What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word ‘protein’?
I don’t blame you if steak, chicken or hamburger beef patties are amongst the very first things that you think about. Truth is, people rarely consider fruits and vegetables to be sources of proteins, too.
Granted, they don’t contain the amount sufficient for the daily recommended protein intake but that is something you can actually work around with – by consuming high protein juices.
Why Do We Need Proteins and What Benefits Do We Get From Taking High Protein Juice?
Protein juice recipes help increase your fruit and vegetable intake. They actually contain a substantial amount of proteins per serving, amongst which the following health benefits ensue:
- Good for the bones
- Increase muscle mass and strength
- Improves your mood and reduces anxiety
- Healthy brain function and higher learning capabilities
- Drinking high protein smoothies can help in muscle repair and recovery
- Proteins are good for your skin, nails and hair
- They help balance blood sugar levels
- High protein diets help remedy high blood pressure
- Reduce appetite, hunger and cravings
- Help slow the body’s aging process
One of the reasons people LOVE high protein smoothies is because they are highly convenient. Just by drinking it alone will give you the protein you need without having to prepare an entire meal.
High Protein Juice Recipes
Here, we have listed 5 high protein juice recipes that you can conveniently prepare at the comfort of your own home:
1. Green Protein Smoothie
What makes this smoothie interesting is that it is a green smoothie besides being a high protein juice. We all know how green juices are packed with countless health benefits.
This one here is an excellent option for people who are on a 1400-1700 calorie plan. If you’re one of those who like to prep in bulk, this will be a great choice too!
You will need:
- ½ cup of non-fat Greek yogurt (plain and unsweetened)
- ½ large banana (peeled and frozen)
- 1 cup of almond milk (unsweetened)
- 1 cup of baby spinach
- 1 tbsp. Almond butter.
- ¼ tsp. of vanilla extract (optional)
To prepare the smoothie:
- Put all the ingredients in a blender.
- Blend until smooth.
- Serve and enjoy.
Nutrition:
17 grams of protein
2. Carrot Cake Smoothie
As delicious as its name sounds, the carrot cake smoothie does NOT actually contain any cake. However, what it does contain are flavors and ingredients that are often found in carrot cakes – hence the reason it tastes just like the dessert.
You will need:
- ½ cup of Greek yogurt (low-fat)
- 1 tsp. of honey
- 2 tbsp. of shredded coconut (unsweetened)
- ¼ tsp. of ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp. of walnuts (roughly chopped)
- ½ sliced banana (frozen)
- ¾ cup of carrots (grated)
- ½ cup of peeled orange segments (frozen)
- ½ cup of coconut water
- 1 tsp. of vanilla extract
To prepare the smoothie:
- Put all the ingredients in a blender.
- Blend until smooth.
- Serve and enjoy.
Nutrition:
18 grams of protein
3. Chia Raspberry Almond Smoothie
The protein source of this smoothie lies in the chia seeds, almonds and Greek yogurt. We love the ingredient combination as it gives off a very rich and flavorful taste. It’s a great drink to help fuel your body in the morning since it’s loaded with antioxidants, calcium and fiber.
You will need:
- 2 tsp. of chia seeds
- 2/3 cups of plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp. of honey
- 2/3 cups of almond milk (or any other milk)
- ¼ cup of almonds
- 2/3 cups of frozen raspberries
Prepping your smoothie ingredients:
- Stir the yogurt and honey.
- Spoon into an ice-cube tray and freeze it.
- Later, place the ice cubes into a bag and add the chia seeds, almonds, and raspberries. Set aside a few almonds.
To prepare the smoothie:
- Put all the ingredients in a blender (except for the reserved almonds).
- Blend until smooth.
- Serve into a glass.
- Chop the remaining almonds, put them in the smoothie, and stir.
- Enjoy.
Nutrition:
23 grams of protein
4. Banana Nut Smoothie
Aside from Greek yogurt, this recipe also contains other high-protein ingredients such as peanut butter and sunflower seeds. (Psss… these two also provide plenty of healthy fats to the body).
You will need:
- 1 tbsp. of peanut butter
- ½ a cup of Greek yogurt (2% fat)
- 1 ripe banana (peeled)
- 2 tbsp. of roasted sunflower seeds
- 1 cup of almond milk (unsweetened)
- ¼ tsp. of vanilla extract
- 1 pinch of salt
To prepare the smoothie:
- Put all the ingredients in a blender.
- Blend until smooth.
- Serve and enjoy.
Nutrition:
20 grams of protein
5. Navel Orange Protein Smoothie
If you are looking for a sugar-free protein smoothie, this drink is perfect for you. The pomegranate and navel orange will help satisfy any sugar cravings you may have.
You will need:
- 1 navel orange (peeled, cut, and frozen)
- ½ cup of almond milk (unsweetened)
- Seeds from ½ a pomegranate frozen
- 1 tbsp. of almond butter
- 1 cup of plain Greek yogurt (2% fat)
- ½ tsp. of vanilla extract
To prepare the smoothie:
- Put all the ingredients in a blender.
- Blend until smooth.
- Serve and enjoy.
Nutrition:
31 grams of protein
Biggest Challenge With High Protein Smoothies
Ok, so there have been questions circulating around on whether or not high protein fruit juice recipes (or smoothies) can supply the amount of essential amino acids required by the human body.
Before we look into that, let’s briefly delve at this thing called ‘protein’ first.
Proteins are made out of amino acids. The body needs it and while it can produce some of them on its own, there are certain amino acids that it cannot build by itself. These are what’s commonly known as ‘essential amino acids (EAAs)‘, where there are 9 of them altogether:
Where we get these EAAs usually lie in complete proteins, such as meat. The thing is, not everyone eats meat. Hence the rise of meat-free protein sources, high-protein fruit juice being one of them.
However, not all alternative protein sources are considered as ‘complete’ substitutes. This is because they don’t contain all the 9 EAAs the body needs.
The good news is – our body can function adequately even if we don’t get all 9 at the same time.
What this means is that we can actually spread out our essential amino acids intake throughout the day via different meals. The lack of certain essential amino acids from a particular meal can be made up with another if we make sure our diet plan contains a variety of amino acid profiles.
So good news to those who are on a meat-free diet or are vegan. You don’t have to change your living choices but make sure to incorporate plenty of vegetables (and a few other fruits) in your diet and not just rely on high-protein juice recipes solely. Some high-protein vegetables include:
- Spinach
- Chia seeds
- Oats
- Broccoli
- Peanuts
- Beans
- Yellow corn
- Green peas
- Quinoa
- Buckwheat
- Hempseed
- Amaranth
- Cauliflower
- Almonds
High protein fruits include:
- Bananas
- Strawberries
- Navel oranges
- Cantaloupe
- Watermelons
Wrap Up
As you can see, there is a pretty long list of vegetables and fruits that can help get the variety of amino acid profiles you need.
There are still a ton of vegetables and food that are not on the list, i.e. soy products, which you can include in your diet as well. Most of our high protein juice recipes contain Greek yogurt which gives you 10 grams of protein out of every 100 grams, and we’ve also shared recipes that contain a lot of nuts and seeds that are themselves healthy fat and protein powerhouses.
So yes, it’s not always the case where you have to resort to protein powders to fulfill your protein needs. You just need a little creativity and plenty of knowledge on the topic – feel free to drop us a message if you have any other queries!