Easy Peanut Butter & Chocolate Berry Protein Shake

This smoothie is the perfect way to start a hectic morning—and squash a sugar craving! It’s delicious, refreshing and provides the perfect burst of energy before a workout.

As you can imagine, as registered dietitians, we have many tricks up our sleeves to tame our sweet tooth– and our clients’– and yours, too! One of the best secrets? By including natural sugars like those in fruits (that also come with fiber and health-promoting nutrients) you can really prevent your sweet tooth from getting the best of you. It really helps to fight cravings! We find that many of our clients tame their sweet tooth if they give it a little healthy love at breakfast. That’s why we’ve created these smoothies:

Blueberry Lemon Detox Smoothie
Matcha Green Tea Smoothie
Rise & Shine Delicious Smoothie
Wake Up Smoothie
and now this Easy PB & Chocolate Berry Protein Shake. It’s got the sweetness from the raspberries and a touch of cocoa from the protein powder.

A word about Protein Powder: Generally speaking, we stick to real, whole food. However, over the years, various protein powder manufacturers have sent us their protein powders to sample– and with our hectic lifestyles, at times we’ve found we really appreciate the convenience and portability of a protein source that won’t spoil easily. And we’ve been grateful to have the powders to quickly toss in our homemade shakes and some other recipes.

Our favorites have contained just a source of organic protein (typically from whey, pea, hemp, brown rice, artichoke or cranberry) or along with protein, just some greens (dehydrated vegetable or other plant products)—but not the ones with additional fats, grains, or thickeners. Since protein powders all differ in their nutritional content, try to find one that has little to no sugar and is low in carbs and fat. A protein powder can assist in body fat loss if you typically choose a carb-heavy breakfast and instead lighten it up by cutting back on some of the carbs and adding some protein to help you to stay full longer and stay on track. This will prevent overeating soon after breakfast—and the rest of the day.

Note: A word of caution: Watch out for protein powders with additives. To make it easier, try to choose protein powders with just a few ingredients so you don’t have to research all of the other ingredients that very likely could be sugars or sugar substitutes, herbs, etc. If you do find protein powders with many ingredients and you have time to research them (eeks, who has time!?), you can check it out here http://ods.od.nih.gov/. Also, beware if a protein powder brags on the label about creating weight loss —it likely could dehydrate you with a diuretic and cause a quick water loss which is regained just as quickly as it’s lost!

Easy Peanut Butter & Chocolate Berry Protein Shake

This smoothie is ideal if you have an on-the-go lifestyle. It can be hard to stay satiated all morning long, especially if you don’t have time to prepare the right breakfast. But this shake will do the trick! Packed with protein and absolutely irresistible, you will look forward to drinking this little number! With 28 grams of protein in the shake, you will feel full all morning long. We suggest having this with a piece of fruit on your way out the door for even extra staying power. Plus, the raspberries in this shake provide you with antioxidants to kick off your day the right way! With only 4 simple ingredients, this morning booster is an easy way to get your morning going!

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon peanut butter (or almond butter)

2 scoops (28 g) chocolate protein powder (about 110 calories with 20 grams protein like Nutiva Organic Plant Protein Superfood Smoothie, Well Wisdom’s Vital Whey, Garden of Eatin’ Raw Organic Protein or Tera’s Whey)

1/3 cup raspberries (frozen is fine)

¼ cup vanilla Greek yogurt

¼ cup water

½ cup ice

Makes 12 ounces

Serving Size: 1 shake

Instructions: