Smoothies or shakes, whatever you want to call them, are ideal for a light meal, snack, or when you need some real food on the run. However, it’s easy to fall into the convenience trap of buying pre-packaged protein shakes, powders and commercially made smoothies which are nothing more than over-processed fake foods. Shakes made at home can also include protein, fat and carbohydrate for a complete and filling meal, and all you need is a blender or stick blender and some basic ingredients. If you like the convenience of drinking it on the go, just pour your homemade shake into a BPA free hard-plastic or stainless steel drink bottle and take it with you!

Basic Shake Ingredients

Protein – Raw Eggs / nut butter or nuts
Fat – Coconut Cream / coconut oil / nut butter or nuts / avocado
Carbohydrate – Fruit and Vegetables
All three – Yoghurt / Milk (unpasteurised)

Get creative with your shakes. Here we tried dragon fruit, banana, pineapple and coconut cream. Very tropical!

Extra-ordinary Shake Ingredients

Raw Cacao Powder- This is cocoa powder that is unprocessed for maximum nutrition. Unsweetened cocoa powder is second best choice.
Raw Honey – Natural Sweetener. Be sure to buy honey that is unpasteurised and unfiltered for maximum nutrition.
Stevia – A plant-derived sweetener that doesn’t affect your blood sugar levels. Leaf or liquid form is best, only a few drops needed.
Herbs & Spices – Mint leaves, grated ginger root, and cinnamon are popular, but use your imagination!

Important Tips

* 2-3 whole eggs or just eggs yolks can be added to any shake to make it a “protein shake”, or taken out of a shake recipe if not desired (just add more liquid if too thick).
* Interchange or mix coconut milk, yoghurt, milk, ice or water to make your shake more liquid as desired. For some shakes, 2-3 eggs provide enough liquid; nothing else needed. Less liquid = thicker shake.
* Keep frozen fruit and greens in your freezer for convenience and great shake texture. Before freezing, peel bananas and avocadoes, chop other fruits and remove seeds (except berries), and pull kale leaves off the stem.
* Try a bit of coconut oil or flaxseed oil in your shake for extra fat and nutrition. Nut butter is nice with certain shakes too, or a handful of chopped nuts.
* Experiment with ingredients to find what tastes you prefer and what satisfies you for longer. When you make a great one, write down the recipe!
* Add a couple teaspoons of honey or about 5 drops liquid stevia (2 scoops powder) to any shake you want sweeter.
* Pulse blender several times to break up large ingredients, then blend shakes for several minutes for best flavour and consistency.

Chocolate Shake topped with frozen blueberries. An decadent afternoon snack or healthy satisfying dessert!

Basic Shake Recipes

All shake recipes are for one serving. You can easily double or triple the amounts to serve 2-3 people at once.

Fruit Shake: 2-3 eggs + 1 piece fruit or 2 halves mixed fruit (large handful / 1 cup for berries) + ½ cup coconut cream, yoghurt, milk or water.

Green Shake: 1 cup green fruit + 1 cup packed leafy greens like kale or spinach + ½ cup coconut cream, yoghurt, milk, or water and/or 2-3 eggs.

Chocolate Shake: 3 Eggs + 2 tbsp raw cacao or cocoa powder + ¼ avocado + ½ cup coconut cream or milk (NOT yoghurt) + 5 drops liquid stevia (optional: 1 tbsp nut butter and pinch salt). For Choc Banana shake, substitute 1 banana for the avocado.

Extra-ordinary Shake Recipes

Green Shakes are so filling and nutritious!

Triple Green Shake

• 1 pear
• 1 cup leafy greens
• 1/4 avocado
• 2 slices ginger or 1 inch grated ginger
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 2 eggs
• 5-8 drops liquid stevia.

Triple Green Thick Shake

• 2 handfuls frozen kale leaves
• 2 sticks celery roughly chopped
• 1/2 a Granny Smith apple
• 2-3 inches fresh grated ginger
• 1/4-1/2 of coconut milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 8 drops liquid stevia

Use leftover pumpkin or sweet potato in your shake!

Ginger Pumpkin Shake

• 1/2 cup leftover soft roasted pumpkin
•  1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 slice ginger or 1 inch grated ginger
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 eggs
• 8 drops liquid stevia (3 scoops powder or leaf)

Sweet Potato Pie Shake

• Half a cooked sweet potato (Lovin’ Leftovers!)
• 1/2 cup coconut cream or coconut milk
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 5 drops liquid stevia (or 2 scoops powder) Honey or maple syrup might work well too!

Choc-Berry Kale Shake or Pudding

Many recipes here are derived or adapted from Moan Out Loud Protein Shakes, the book that got us out of our same-shake-every-day rut and into an exciting and delicious world of endless shake possibilities. Experimenting with shakes and making new creations is almost as fun as drinking the final result. Get your basic ingredients stocked up, try out these recipes we’ve sourced or created and get a feel for how easy and yummy homemade shakes are, then get creative and share your favourite shake recipe with us!

Do you make shakes at home? What are your favourite combinations?

Natural Smoothie & Shake Recipes – February 2013