Paleo Post Workout Power Smoothie/Milkshake – Vegan, Vegetarian, Delicious, Low Carb, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Grain Free, Green Smoothie, Raw foods,Easy

Tags

Dairy Free, gluten free, grain free, Low carb, Paleo, Vegan, Vegetarian

Hi Everyone,

So I’ve decided to be posting one recipe per week. Later this week (Saturday most likely), I’ll post my own recipe for beef stir fry with Paleo noodles. That’s right, I said it, noodles! The great thing about that recipe is that outside of the minimal carbs you would get from your vegetables (broccoli, peppers…etc) there are no carbs, and yes, there will be noodles, not those crappy Shiritaki (or as I like to call it, Shittytaki) noodles! Tune in for that.

Anyway, today was the first day that I’ve had a smoothie post workout, usually I have 3 organic egg whites fried (I don’t use any oil, I just have a killer non stick pan) and 1/4 cup organic oatmeal. Scratch that, today was the first time that I’ve had a smoothie in a long time. 2 years ago, when I was on a “smoothie diet”, I drank a lot of spinach smoothies which was basically made of lots of spinach, lots of strawberries, and 2 slices of fresh ginger. For my spinach smoothie, you have to use a lot of fruits (even if you use just a little bit of spinach), unless the smoothie will end up tasting like pureed spinach instead of smoothie. The problem with that recipe was that I couldn’t do that this time, for two reasons: the first reason is because I’m trying to watch my fruit intake…once I start eating fruits, I can’t stop. I can eat a whole bag of cherries in one sitting or a whole bag of grapes…or even a whole container of strawberries. As great as fruits are for you, too much isn’t good, at least not in one sitting. The second issue was that, that smoothie contained no protein. I needed to find a way to incorporate protein into my smoothie. Also, I wanted to try using a variety of vegetables…and lastly, that smoothie wasn’t creamy enough (I know I said two reasons, but whatever, the last two reasons aren’t as important as the first two).

Okay, so I tried to rectify that by adding different vegetables and using protein powder. I actually hate protein powder. I work out (High Intensity Cardio and Heavy weight lifting) 5-6 times a week for at least 2 hours each time and rarely have I used protein powder. I prefer to get my protein from meat and eggs but I’ve had this expensive 1kg 100% whey flavor free protein powder that has been sitting on top of my mini fridge for about 6 months (don’t worry, protein powder lasts like 4 years), which I had to use. I was contemplating using raw egg whites instead…but there’s something about raw eggs or raw food in general (except sushi, veggies, and fruits) that creep me out. I can’t even drink eggnog or eat rare beef so I decided to use my protein powder.

I didn’t know whether to call this a smoothie or milkshake because mine came out really thick and creamy like a milkshake (because of the avocado and coconut milk). If you like the thickness, use the recipe as if. If you want it to be more smoothie like and fruitier, use coconut water in addition to your coconut milk, and less coconut milk. This smoothie also took forever to blend. I have a really shitty blender but it’s not just that, blending vegetables when you have a small quantity of extremely viscous liquid is extremely difficult. It’s basically like blending without liquid. My blender overheated so my smoothie ended up coming out warm. To avoid this, chop your vegetables really tiny so it blends easier and you should probably add ice when blending your smoothie; additionally, make sure you blend everything thoroughly (so it’s not so thick) before adding the veggies. You also get quite a lot of smoothie with this recipe so feel free to save some in the fridge for later.

IF YOU SKIPPED EVERYTHING ELSE, READ THIS!

Okay, if you expect this smoothie to have a fruity taste, it doesn’t! It tastes like vegetables…but mildly…not in a disgusting kind of way. I only used 4 strawberries but I used a shitload of spinach and kale. If you want it to have a more fruity taste, use more strawberries (or any fruit of preference) and less veggies. You can also substitute the coconut milk with coconut water, which is sweeter. The coconut milk was just there to give it creamy texture, kind of like a milkshake. For coconut milk, it’s better to use organic coconut milk in a bpa free can (you can get this online but it’s expensive). If you don’t have that option, buy Aroy D coconut milk (it’s what I used). It’s not in a bpa free can and it’s not organic but it doesn’t contain guar gum, other thickeners, or preservatives. Better yet, make your own coconut milk. Anyway, without further ado, here is the recipe. Substitute to your preference.

INGREDIENTS (Go for organic if you can, but if you’re a poor student like me, just use normal)

4 strawberries (use more if you want your smoothie to be fruity)
1/2 a stalk of celery (use more if you like the taste of celery, I don’t)
1/2 a medium avocado (seed removed)
1/4 cup coconut milk (substitute with coconut water if you want your smoothie to be fruitier or use a mix of both, 1/4 cup coconut milk, 1/4 cup coconut water)
1.25 cup fresh spinach with stalks/stems (you can use frozen if you’d like, but use less. If you want your smoothie to be fruitier, use less spinach. This measurement probably isn’t accurate because i measured after chopping my spinach…the size of your spinach will depend on how much fits in a cup. Just look at the photos below to see how the size of my chopped spinach)
2 leaves kale with the stalks/stems (use less kale if you want a fruitier taste)
1 capful (probably around a teaspoon) apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger minced/grated…just get it really tiny (don’t use the powdered stuff, you’ll end up putting too much)
1 scoop protein powder (save for last)
ice (optional)

PREPARATION

Wash all your vegetables and fruits
Chop the ends(the brown part) off the spinach and kale but leave the stem. This step is optional, I just like to use all part of my veggies. You can remove the stems if you like
Chop everything into small pieces.
Blend the: avocado, strawberries, celery, ginger, coconut milk (and coconut water if you chose), and ice first. Ensure to blend thoroughly
Add in your spinach and blend thoroughly
Add in your Kale and blend
Taste the smoothie, if it tastes too vegetably to you and you don’t like it, add more fruits. If it’s too thick, add more coconut water (the one with no sugar added)
Add your protein powder directly to the smoothie in the blender and mix carefully with a spoon before blending (this will prevent the expensive protein powder from spraying to the side and sticking there)
Enjoy