I hate deciding what to eat and love having things either prepped ahead of time or easy to grab and go and this is especially true for breakfast during the week. Weekends are great because there is more time – nobody is rushing out the door anywhere and I usually get spoiled by Dave cooking. During the week though, I like to keep things simple and my breakfasts are usually a protein shake/smoothie/whatever you want to call it. I’ve been having them the same way for so long and while they’re delicious, I wanted to try a few new ways just to mix up the routine a little.

I’ve always had a sweet tooth (no different during pregnancy) and these recipes have seriously been so perfect! But, seeing as I’m probably as healthy as I’ve ever been, I’m also trying to keep that in check and not throw it all down the drain with cravings. Instead of having super sweet desserts or extras, these have been perfect for breakfast or after a tough workout.

*I make these using protein powder since 99% of a time they’re a meal and it helps fill me up and recover with my workouts and running but you can definitely make them without as a regular smoothie.

Cake Batter

The current love of my life…it’s SO. DAMN. GOOD. I didn’t want to have to buy a specially flavored protein powder and after looking at a few recipes online to get an idea, I tried my own mix of ingredients a couple times and came up with this perfect mix of deliciousness. Yes, I added tiny bit of whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles, because who doesn’t love a little pop of fun color, but you can leave them off.

• 3/4 C lowfat milk
• 1/4 C water
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 5-ish drops almond extract
• 1 TBSP sugar free vanilla pudding mix (just the powder from the box)
• handful of ice
• optional: whipped cream, rainbow sprinkles – they’re so fun, just do it!
• blend, drink, and realize you’re really sad when the yummy drink is all gone
  ~220 calories / 26 protein / 21 carbs / 4 fat  (WC and sprinkles extra) / 6 WW points

  **If you have any Torani vanilla syrup already around for your coffee, it is really good in this as well! I really like vanilla flavor and we have the sugar free kind, so I tossed in about a teaspoon and it was so yummy!

 

Raspberry Cheesecake

I was definitely having a craving for raspberry cheesecake last week so I set out to look on Pinterest for some recipes. Again, I didn’t want to buy any other protein powder flavors and almost every recipe I found had cream cheese going in to the smoothie. I know it’s an integral part of cheesecake but I don’t like it on its own (or on my bagels) and it sounded disgusting in a protein shake so I improvised with my own concoction and it’s amazing!

• 3/4 C low fat milk
• 1/4 C water
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 TBSP sugar free Cheesecake pudding mix
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1/2 C frozen, unsweetened raspberries – more depending on the texture you want
• 1/4 of a graham cracker – you can either blend it in or crush and mix on top
  Blend, drink, enjoy
  ~280 calories / 28 protein / 38 carbs / 4 fat / 7 WW points

  

 

Smoothie in a Bowl

Honestly I’m not sure why I’ve never tried this before because it was so yummy! I know some people have a hard time ‘drinking’ meals and don’t feel as satisfied as if they were to sit and actually eat a meal. This was nice because I was able to slow down and eat, opposed to drinking out of a the cup while running around with the kids. This is my regular protein shake mix that I make all the time, just in a bowl with some granola on top. Easy peasy!

• 3/4 C low fat milk
• 1/4 C water
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1-2 tsp blood orange infused olive oil (healthy fats! SO good in smoothies)
• 1-1 1/2C frozen, unsweetened fruit mix (strawberries, blueberries, peaches, mango, banana)
• 1/4 C granola and almond mix for topping
  ~300 calories / 27 protein / 35 carbs / 8 fat  / 6 WW points

So happy that I have a few new go-to breakfast ideas to add into my routine! Let me know if you try and like any of these or if you have any other must-try smoothie recipes!

xoxo