Protein shakes provide one of the best means of building lean muscle. With the ability to mix whole foods together, shakes provide one of the most delicious ways to get top-shelf nutrition.
Most people, however, get lost when trying to figure out how to make the best protein shake possible. The following should provide some guidance on how to construct one of the world's finest super-foods.
Protein Bar
Use a high-quality protein powder
This is the most essential part of any protein shake recipe. You must -- absolutely must -- use a high-quality protein powder. A good protein powder provides much of the nutrition of the shake, but most importantly, it provides the bulk of the taste of the shake. Is it a chocolate-infused shake? Then a high-quality chocolate protein powder will provide the rich chocolate taste you're looking for, but with excellent nutrition. Does your shake need a light vanilla flavor? You better believe you're going to need a great vanilla protein powder.
This isn't a matter of using just any protein powder, though. Using cheap protein powders provide poor digestibility, poor nutrition, and most importantly, poor taste! When you buy the cheapest stuff you can find at some bottom-of-the-barrel web site, then you're going to be making shakes that are going to give you gas and give you dry heaves from their bitter taste.
The base of any good protein shake is the protein powder used! I cannot stress this enough.
Use whole foods in your shake
Most people don't realize that they can toss whole foods into their shake. Throwing peanut butter, cream, almonds, even eggs into shakes completely transforms them. Your protein shakes should not be made up of just weird powders and supplements. Consider your shake a condensed "super-recipe" full of nutritious foods.
Use frozen vegetables
I don't ever want to see anyone put ice into a protein shake recipe! This may sound crazy, but putting frozen broccoli into a shake instead of ice results in the exact same flavor, but tons more nutrition! Broccoli's taste is masked by its being frozen. Just make sure you blend the shake a little longer, to grind everything up.
Use water instead of milk
If you use a high-quality protein powder, as well as filling whole food sources, then you will not need milk in your protein shake. Most of the population is at least slightly lactose intolerant, and milk provides a huge insulin rush in the body, meaning it helps you pack on extra fat if eaten at the wrong time. Mixed with the right protein powder, and the healthiest and tastiest whole foods, making your protein shake with water will be fine.
Use a fiber supplement
A fiber supplement, like psyllium husks, provides a little extra texture and no extra taste. Its biggest benefit though is that it will give your digestive system a BIG help, plus it slows down the speed with which your shake is digested, meaning less fat gain!
The bottom line on how to make a protein shake
Many of my shakes contain whole peanut butter, whole eggs, whole broccoli, whole oats -- are you getting the picture? My protein shakes are really just whole foods, blended together with a great-tasting and high-quality protein powder, which results in a "super-food blend" of sorts. Not only are my protein shakes sweet, rich treats, but they've helped me build the body of my dreams.
How else are you going to get a few servings of the best vegetables, a complete dose of high-quality protein, and fats and carbs from the best food sources, all at once?
Now go experiment with some protein shake recipes!