Starbucks-Inspired Healthy Coffee Shake

Personally, any time of day is a good time to enjoy a cup of coffee. Whether its first thing in the morning, post-workout, or mid-afternoon, I’m known to hit up Starbucks and order a delicious caffeinated drink. One of my favorites is a Frappuccino, but unfortunately, it’s loaded with unwanted extra calories and sugar.

Luckily, this inspired me to hit the kitchen and tinker with a healthier recipe of this classic coffee frappe drink. A kitchen staple of mine is almond milk (I prefer Almond Breeze brand). Not only is it delicious in coffee, protein pancakes and other recipes that traditionally require milk, but it gives this fake-me-out Frappuccino a great, nutty base flavor.

Here’s what you’ll need to make your own low calories, Starbucks-inspired healthy coffee shake:

• 1 cup of chilled coffee (regular or flavored – anything goes!)
• 1 scoop of chocolate protein powder, your choice
• ½ cup Greek yogurt
• ½ cup Almond Breeze almond milk
• A handful of ice cubes
• 2 tbsp. unsweetened baking cocoa

Directions:

Throw all of the ingredients into a blender, and blend until a milkshake consistency forms. Pour and enjoy!

21 Day Fix Tally: 2 red, 1 yellow

This post is sponsored by Almond Breeze almond milk.

Not-So-Chunky Monkey Protein Shake

Back in December, I blogged about my experience drinking GNC Total Lean’s Lean Shake. In just those two months, I could see my body leaning out and I’m proud to say I’ve stuck to drinking one of these puppies since. While the recommended meal plan from GNC encourages you to drink two per day, I drink one for breakfast, eat a salad and lean protein for lunch, and have a hearty dinner (usually meaning more protein and two types of vegetables).

You can mix the GNC Lean Shake powder with water, but if you want even more flavor, try this recipe for what I like to call the “Not-So-Chunky Monkey” protein shake.

Here’s what you’ll need for this mocha blend:

• 1 – 2 cups of cold, brewed coffee
• 1/3 of a frozen banana (life hack: freeze bananas when you see they are starting to get soft)
• 2 scoops of vanilla or chocolate flavored GNC Lean Shake (or your favorite type of protein powder)

Note: If you are only using one cup of coffee, I suggest adding about ½ cup of water for less chunkiness and more liquidity.

Toss all ingredients into a blender and give it a whoosh! The result is a creamy, mocha-infused drink to get your morning off to a healthy start. This is a much healthier, and affordable, alternative to purchasing coffee on-the-go each day.

What are your favorite protein shake recipes? Share in the comments below! 🙂

40 Miles in 40 Days

This is not a blog about religion, but as many of you are aware, today is Ash Wednesday and day 1 of Lent. Normally, those who observe are asked to sacrifice something they enjoy, or take up something positive – such as going to church or the gym.

This year, not only have I decided to give up all store bought, fast food chain coffee – yes, this includes Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, Honey Dew, MaryLou’s and more – but I am also making my own goal of running 40 miles in 40 days (or throughout the entire season of Lent).

Now, yes that is only 1 mile per day, but it’s not every day that I actually get to the gym and run. Some days are devoted to arms, other times legs, and other types of weight training. So, this encourages me to push further on the days that I do run, to reach my goal of 40 miles.

So, while many prefer to give up indulgences like desserts or social media, I just wanted to remind you all that taking something up is perfectly acceptable as well.

Check out this nifty calendar to help me stay on track. 40 miles, here I come!