I'm the Queen of Protein Shakes

I just bought a fab e-book, Turbulence Training Fat Loss Workouts by Craig Ballantyne. This program is a nice mix up of traditional “gym class” style body weight exercises and weight lifting. I’ve never known anyone who is both overweight and fast. If you want to be lean, interval training is where it’s at. My legs are getting stronger and my abs are getting more toned. I change up my workouts every 4 weeks and learn new exercises. I highly recommend Craig’s work. He has some great fitness tips on You Tube as well. I’m a visual person so it helps me to see how these exercises should be done.

Along with working out, who doesn’t love a good protein shake? I’ve never had a better protein powder than Jay Robb’s Chocolate Egg White Protein. Due to a dairy allergy I can’t do his Whey protein powders. He makes a vanilla one which is good too. I also put his unflavored egg white protein powder into soups. It works especially well in vegetarian soups that don’t already have a lot of protein such as Trader Joe’s Split Pea. You can add it to oatmeal or cereals as well.

A Bunch O' Recipes:

My Everyday Yummy Chocolate Protein Shake:
Organic Cocoa powder or raw chocolate powder (with no sugar) – 1-2 TBS
Kefir – about half to one cup (I can’t do regular milk, only fermented dairy works for me)
Jay Robb choc egg white protein powder – usually 2 scoops, an awesome 50 grams of protein!
*Maca – 1 tbs
**Mesquite meal – 1-2 TBS which sweetens everything nicely without adding “sugar”
One raw egg (yep, you read right)
I’ll add a bit of water and some ice cubes to make it less thick and increase the blendability (is that a word? Can you tell I work with consultants?)

Fancy Version of Chocolate Protein Shake:
Do everything above but add:
A pinch of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice and and/or nutmeg
A pinch of sea salt
1 tsp of vanilla extract
You could even add chili spices and make it taste as yummy as an exotic Vosage chocolate

And Another Fancy Version of Chocolate Protein Shake:
This is for the person who is not on a low carb diet
Coconut water from young coconuts and blend the coconut meat too
Ice Cubes
Organic Cocoa powder or raw choc powder (with no sugar) – 1-2 TBS
A pinch of sea salt
A pinch of nutmeg
Jay Robb choc. egg white protein powder – 1-2 scoops

Chai Tea Protein Shake:
Black tea (and or ice cubes made with black tea) – maybe 4-5 cubes
Cocoa powder – 1-2 TBS
Kefir or milk – half to one cup
Cardamom – start small 1/8 tsp build up to taste
Cinnamon – a pinch
Jay Robb choc. egg white protein powder
Maca – 1 tbs
Mesquite meal – 1-2 TBS

Chocolate Coconut Protein Shake:
Organic Cocoa powder (with no sugar) – 1-2 TBS
Coconut Kefir Water (as made per Body Ecology book recipe) or simply Coconut water if you don’t care about carbs, you can even add the coconut meat too
Or . . . 1/3 cup of coconut milk (light version works great too) with some ice cubes
Jay Robb choc. egg white protein powder – 1-2 scoops
Mesquite meal – 1-2 TBS
1-2 TBS coconut oil (I use it every day for my thyroid)
I’ll add a bit of water to blend easier

Vanilla Protein Shake
Jay Robb’s Vanilla protein powder – 1-2 scoops
Vanilla extract
A pinch of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice and or nutmeg
1-2 raw eggs (makes it nice and thick)
1-2 TBS mesquite meal
Kefir or milk - again half to one cup, you are the boss

Tahini-Vanilla Protein Shake
Jay Robb’s Vanilla protein powder – 1-2 scoops
Vanilla extract
1-2 TBS of Tahini
1-2 raw eggs (makes it nice and thick)
1-2 TBS mesquite meal
Kefir or milk - again half to one cup
*If you are not on a low carb diet, a banana (especially frozen) is a good addition too

*Maca is a root that grows in the high mountains of Peru. Rich in nutritional content (potassium, and calcium), it is a natural hormonal balancer which provides great health benefits for both, men and women. Due to its high nutritional value, it is not only popular as a sexual libido enhancer and menopause symptoms helper, but also greatly affects energy, stamina, depression, memory, and more. It’s great for the adrenals. I will warn you though, too much and you will be humping people’s legs like a dog. It really is a libido enhancer so start off small and build from there. You can find maca in raw powder form at health food stores or raw food stores. In Chicago you can get it at Lifespring Health Foods near Clark and Belmont or Karyn’s raw food store/restaurant on Halsted.

**Mesquite Meal is made by finely milling the seeds and pods of the Mesquite Tree. It can be used as a flour or a spice. It has a lot of calcium which is a nice counterbalance to all the chocolate powder, which is full of magnesium. It also has a slight butterscotchy taste plus it’s fairly low in carbs.

I swear these protein shakes taste great and I should now as I have suffered through a lot of bad protein powders. I’m picky too. I don’t like the taste of stevia either which the Jay Robb protein does have but not so much that it is bothersome plus the other ingredients (thankfully) overpower it. Of course there are a dozen more variations such as adding peanut butter or almond butter or your favourite choice of fruit, stevia or agave nectar. You could also give Starbucks a run for their money and use your favourite coffee as a base too or freeze into ice cubes and blend. Why waste left-over coffee or tea when you can freeze it and blend it up later.

Now I really want to figure out a way to make a good tasting but low carb version of Strawberry Quick or my old pre-dairy allergy fave the DQ butterscotch malt. I may be pushing 40 but I don’t think I’ll ever lose my childhood white trash palette.