What is The Best Protein Shake? The One You Make Yourself!

I am not generally a fan of processed foods.  There is nothing natural about cookies that have a two year shelf life or a freeze-dried shake with ingredients almost no one can pronounce.  If you want to look good, feel good and perform optimally then I believe a varied, whole foods diet is the way to go.  However, there are times when you might need a little assistance from something comes in a plastic container.

I have been dealing with one of these situations on and off since I fell.  While my jaw was wired shut, I lived on protein shakes and soup.  More recently, I had braces put on which when combined with my flipper (a retainer with a fake tooth on it) makes eating solid food on my lunch hour a bit daunting.  So, I am back on liquids and very soft (i.e. easy to remove foods) during the day.

For a while, I was regularly picking up Nearly Naked Protein Drinks, thinking they were among the better options on the market.  I noticed that I was feeling really bloated and couldn’t understand why.  Then one day, I read the label and was surprised to learn that these shakes had WHEY, as well as, soy protein in them.  Ugh, no wonder why!  Then I went on a quest to find a vegan, organic ready-made protein shake.  There are a few but they are not always that easy to find and I wasn’t convinced ready-made was even the way to go.  When was it made?  How long had it sat on the shelf?…on the truck?… at the factory???

I decided to go back to making my own.  Although, I do use protein powder sometimes for the sake of convenience (other times I will blend down tofu or throw in some vegan yogurt,) I like having control over the freshness of the other ingredients.  Quite frankly, I think they taste a lot better because you can use fresh fruit, real vanilla bean or your favorite dark chocolate.  Also, you can put it in a reusable container.  So, that is kinder to Mama Earth.  And if you use a glass container (I like Ball Jars ’cause they’re neat!) it is kinder to you because you don’t have to worry about plastic contamination.  It is also kinder to your wallet.  I can make something twice the size of the Nearly Naked Shake I was buying for far less than half the price.

Protein shake

My country-inspired protein shake.

So, next time you find yourself reaching for a pricey protein shake, why not reach for your blender instead?  All you need is a banana, a glass of almond milk, a scoop of protein powder (or half a package of tofu,) maybe a lil pure vanilla extract and then just shake shake shake…

What do you like to blend up?  I would love to hear from you.

Love and blessings to all.

Cynthia

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justdragonfly

6 thoughts on “What is The Best Protein Shake? The One You Make Yourself!

  1. Jodi

    Although I make a smoothie most mornings, which mostly involve fruit, almond milk, coconut water, flax & something green, I never think of making a protein shake. I will definitely try the tofu & banana combo with vanilla! Sounds great! Thanks.
    Jodi

    Reply
    1. Cynthia Lenz Post author

      I like green drinks too. I should say I like the way green drinks make me feel! Strictly peaking taste-wise, I prefer a fruit smoothie but for energy nothing beats the the micro-nutrients in green smoothies! Rock on Jodi!

      Reply
  2. Natalie

    Please explain why whey and soy are not good? Not everyone knows from your statement ” no wonder why”the background behind it . That is the little tid bit of info they got from you that they will come back for mor of. I thought it was a really good blog. Can’t wait to see more.

    Reply
    1. Cynthia Lenz Post author

      Hi Natalie. Thanks for reading and checking in. My post is written from personal experience. Readers who have been with me from the beginning know that I am a strict vegetarian and have had digestive issues when I used to consume animal products. I do consume soy products, sometimes, including soy protein powder (since my jaw was broken) , as I mentioned in the post.

      The decision to consume whey or soy protein could be a book on its own and is outside the scope of what I was trying to convey in this wee post. I would encourage people to study up on both and draw their own conclusions. It is important that we all be mindful of how we fuel our bodies.

      Reply

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