Perfect Meal Replacement Smoothie
for Winter

Ensure high protein with a healthy meal replacement smoothie. Get the nutrients you need to help you follow a healthy diet…even when you’re short on time, can’t cook, and want to eat something that actually tastes good!

You know those winter evenings when it doesn’t matter how cold it is outside, you just want a finger-licking good smoothie?

You arrive home after a long day of work. You bought all the ingredients you needed to cook that healthy soup recipe (maybe lentil soup…my favorite), but you know it’s going to take FOR-E-VER to actually cook it…an hour or more from start to finish.

You’re hungry and you want something that’s going to fill you up now….but you also want to stay away from junk food and domino foods like chips and salsa (or guacamole), cheese and crackers, or pretzels.

You also want to resist the temptation to just pop a can of soup or frozen dinner in the microwave and take the easy way out.

You want to follow your healthy eating plan, but sometimes you just want something that tastes oh-so-good and reminds you of those days when you used to actually be “allowed” to drink milkshakes at fast food restaurants. Without ditching your diet, that is.

That’s where this healthy meal replacement smoothie comes in. With enough raw, natural fiber-rich ingredients and vegan protein sources to fill you up, some superfoods thrown in for an extra energy-boost, and a subtle mix of spices to make it reminiscent of those hot drinks you used to drink by the fire…

Meal Replacement Smoothie Recipe

1/2 banana

1/2 cup frozen mixed berries

1 cup almond milk unsweetened

1 tablespoon peanut butter

1 scoop Garden of Life Raw Organic Protein Powder (Chocolate)

1 tablespoon chia seeds

1 handful walnut pieces

Dash of cinnamon

4 ice cubes

Serving size: about 2 cups (1 serving)

Instructions

Mix it all in the blender, in the order listed above. If you are using a high-powered blender you can add it all at once. But if you’re using a standard blender you bought at the department store for $30 or less, you’ll want to blend in phases like I did when I made this recipe.

Start with the fruit and liquid. Blend. Then add the peanut butter. Blend. Then the powder and seeds. Blend again. Finally the walnuts and just a dash of cinnamon….You know the drill. Ice comes last, and this time blend for longer moving through all the power settings until you end up with a perfectly smooth fruit shake with that just-right texture.

Note that if you use too much cinnamon, you will end up overpowering the smoothie and end up with a really thick texture.  So when I say a dash, I mean a dash.  Try sprinkling a bit into the lid of the container first instead of directly into the blender to control quantity.

The Garden of Life protein powder is my absolute favorite, but you can use any other protein powder as well, ideally one with a natural chocolate flavor to help give it that chocolate milkshake taste.

The Result?

2 words: Sooooo delicious.

That was what first came to mind when I tried this meal replacement smoothie, and there’s really no better way to describe it.

It almost tastes like a tasty frozen dessert that you would buy at a place like Dairy Queen….but 10x healthier, vegan, and delivers a potent serving of many essential nutrients.

In fact, this drink tastes so much like a dessert milkshake that I felt a bit guilty for drinking it before dinner…I just couldn’t resist!

UPDATE: After finishing this smoothie, I had no desire to even eat dinner. And it’s not because I had “spoiled my appetite” by “filling up on empty calories,” as my mom used to say when I would sneak in sweets before dinnertime.

No, instead, I had filled up on protein, healthy fats and fiber, with no added sugar, before eating my actual dinner, with no need to even “cook” myself anything...I’ll save the lentil soup I had cooking on the stove as leftovers for this week’s meals :)

This smoothie makes a complete meal replacement smoothie, with the cinnamon adding a nice kick and a hint of that Christmas spirit, just in time for the winter holidays.

The only thing that would make this meal even healthier would be to chase the smoothie with some fresh, raw vegetables, like spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers and carrots.

I certainly can’t survive on vegetables alone, but I can not only SURVIVE but also THRIVE on a plant-based diet thanks to high protein meal replacement smoothie drinks.

Related Links

High Protein Superfood Smoothie Recipe

Easy Homemade Fruit Smoothie with Strawberry and Banana

Chocolate Lovers’ Blackberry Smoothie Recipe

Back from Meal Replacement Smoothie to Superfood Smoothie Recipes

Back to Joy of Smoothies Home Page

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