Banana Chocolate Pea Protein Smoothie

Have you heard of pea protein yet? Our Banana Chocolate Pea Protein Smoothie uses this gluten-free, unsweetened, unflavored powder to make a tasty protein shake.

    

Last June, I gave myself the best 40th birthday present ever: a year’s worth of personal trainer sessions. Ever since then, I get up at 6 am on Tuesdays and Thursdays to meet with my personal trainer at my local YMCA. On those mornings, she kicks my butt good and plenty. My trainer knows that I have no interest in losing weight, but I do have a tremendous amount of interest in turning my fat into muscle. So we work hard while I’m there and then the rest is up to me.

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So it’s fair to say that when I get back from the gym, I am a ravenous beastie. But I have a huge coffee habit, so I chug back a cup of coffee while I let the chickens out and then dream about food as I walk back into the house. Unfortunately, after all of that strength training, my stomach isn’t really in the mood for something hard to digest. It prefers to sip on a smoothie while I get dressed.

Unfortunately, some of my smoothies were getting a bit too high in calories. I love adding tasty, creamy ingredients like avocado, bananas, pumpkin, and kefir – but if you add too many of these things into one smoothie, it’ll tip the caloric scale way too high. So as I rolled into 2017 with my brand new Ninja blender in hand, I’ve been making a concerted effort to try new sources of protein in my smoothies.

Now you may be wondering how on earth I came across pea protein. Well, I’m not sure if we’ve mentioned it before, but Daniele and I are both regular contributors to Edible Long Island and as such, we pay close attention to food trends. One of the Top Contenders for 2017 is Pea Protein. It’s gluten-free, vegan, and has a mild flavor which makes it a great addition to smoothies, shakes, and baked goods. It’s also a rich source of iron and has 21 grams of protein per serving!

One of the reasons that I really like Pea Protein is because it adds a nice bulk to my smoothies and eliminates the need to pack all of my favorite ingredients into one smoothie. Now, with pea protein, I can use one fruit as the star and not feel like I’m missing out on anything.

This Banana Chocolate Pea Protein Smoothie is a great post-workout shake. Its mild taste is kind on easily upset tummies (which mine can be) and includes a nice amount of good-for-you ingredients like bananas, almond butter, chia seeds, chocolate almond milk, pea protein and ice.

BANANA CHOCOLATE PEA PROTEIN SMOOTHIE

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dark chocolate almond milk
• 1 large banana, frozen
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1 tablespoon chocolate almond butter
• 2 tablespoons pea protein
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• Ice cubes

Directions:

Step 1.) Place all of the ingredients into a high powered blender like this Ninja blender and pulse until smooth and creamy.

Have you tried pea protein yet?

Denine

Want more smoothie recipes? Check out these recipes from my Wayfair Blogger friends:

Layered Smoothie – from Dans Le Lakehouse

Peach Cobbler Smoothie – from Endlessly Inspired

Spinach Pineapple Green Smoothie Bowl – from Lucky and I Blog

Orange Carrot Ginger Smoothie – from Pretty Polished Perfect

Pineapple Spinach Smoothie – from The Honeycomb Home

Winter Citrus Smoothie – from Two Places At Once

Simple Green Smoothies – from Bright Green Door

Simple Strawberry Smoothie – from Only By Grace

Dreamy Lavender Smoothie – from The Mom of the Year

Strawberry Lavender Smoothie – from Embracing Homemaking

Orange Carrot Smoothie – from Diving Lifestyle

Chocolate Strawberry Protein Smoothie – from Create and Babble

Tasty Tropical Green Smoothie – from Harlem Lovebirds

Spinach Smoothie – from Red Shutters Blog

Green Detox Smoothie – from This Girl’s Life Blog

Chamomile, Blueberry, and Peach Smoothie – from The Creative Goddess

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