder that have nixed these additives in some of their products. These include Drink Wholesome, Naked Nutrition, Equip and Momentous. It can be harder to find plant-based protein powders that aren’t made with emulsifiers.
Add a Pinch of Salt to Recovery Smoothies
It’s a good idea not to go overboard with your salt intake, but adding a pinch of the white crystals to your recovery smoothies can serve a purpose beyond making them more tasty. The sodium in salt can help with water retention, which, in turn, helps with rehydration efforts after you’ve finished up a sweaty workout. Water likes to follow sodium, the electrolyte in salt. The more you sweat, the more you can benefit from consuming some post-workout sodium. You don’t need a lot; a mere 1/8 teaspoon added to a smoothie mix should suffice. Keep in mind that if you are blending in ingredients that contain salt, like cottage cheese, you likely don’t need to add any more.
The Best Vegetables to Add to Protein Shakes
We tend to overlook that smoothies can be a sneaky way to eat extra vegetables, something that most guys need to be eating more of. And certainly an easy way to prepare them for consumption. Everything from spinach to cauliflower to carrots to cooked beets can work well in a protein shake. You can even use frozen veggies for this purpose, which makes the whole process more convenient and gives your smoothies a frosty edge. Perhaps blending raw veggies into smoothies makes them even more nutritious.
A study in the journal Food Chemistry determined that pureeing raw spinach can cause more antioxidants to be released from the leaves. And when paired with flavorful ingredients such as frozen berries, spices, and cocoa powder, they won’t make your shake taste like a salad. Of course, this won’t work if your idea of a smoothie is simply protein powder and water dumped into a shaker cup.
How Excess Sugar Can Turn a Healthy Smoothie Into a Calorie Bomb
Fruit, honey, dates, juices and sugar-sweetened dairy-free milk can all add up to a blender drink that is not too far removed from liquid candy. In general, aim to blend in no more than two sugar-containing items, even if those sugars are naturally occurring, like in fresh fruit. Truth is, fruit should provide nearly all the sweetness that is needed. If you’re blending in yogurt or non-dairy milk such as almond or soy, make sure to use unsweetened varieties.
The Health Benefits of Adding Spices to Smoothies
What is the best way to make a smoothie way more exciting to drink? Raid the spice drawer. Not only can spices like cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and even a little cayenne transform a smoothie from meh to wow, but they are also a surprising source of concentrated antioxidants that can give your creamy drink even greater health-hiking powers. Now how easy was that?
Berry Cheesecake Smoothie Recipe
Not only does this protein-packed drink taste good enough to be dessert, it follows our rules for crafting the optional smoothie.
- 3/4 cup milk of choice
- 3/4 cup cottage cheese
- 1 scoop vanilla or plain protein powder
- 1 tablespoon almond butter
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger powder
- 3/4 cup frozen blueberries or blackberries
Place all of the ingredients in a blender in the order listed and blend until smooth.