This is so simple that it’s barely a recipe, but I’ve been enjoying it for the past couple of months, and I decided it’s worth sharing. Sometimes I like to have a protein shake. I usually prefer chocolate flavor, but I find most chocolate powders a bit lacking. So this is my way of sprucing it up.
The result is satisfying, and it’s a super lazy recipe, since you don’t have to peel or prepare any produce. It comes out thick, and I like drinking it with a straw. (I use reusable straws.)
Ingredients
½ cup water
1 Tbsp chia seeds
1 Tbsp cocoa/cacao powder
1 splash of vanilla extract
2 scoops chocolate protein powder
1 heaping cup frozen cherries (pitted)
Makes 1 serving.
Add ingredients to container in order listed. Start on low speed, then once the cherries stop bouncing around, turn up to high and blend until smooth (about 40 seconds).
If you have it, you can also add a splash of chocolate extract.
I use Trader Joe’s frozen pitted cherries. And I’ve been using Orgain Chocolate Protein Powder.
It’s not as delicious as a chocolate milkshake, but it’s close enough for me, and it feels much healthier.
Sometimes powders and chia seeds can get thrown up onto the upper walls of the container and stick. In this recipe I find that adding the cherries on top mostly keeps the powders from sticking to the walls. If you run into problems with seeds or powders sticking to the walls and adding fruit on top doesn’t help, there’s a slightly less convenient, but more sure-fire, solution. You can blend everything but the powder/seeds until it stops bouncing around. Then add the powders/seeds to the middle, being careful to not drop them on the walls. Blend on low to incorporate without splashing, then on high to fully emulsify them into the blend.
One other note about powders is that Vitamix recommends against putting them in the container first. This is because dry fine powders can apparently work their way past the seals and eventually compromise the bearings.
I also found the chocolate powders lacked something. I finally started to use a tablespoon of giradellis baking chocolate with the protein powder
Well, problem solved. No sugar, a few calories. Almond milk made at home etc
What protein powders do you guys use that doesn’t end up in a huge foamy mess? Any time I try to blend regular old whey protein powder for any recipe, the volume doubles or triples because of how much air that gets incorporated into the smoothie. What results is a foam that’s so nasty that I have to gulp it down, and I end up getting a stomachache from all that air in my stomach. Even if I make the smoothie the night before, the air in the smoothie never goes away. It’s undrinkable for me and I curious if people who actually make protein smoothies/shakes in a blender just don’t care and are unaffected by all the air or are using some special protein powder that doesn’t foam up.
I linked to the protein powder that I’ve been using in the post above. Whey protein is the most prone to foam of any protein powder I’ve seen. The plant-based ones get much less foamy.
There are some tricks you can do to minimize foam though. You can add the whey after blending everything else, and just blend it on low or medium-low. Then you can do the bubble-removal trick at the end. Also, keeping the shake thicker tends to cut down on how much foam forms.
Yummy, quick and easy, and welcome first-aid during a late October heat spell (temps in the high 90’s!).
What is the of advantage of using protein power ?