It is your habit to take a tasty cup of fruit smoothies every morning. Keep ahead. Smoothies are loaded with vitamins, fiber, and minerals.
But, know what is missing?
You should add these 6 protein powder for smoothies to make your drink even more nutritious and energetic to curb the cravings at breakfast, or before/after a harsh workout.
Check down below!
It looks good, it also tastes good!
Is it OK to put protein powder in smoothies?
Totally recommended!
Fruit smoothies are often rich in natural sugar but less in protein and calories. They will not keep you full or energetic longer. To get a balance of nutrition, you had better add some sources of protein.
Protein powder comes as a good choice. Besides protein, the powder is also packaged with calories and carbohydrates.
The manufacturers have carefully calculated and gathered all essentials per serving. Thus you just need to estimate how much energy you have at hand (in your fruit smoothies) and add one or two servings of protein powder.
Following the nutrition facts, then you can get enough calorie load within a cup of the drink rather than take time to prepare for breakfasts in the very morning.
Moreover, protein powder makes the smoothies even tastier.
Accordingly, the powder is often made of animal protein or vegan protein, plus with butter, cream, seeds, or nuts. Combined with natural fruit and it will become a treat for your mount.
Best Protein Powder for Smoothies
MET-Rx Natural Protein Replacement Chocolate – Good for Athletes
This MET-Rx Natural Protein Replacement Chocolate is built for athletes who need to grow the mass of lean muscles and get energy for high-intensity training.
Accordingly, the protein powder provides 23g of natural whey protein per serving (33g.)
Protein | Calories | Carbohydrates | Dietary Fiber | Fat | Sugar |
23g | 130 | 5g | <1g | 2g | 3g |
As the name might already support, the MET-Rx Natural Whey Protein Replacement maximizes the amount of gold-standard natural protein blend, including both ultra-filtered whey concentrate and microfiltered whey isolate.
Other nutritions such as cholesterol, carbs, saturated fat, and sugar are filtered and reduced to the least as possible. In fact, you can already get these things from smoothies’ ingredients.
All in all, MET-Rx Natural Protein Replacement Chocolate offers a premium source of BCAAs – Branched-Chain Amino Acids, which are the key to maintain muscle tissues.
Coming in low-sugar chocolate flavor, this protein powder is easy to mix with almost all types of fruit smoothies to make them more delicious and healthy. You can also add some to pre/post-workout shakes or in baking to boost protein content.
However, you should know that there is almost no fiber in this powder. Then, the thickens might not go very well.
Pros:
- Rich in protein and BCAAs – Good for muscle growth
- Cutting-edge blending of natural whey protein
- Low in carbs, cholesterol, sugar, and saturated fat
- Decent taste
Cons:
- Very low-fiber content
- Bad thickens when used for smoothies
- Expensive price
Thinking of the content of natural whey protein, this MET-Ex powder is an ideal choice before and after a harsh workout.
Pure Protein Powder Replacement Vanilla – Best Budget Protein Powder
If you are not a fan of chocolate flavor, then go for Pure Protein Powder Replacement Vanilla instead of the MET-Ex powder.
Many consumers originally bought this protein powder due to its surprisingly low price, then keep buying it because of the decent taste and high-protein content.
Nutrition facts per serving (39g):
Protein | Calories | Carbohydrates | Dietary Fiber | Fat | Sugar |
25g | 160 | 8g | 0g | 2.5g | 2g |
Similar to the MET-Ex Natural Whey, the protein powder of Pure Protein is packaged with high protein, carbs, and calories. This is good for athletes to gain muscles, shape bodybuilding, or boost weight lifting.
Especially, the manufacturer claims to make this powder with 100% whey and casein protein, derived from milk. Hence, you can expect to get all of the important amino acids for your body.
The Vanilla taste is delicious and easy to digest. However, it does not get as perfectly thick when mixed with some ingredients like fruit smoothies. Simply, there is no fiber within the powder.
Pros:
- High protein and calories
- 100% whey protein from milk
- Thumb-up taste
- Cheap
Cons:
- No fiber content
- Small size
The thickness is somewhat acceptable when it comes to high-protein and low-fiber powder. Therefore, we still recommend Pure Protein 100% Whey Protein for those on a quest to keep fit!
Organic Vegan Protein Powder Replacement – Recommended for Vegetarians
Healthy vegans, pay your attention to this Blenditup Organic Vegan Protein Powder Replacement!
Instead of whey protein, this powder provides the most effective sources of plant-based protein, such as organic soybeans, quinoa, chia seeds, amaranth, etc. More importantly, the Organic Vegan protein is sugar- and dairy-free.
Nutrition facts per serving (39g):
Protein | Calories | Carbohydrates | Dietary Fiber | Fat | Sugar |
14g | 120 | 8g | 3g | 4g | 2g |
The plant-based protein has fewer amino acids than whey protein.
However, it is proved to bring health benefits in the long term. For example, vegan protein helps recover from workouts. It is also packaged with healthy fat and essential nutrients.
Exciting enough, General Medicine Journal reported that vegan diets help people lose 5lb more than other diets.
The Blenditup Organic Vegan Protein Powder Replacement is flavor-free and no smooth grit. Thus, you can add it to fruit smoothies without worrying about the flavor changes. Even better, the mixture ends up with a creamy and delicious texture.
Pros:
- Plant-based protein sources
- Excellent blending with smoothies
- Low price
Cons:
- Low-protein compared to whey protein
- Low calories
If you seek a balanced smoothie between healthy fats, enough protein, and complex carbs rather than high-protein to build muscles, you will love the Blenditup.
Flexatarian 100 Protein Vanilla Powder – Economical Protein Powder
Flex Whey – 5lb is the next on the list. It is quite a new brand, but worth your consideration.
Pound for pound, this protein powder is economical in terms of high-quality protein and pricing.
Like the MET-Rx, Flex also adopts a premium processing to make a balanced blend of whey hydrolyzed isolate and whey concentrate. Out of one serving, the Flex Whey – 5lb provides 25g of protein, in which there are 5g of natural BCAAs. These amounts support recovering and growing muscles quickly.
Nutrition facts per serving (70g):
Protein | Calories | Carbohydrates | Dietary Fiber | Fat | Sugar |
25g | 130 | 3g | 1g | 1.6g | 2g |
Made from soy-and gluten-free ingredients with no artificial flavors, the powder is safe for your health. Combining with smoothies, the powder ends up tasting natural and good.
It does not dissolve perfectly as we expected but is far good enough at the price tag.
Pros:
- Affordable price
- Natural BCAAs
- High-protein
Cons:
- Just ok taste
- Not perfectly dissolvable with smoothies
Great price and a great source of premium protein. Although the taste is just so-so, we have nothing much to complain about this protein powder.
LevelUp Grass-fed Keto Protein Powder – Best for Weight Loss
You can get it from the name. The LevelUp Grass-fed Keto Protein Powder is built with Kento diets in mind.
Accordingly, this powder is low-carb and high-protein in order that ketogenic followers can intake enough protein to turn into supplements for their diets.
Nutrition facts per serving (19g):
Protein | Calories | Carbohydrates | Dietary Fiber | Fat | Sugar |
10g | 95 | 1g | 1g | 6g | 0g |
At a glance, you might think this powder is less-protein. However, consider the serving amount. It is half of the other protein powder.
In fact, the LevelUp utilizes a blend of high-quality grass-fed collagen protein plus with grass-fed whey isolate. This duo provides a broad range of amino acids for thousands of processes in the body.
However, the thickness is again the problem since there is no fiber.
Pros:
- Blend of premium grass-fed protein
- Very low carb
Cons:
- Not thicken up well
- Boring flavor
Whip up a cup of smoothies with LevelUp Keto protein and it will keep you from hunger and sweet cravings.
Revly Brand Protein Grass Fed Servings – Rich in Protein and Affordable
The Revly Brand Protein Grass Fed Servings is another alternative for the LevelUp Keto protein. To my knowledge, this is an Amazon brand.
For ketogenic followers, this protein powder is high-protein and low-carb per serving (30g):
Protein | Calories | Carbohydrates | Dietary Fiber | Fat | Sugar |
25g | 110 | 2g | 0g | 0g | 1g |
The price is pocket-friendly, thinking about what you get out of one serving.
The flavor is really good. When mixed with smoothies, we can feel a modern sort of vanilla bean with very little sugar. You will also like it.
However, we do recommend ramping up the sweetness a little bit more.
Pros:
- Affordable price
- Rich protein out of serving
- Fat-free
- Low carb
Cons:
- Light sweetness
- Not thicken up well
Since this Revly Protein Powder is owned by Amazon, you can count on the quality and should truly give it an underwhelming effort.
What type of protein powder is best for smoothies?
There are different types of protein powder available on the market, mainly based on the source of protein. Some most common types are whey protein, casein protein, vegan protein, and hemp protein.
Since smoothies are organically sweet, you should choose protein powder which is low-sugar..
Moreover, fruit smoothies are loaded with fiber and vitamins. Thus, there is no need to get more fruits or plants. Obtaining too much of a good thing at a time does more harm than good. Then, vegan protein seems not always to be the best matching.
All in all, we recommend whey hydrolyzed protein powder for smoothies.
Pros:
- Provide the purest protein source, similar to that in the body
- Help grow muscles quickly
- Have low sugar profile
- Lower the risk of blood pressure
- Treat chronic type 2 diabetes and reduce inflammation
- Curb the hunger quickly and charge up the energy
Cons:
- Be much expensive than other protein powder
- Possibly cause dehydration or even toxic ketones
- Provide little vitamins, minerals, and other antioxidants
- Taste solid than other types of protein powder
How much protein powder should I put in my smoothie?
It depends.
Purposes of consuming protein
On average, the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) of protein is 0.8g per kg of your body weight, equivalent to 0.36g per pound. Accordingly, a sedentary man should consume 56g of protein per day while the amount for a sedentary woman is 46g.
The specific protein profile required varies by your bodyweight, your health conditions, and your desirable diets.
Generally, there are two main reasons that people think about adding protein powder to their smoothies:
- To lose weight: Studies found that 25 to 30% of protein out of the daily calories would help burn more body fat while still maintaining your health.
- To build muscle: Protein is the key substance to grow your muscles. Just, you will need more protein than the average recommended consumption. The ideal amount is 1.4-1.8g of protein out of 1kg of body weight, equivalent to 0.64-0.82g per pound.
The recipes of smoothie
Before adding one of the best protein powder for smoothies, you need to know about your smoothie recipes first. Which nutrition is enough, and what is missing?
In fact, smoothies are made with different ingredients from light fruity blends to rich concoctions. Each of them has nutritious values. Hence, you should do calculations to figure out how much protein left that you need to obtain.
Your daily diets
Smoothies or protein powder is not the only source to get protein and other essentials. You consume many things else per day. Hence, count those diets in when calculating the protein and nutritions profile.
Best Choice
Of all the best protein powder for smoothies, Pure Protein Powder Replacement Vanilla is our most favorite and should be yours as well. This protein powder features a premium blend of natural whey protein to do your body good. It is also low-sugar and low-fat.
Even better, the price is surprisingly affordable so you can consume it whenever you want without breaking a bank!
We call it for the best protein powder for smoothies review. If you find this post is helpful, please like and share it with others.
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