Healthy Banana & Chocolate Protein Shake

Whether it's after a work out, an afternoon pick me up, or a snack when I'm hungry and need something on the go, I like to have some sort of protein shake. Usually I just pour almond milk and a protein powder into a blender bottle, shake it up, and take it with me. But recently, I've been wanting to step my game up a bit.

Enter a frozen banana and chia seeds. Nothing too crazy, but the banana gives the shake a creamier texture and a great flavor. And the chia seeds add another level of texture and some great health benefits!

And speaking of health benefits, I've been using a great all natural "Nutritional Shake" from Rockin' Wellness. I can't call it a protein powder since it only has 4g per serving. It is, however, delicious, all natural, non-GMO/Gluten Free/Vegan/Raw and is made up of ingredients I can pronounce. It also talks about giving your energy and mood, and I do notice that if I'm tired in the afternoon, it does help pick me up. Nothing crazy like a cup of coffee, but it does help.

If you have a protein powder that you like, definitely use that instead to make an actual Protein shake (and let me know if you have any good recommendations!). I just wanted to mention the powder that I've been using a lot, even though it doesn't really make this exact shake I drink a crazy loaded protein shake - it could be, as long as you change the powder. The way it's written/I made it? It ended up having about 7-8 g of protein which is fine by me! It was also high in fiber.



Again, you don't need to use the powder I've been using (this isn't an endorsement - just what I happen to have on hand and use right now). If you have a good protein powder or other sort of nutritional supplement, feel free to use that instead! It just depends on what you want/need, or whatever you have on hand.

I've also started keeping frozen bananas in the freezer for whenever I want to use in shakes, so I might try and explore different fruit smoothies with frozen bananas. I used to do fruit smoothies (basically just fruit and spinach - no juice or yogurt) all the time to get fruit in my diet, but I haven't done that in awhile.. It might be time to bring that back! Maybe I'll be adventurous and experiment with different types of vegetables. Things might just get crazy around here.

Anyway, this shake as it is, is delicious, pretty healthy, and a great way to sneak some extra fruit/protein/nutrients into your diet!

Healthy Banana & Chocolate Shake

makes 1 shake, about 1 1/2 cups

1/2 banana, frozen
1 cup almond milk
1 scoop chocolate protein powder
1/2 tablespoon chia seeds
1-3 ice cubes, based on consistency preference

Add banana, almond milk, protein powder, chia seeds, and ice (I used 1 cube) to a blender. Blend until desired consistency. Pour into a glass and enjoy.

Note: The recipe the way I made it only yielded about 7-8 grams of protein, which isn't a lot for a shake. But, I'd rather have this than a fake protein bar, which usually is around 7-10 grams of protein (if you get the ones that would taste as good as this shake). Feel free to use whatever protein powder you have on hand if you want something with 20+ g of protein.

[source: Confectionary Tales original]