By Lisa Holcomb
Spring is here, summer is right around the corner and it is heating up in many parts of the country. Now is the time we really want those cool refreshing smoothies and shakes. However, so many of them aren’t healthy and don’t do our waistline any good. Or, if they are healthy, they might not be so tasty. We sure can’t get our families (especially our kids) to drink something that doesn’t look and taste appealing.
We’re going to help you out with that. At Build a Menu we have a weekly smoothie and shake category that always features healthy and yummy drinks that the whole family is sure to enjoy. We would love to share some of those simple recipes with you here. We hope you and your family enjoy these as much as we do! These recipes all serve 1-2, so feel free to adjust the recipe as needed to fit your family size. Whether you indulge in these drinks all by yourself, or your whole family enjoys them, we think you’ll find them as yummy as we do. Enjoy!
Orange Julius Copycat
1 cup water
½ cup orange juice
2 cups milk
3/4 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
Mix everything in a blender along with 3-5 ice cubes and pour into 2 tall glasses.
Sweet Strawberry Shake
2 scoops vanilla protein powder
8 oz. water
1 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
6 frozen strawberries
Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Pour into 2 glasses and serve.
Carrot Cake Peanut Butter Smoothie
1 carrot chopped
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
4 Tbsp. peanut butter
4 Tbsp. coconut flakes
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 cup vanilla almond milk (unsweetened)
Combine all ingredients in a blender along with 1/2 cup of ice. Blend until smooth. Pour into 2 glasses.
Snickers Protein Shake
1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1 scoop protein powder
Sweetener to taste
5 ice cubes (more if you want it thicker)
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
2 Tbsp. peanut butter
1/2 tsp. caramel extract
Put everything into a blender and blend until creamy consistency is reached! You can even top with peanuts and/or mini chocolate chips if desired! Enjoy!
Quinoa Banana Berry Smoothie
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1 banana (frozen)
1 cup frozen raspberries
1 1/2 cups green tea
6 ice cubes
Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Pour into 2 glasses and serve.
Lisa Holcomb and her husband, Will, have six children (her oldest two children are married and have babies of their own) and live near Austin, Texas, with their four boys. Lisa is co-founder of Build a Menu and is known as the “Queen of Meal Time Makeovers.” She is an author, speaker, and an advocate for adoption, family nutrition, savvy grocery shopping, and family dinners. Feel free to email her at [email protected].
