A Basic Protein Shake

People usually ask me about what foods I recommend but there has seemed to be a recurrence of specifically what to eat for breakfast...I think breakfast can be tricky for people because we are always short on time in the morning. We are so busy trying to get to work, get the kids to school, or trying to cram that early am workout in that breakfast often takes a backseat.
A lot of people tell me that they are skipping breakfast all together- Mistake #1
Others are opting for grab and go options like pop tarts, bagels, or cereal- Mistake #2

To address mistake #1 I have to add that coffee does not count as breakfast...Sorry. It just doesn't.
You need to eat in the morning because that is what "wakes up" your body to tell your metabolism to get going already! When you skip breakfast your metabolism hits the snooze button and you are burning MINIMAL calories until you finally eat. I don't know about you but I want my metabolism to wake up as early as possible so I can burn more calories! If you are faced with the option of eating something unhealthy vs not eating at all I would still recommend eating the unhealthy option- ONLY in this situation because eating in the am is so very important.

Mistake #2- this one is tough because we are all so busy and for me to tell you that you need to make breakfast every morning and pull out the pots and pans is just unrealistic. However, there are MANY ways you can eat a health breakfast without a bunch of fuss...Today I am going to show you my BASIC protein shake- it is the foundation for a lot of other shakes that I make throughout the week depending on what flavors I crave. NOW-  I know as soon as I said the word "shake" that you all rolled your eyes and said, "yea right". BUT stay with me here...I will never tel you to eat something that doesn't taste good or that I wouldn't eat myself. Shakes have received a somewhat negative press because they are almost always associated with body builders. Now that can be looked at as "oh well I'm not a body builder so I don't need a shake", HOWEVER you should look at it as "They drink it and look at their great body- they must be doing something right!"

So here you go...The Basic Protein Shake

Ingredients

2 scoops of Whey protein powder
Any brand is fine when you are getting started. However I like Muscle Milk because it has the best flavor to me and it also has some carbohydrates in addition to protein which can make it more gentle on your stomach.
You pick the flavor- I like chocolate usually but they also have vanilla, cookies and cream, strawberry, etc)
1 cup Milk (many options here- I use skim milk but I will settle for the lowest fat content you can stand. Other options are almond milk and rice milk. I personally like almond milk over rice milk but you decide what works for you
3 Ice cubes

Place the ingredients in a blender and voila- breakfast! I SWEAR it is delicious- Try it!!
You can always adjust the amount of ice/milk depending if you like a thicker or thinner shake.
Now this is fast and easy but if this is still just too much work for you I recommend getting one of the individual portion blenders (available at all major chain stores) that blends in the same container you drink out of. This way you and blend and walk out the door with it.

After some time of drinking this shake you will get bored with it so you need to change it up. Here are a few add-ins you can put in your shake to alter the flavor.

Strawberries           Almonds             
Blueberries             Peanut Butter (natural pb is best, less sugar)
Banana                   Any extract (vanilla, peppermint)
Raw coconut          Cocoa powder
Cinnamon               Pumpkin (plain canned pumpkin or homemade, not pie filling)
Pumpkin pie spice  Blackberries
Nutmeg                  Raw baby spinach (I will post a blog just about this because I know adding vegetables is scary)

If you aren't creative just google protein shake flavors. I am also a Pinterest.com fan for great recipe ideas! Good Luck!