Day 103: Protein Shakes/Smoothies Part 1 (no pictures)

So I've been working on some recipes for smoothies that are packed with protein and rich in other vitamins and minerals without using protein powder and that taste really good.  The reasons I don't want to use protein powder are the cost and the fact that I want to know and understand exactly what is in the smoothies I make and put into my body.  After doing some research, I've discovered that protein powder is not strictly regulated, and in actuality, it's really not hard to come by the protein recommended in a daily diet for an average "recreational" adult athlete. I can also feel good about giving these smoothies to my children. Randy and I have been replacing 1 meal a day with smoothies and some have been great and some have been failures (in my or his opinion, depending on the day).  Don't worry, I am only sharing the successes!  My experience making smoothies at the ice cream parlor/mini golf course I worked at in high school and college and my experiments last summer with smoothie making have made this process pretty easy and fun!  So far, I've compiled a list of 6 smoothie recipes we love and I wanted to share with you.  I have more ideas in my head and am already gearing up to make a new one tomorrow morning.  But I thought I'd break the list up into more than one post so they don't take me too long to type up.  Also, I just realized that I didn't take any pictures of the smoothies I've made so far, so I'll have to do that for the next post! :)

Some notes about the ingredients:
1) Some recipes include greens and others do not.  I think it's important to mix it up.  Having a good portion of kale or spinach everyday sounds good, but too much of anything is too much.  These dark green vegetables are rich in minerals--but minerals that can sometimes cause health issues themselves if eaten too much too frequently.  Because we try to eat green veggies with dinner and are having more salads with lunch, I think it's a good idea to have some smoothies without the greens to make sure we're keeping everything in moderation!
2) Wheat germ is the "embryo" of the wheat plant.  It's the part of the wheat kernel with the most vitamins and minerals and you can buy it in a glass jar in the oatmeal section of the grocery store.  It contains protein, vitamin E, folic acid, iron, zinc, and other minerals.  Because it's a grain, it adds a little more "fill" to the smoothie.  It's kind of like adding oatmeal but without that dry, powdery texture that adding oatmeal powder can create.  It helps make these smoothies feel more "meal-like" and is very affordable!  A serving size is 2 TB, but that is generally all I put in these smoothies which honestly make enough to feed Randy and myself.  So we're technically getting half a serving everyday.  I may increase this on the next round and see what it does to the texture of the smoothies.
3) I alluded to this in the above note, but most of these smoothies feed both Randy and myself.  They could easily feed one person, I suppose, but we don't have glasses or "to-go" cups big enough to fit the whole smoothie, so we split it.  Keep that in mind when reading the nutritional facts. (The calorie count seems high on first glance, but you have to remember that this is a meal-replacement smoothie, and most of them serve 2.) Occasionally I've made 2 batches of the same smoothie--1 for each of us, so there are 1 or 2 smoothies that actually are just 1 serving.  (They are noted below.)
4) Sometimes fruit smoothies can be tart.  We've found that to naturally sweeten a "tart" smoothie, it helps to add half of an apple.  Apples are a rather sweet fruit and they absorb some of the tartness of berries.  It's a great way to sweeten a smoothie without needing to add granulated sugar or honey.
5) I use non-fat and low-fat Greek vanilla yogurt, whatever I happen to pick up at the store.  The nutritional facts for these smoothies are for low-fat yogurt because we currently have Cabot low-fat Greek vanilla yogurt in our house--it's one of the cheaper brands.
6) Sugars: Fruit has a ton of sugar in it!!!  If you are restricting sugar (even natural sugar), these recipes aren't for you!  I'm including "added sugar" in my nutritional facts which includes the sugar in the yogurt and almond milk.  You can find facts about sugars in natural, raw fruits online.  Here are some sugar findings of mine: 1 mango=24g, 1 cup strawberries=7g, 1 cup blueberries=15g, 1 banana=14g, 1 apple=19g, 1 cup raspberries=5g, 1 cup pineapple=16g (http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/1809/2)

Strawberry-Mango Smoothie (serves 2)
1 mango, diced
2 cups strawberries, diced
1 cup spinach, chopped
1/2 apple, chopped
1 cup low-fat Greek vanilla yogurt
2 TB wheat germ
1 cup orange juice

Calories: 662, Fat: 5.5g, Protein: 27g, Fiber: 14g, Added Sugar: 28g, Vitamin C: 541%, Vitamin A: 126%, Vitamin E: 40%, Vitamin D: 45%, Iron: 25%, Calcium: 91%, Folic Acid: 20%

Pineapple-Banana Smoothie (serves 2)
1 cup spinach, chopped
1 cup pineapple, chopped
1 banana, sliced
2 TB wheat germ
1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
1 cup Almond Breeze almond/coconut milk

Calories: 547, Fat: 7g, Protein: 28g, Fiber: 10g, Added Sugar: 34g, Vitamin C: 188%, Vitamin A: 114%, Vitamin E: 90%, Vitamin D: 45%, Iron: 26.5%, Calcium: 97%, Folic Acid: 20%

Blueberry-Banana Smoothie (serves 2)
1 cup blueberries
1 banana
1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
1 cup low-fat (or non-fat) milk
2 TB wheat germ
2 tsp cinnamon

Calories: 601, Fat: 8g, Protein: 31g, Fiber: 11g, Added Sugar: 41g, Vitamin C: 71%, Vitamin A: 34%, Vitamin E: 40%, Vitamin D: 45%, Iron: 15%, Calcium: 83%, Folic Acid: 20%

Chocolate-Raspberry Smoothie (serves 1)
1 cup raspberries
1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
1 cup Silk dark chocolate almond milk
2 TB wheat germ
1 TB peanut butter

Calories: 552, Fat: 16g, Protein: 26.5g, Fiber: 12g, Added Sugar: 46g, Vitamin C: 109%, Vitamin A: 30%, Vitamin E: 100%, Vitamin D: 45%, Iron: 27%, Calcium: 93%, Folic Acid: 20%

Chocolate Banana Peanut-Butter Smoothie (serves 1)
1 banana, sliced
1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
1 cup Silk dark chocolate almond milk
1 TB peanut butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 TB wheat germ

Calories: 568, Fat: 15g, Protein: 24.5g, Fiber: 6.5g, Added Sugar: 46g, Vitamin C: 72%, Vitamin A: 32%, Vitamin E: 90%, Vitamin D: 45%, Iron: 21.5%, Calcium: 92.5%, Folic Acid: 10%

Strawberry-Blueberry Smoothie (serves 2)
1 cup strawberries, diced
1 cup blueberries
1 cup spinach, chopped
1 apple, diced
1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
1 cup almond/coconut milk
2 TB wheat germ

Calories: 591, Fat: 8.5g, Protein: 25g, Fiber: 15g, Added Sugar: 35g, Vitamin C: 227%, Vitamin A: 84%, Vitamin E: 90%, Vitamin D: 45%, Iron: 27.5%, Calcium: 98%, Folic Acid: 20%

***A special "thank you" to those who responded to my last post asking for ideas for protein shakes.  Along with those responses, this website came my way: http://www.niashanks.com/2013/07/protein-powder-free-protein-shake-recipe/ which gave me the idea to add spices and extracts to my smoothies.  I look forward to many more experiments in this field!!! :)

(By the way, for dinner tonight a friend of mine and her kids came over.  We fed them mac & cheese, veggies, and fruit while we had Chili's To-Go!)