The Ultimate Smoothie

Hi everyone! To celebrate the launch of my new website and blog I wanted to make a post about smoothies!

What?

That's right! Mostly because I just drank one and I wanted to share the recipe with the rest of the world.

Anyways, let's jump straight into the recipe.

Just for your information, I don't really do exact amounts.

• 1 banana (the bigger and riper the better)
• a handful of frozen berries (I prefer blueberries and strawberries because they have less seeds)
• around 1 cup of whole milk
• 1 large egg
• a tablespoon of honey (local is better)
• 10-30 grams of protein powder (unflavored and minimally processed)

First I would like to say that I'm not a huge proponent of drinking smoothies all the time. Eating real food is usually better since it's good for your jaw (chewing) and it helps you eat and digest slower which is healthy.

Despite that, ingredients like these have a number of health benefits and the convenience of making a smoothie from time to time cannot be overlooked.

Pretty much every ingredient in here is relatively dense in nutrients and are great performance boosters especially for athletes.

Everyone knows and loves bananas. Why? They are a great source of vitamins that are essential to performance.

• Vitamin B6
• Manganese
• Vitamin C
• Fiber
• Biotin
• Copper
• Potassium

Bananas are touted to be the cure-all for muscle cramps, although that seems to be somewhat of a myth. Either way, it is a great source of simple carbohydrates and vitamins, but most importantly it gives the smoothie a great texture!

I won't go into to much detail about this one as the benefits are very similar to that of bananas: a good source of simple carbs and fiber, plus they are dense in other vitamins and minerals. Plus if you get them frozen then they are cheaper and you don't have to add ice to the smoothie!

The data on milk is always changing, but I personally believe that it is still a staple source of healthy fats, vitamins, minerals and protein. While the macros are great, the micronutrient content of milk is also quite impressive:

• Phosphorus
• Calcium
• Vitamin A
• Vitamin D (in products fortified with vitamin D)
• Riboflavin
• Vitamin B12
• Potassium
• Zinc
• Choline
• Magnesium
• Selenium

Many of these nutrients aren't even available in plant based foods like Selenium and Choline.

Selenium is an essential component of various enzymes and proteins, called selenoproteins, that help to make DNA and protect against cell damage and infections; these proteins are also involved in reproduction and the metabolism of thyroid hormones.

Harvard School of Public Health

Speaking of selenium, eggs have a larger amount of selenium than milk. In fact, in terms of nutrient density, eggs pretty much steal the show. They contain a small amount of all of these nutrients:

• Vitamin A
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin E
• Thiamin
• Riboflavin
• Vitamin B6
• Vitamin B12
• Folate

As well as Pantothenic Acid, Choline, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium, Zinc, Copper, Manganese and Selenium.

Yup. Eggs, in my opinion, are probably the closest thing we have to a superfood. Plus, if you are worried about cholesterol, there is no reason to be worried (although please take health advice from your doctor).

Yet another amazing source of simple carbohydrates that is great before or after a tough session. I definetly recommend splurging for local, raw honey. Typically the darker and more viscous, the less processed the honey is so I would be on the lookout for those.

There are many kinds of protein powder that I would never put into my smoothie. Since they qualify as supplements they are not regulated by the FDA and thus studies have found unusually high levels of heavy metals and other unwanted chemicals and ingredients in many top label brands of protein powder.

If you're looking to get something cheap and high quality I recommend bulksupplements.com (and no I'm not sponsored) or if you want to opt-in for something a little more expensive then I recommend collagen peptides by Vital Protein.

Honestly, which powder you use depends on your preferences and honestly you don't even need to use any at all (although protein content of the smoothie will be quite low).