Caramel Apple Pie Protein Shake

The boys love smoothies and shakes and  sometimes it's a nice option to go with our meal or for a little snack.  So I found this one recently and we really enjoyed it.  Will thought the cinnamon was a little too "spicey" and Isaac didn't love it but the rest of us did.  I didn't have xanthum gum or stevia (I just used sugar).  I thought it was great!  The recipe came from here

Ingredients

1/2 cup	Fat free cottage cheese 1
1	Scoop vanilla protein powder 2
1/2 cup	Apple chopped fine, or 1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 tsp	Caramel extract (or 2 tbs sugar free butterscotch pudding mix)
1/2 tsp	Apple or pumpkin pie spice
Dash	Cinnamon
5-10	Ice cubes (Depending on how thick you like it, use less for a thinner consistency)
1/2-1 cup	Water (Alter this according to desired consistency)
2-3 pkts	Stevia (or 1/4 tsp sweetener of choice)
Optional:	1/2 tsp xanthan gum 3, 1/2 tsp butter extract

¹ Cottage cheese may sound strange, but TRUST me… this is what makes the ‘MILKSHAKE’ consistency! Also, if you are sensitive to dairy, you can use tofu to get the same consistency!

² I use Designer Whey Protein powder. It has 100 calories per scoop. I buy the vanilla flavor because it’s a good base to add whatever flavors you want to make. It is also all natural. You can buy it from Kroger, GNC, Trader Joe’s, Amazon, or Netrition.com.

³ You can get xanthan gum from most grocery stores in the gluten free section! Just a pinch of it makes your shake so thick and creamy!

Here's the Dish

What could be better than enjoying your apple pie in a rich creamy shake packed with protein!?! This shake makes an excellent breakfast or snack, and is so delicious that you will have a hard time believing that it is actually good for you! 

Method

THE ESTIMATED TOTAL TIME TO MAKE THIS RECIPE IS 5 MINUTES.

1

Put everything into a blender and blend until creamy consistency is reached! Top with light whipped cream and a dash of cinnamon if desired, and Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Protein Shake

I don't have any measurements to give on this so you will just have to do it to taste.  The boys and Mike love when I make this.  It's a fun change from a smoothie.

Peanut Butter Protein Shake

2 frozen bananas
ice cubes
a few TBS Chocolate milk powder (I use our food storage chocolate milk powder unless we run out of it and then I use the Nesquick chocolate milk powder)
2 TBS peanut butter (or or less depending on how much you like peanut butter.  I put a little more in last night and it was too much for me but the boys loved it)
Milk (if I use the food storage chocolate milk mix then I just use water)
**I also occasionally add some protein powder.  We like the vanilla flavor but you could use whatever you want.  Sometimes I will add in a fiber supplement too.  You have to make sure it is really mixed well when you use it though.

Dumb all the ingredients in a blender and mix well.

Peach Smoothie

I found this recipe on Pinterest.  We are big into smoothies in this house and this one was great.  I tweaked the recipe because the original recipe called for Vodka and something else.  The peaches weren't quite ripe so there wasn't as much as a peach flavor as I hoped but we all still liked it. The recipe calls for frozen peaches but there weren't any at the store--they hadn't stocked them yet--and so I thought fresh peaches would be better anyway.  But, alas, the fresh ones weren't quite ripe.  Anyway, it was a great recipe so give it a try.


Peach Smoothie

2 cups fresh orange juice
1 cup peach greek yogurt
2 cups frozen sliced peaches (since I used fresh, I also added some ice)
2 tablespoons raw honey or 1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Blend all the ingredients until smooth.