High Protein Smoothies
By Julia Loggins
Want to feel as if you just drank one of those new energy drinks, except without all the crap, the caffeine and the sugar that makes them so toxic? Those drinks are popular because we’re all craving to feel super-charged and mentally clear all day. So many of us feel awful after we eat sluggish and stuffed, that we don’t even equate meals with having energy. And we are all so busy, especially first thing in the morning. I am checking messages, returning phone calls and getting two kids off to school, which means making their lunches (which I always have time for, even if I do not plan mine, sound familiar? It is the “mom” routine). I often don’t feel like a big breakfast, but I always have time for a smoothie. I drink my first one an hour after my morning wheatgrass and I feel strong and steady right until lunch.
Protein Powder
You may be wondering what type of protein powder is best, because there are so many available now. I urge my clients to stay away from soy, because of it’s estrogen-enhancing qualities. Many of my clients are dairy sensitive, which makes whey a problem, as well. Choose a rice or hemp-based protein, which rarely cause allergies and are both high quality, clean protein sources. Trader Joe’s carries a very affordable hemp-based protein in a delicious chocolate flavor. My personal favorite is Metagenics “Ultra Clear,” which I have been using for twenty years. I just make my smoothie with water, because I keep an eye on the sugar in my diet, even healthy sugar, like fruit.
But for my kids, I make it with frozen fruit and rice milk and they have at least one every day. They are fourteen and eighteen. and they make their own. I put a scoop “Ultra Clear” in a “sippie cup” with rice milk when my kids were toddlers, because it was an instant meal. It was a miracle how fast it would calm and quiet them when they were fussy. That’s because fussiness in toddlers (and us adults, too) is often our blood sugar plummeting. We need food, and we need it fast. Not to be confused with fast food, though I understand the pull of that as well. When we are hungry, our minds say, “Put something in my mouth, NOW”.
It’s easy to carry a mixing bottle, with a couple of scoops of a protein powder with us during the day. Just add water, drink, and feel that clean energy surge through your mind and body. It is a great way to avoid the junk food, the energy drinks and caffeine at 3 or 4 pm, before working out or late at night. Whenever you need energy. It is instant energy in a cup.
