This week sees the launch of Alpro’s ‘Almond Mornings’ Campaign, which is all about encouraging people to kick start their mornings with a healthy and delicious breakfast during the winter months.
To celebrate, Alpro have asked me to take part in a seven-day Alpro AM Challenge, which involves coming up with 7 delicious smoothie recipes using their unsweetened almond milk. I will be blogging my favourite recipes this week and today I’m kick-starting the campaign with a mint chocolate protein smoothie (IT TASTES INCREDIBLE!).
To give you a bit more information on unsweetened almond milk, it:
- Contains just 26 calories per 200ml serving (and tastes delicious!).
- Is plant based & dairy free which means even those who are lactose intolerant can enjoy it.
- Is naturally low in saturated fat.
- Contains vitamins B2, B12, D and E as well as calcium (a 200ml serving provides 30% of your RDA).
- Is free from artificial colours, flavours and preservatives – thumbs up all around!
The only downside to almond milk is that in comparison to cow’s milk it is pretty low in protein .. but if you’re getting enough protein from else where in the diet e.g. lentils, Greek yoghurt, meat and fish, then this shouldn’t be an issue.
Do let me know if you make this smoothie by tweeting a picture mentioning Alpro (@Alpro_UK), me (@nicsnutrition) using the hashtag #AlproAM or by posting it on my Facebook page!
Thanks to the ToneItUp Girls for this recipe inspiration!
Mint Chocolate Protein Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (125ml) unsweetened almond milk
- 1/2 cup (125ml) chilled mint tea*
- 1/2 frozen banana - peel before freezing!
- 1 cup (handful) spinach
- 1 scoop chocolate protein powder**
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients in to your blender
- Blend until smooth!
- Serve & enjoy
Notes
*I used peppermint green tea.. Brew the tea for no more than 5 minutes, remove the tea bag and allow to cool .. you could make a big batch of mint tea using more than 1 tea bag and store it in the fridge for when needed!
**In keeping with the ‘plant power’ theme you could use Sativa Shakes but other protein powders that I use include MyProtein (whey protein).
Nutrition Facts
Amount Per Serving | ||
|---|---|---|
Calories 175 | ||
% Daily Value | ||
Total Fat 3.4 g | 5% | |
Total Carbohydrates 16 g | 5% | |
Protein 20 g | 40% | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
P.S I always get asked what blender I have and it’s a waring pro blender .. it’s fantastic and great if you make smoothies several times a week (it’s heavy duty!)
*This blog post has been written in collaboration with Alpro. I do not promote the products featured over others that I have not featured. This blog post contains affiliate links. Please read my disclaimer page for more information and for my policy on using protein powders in baking, gluten-free foods/baking and vegetarian/vegan recipes.
Hi Nic,
Sounds delicious, but I don’t have/use protein powder as I don’t do the kind of exercise that requires it! Do you think cocoa powder or low calorie hot chocolate powder could work?
Hazel
Author
Hi Hazel! I think low cal hot choc powder would work great! Cocoa on its own tends to be bitter, so if you did use it I would add some stevia too 🙂 Let me know! x
Your tweet came at the perfect time this morning and I was stuck for breakfast ideas and in a hurry! It was absolutely delicious!
Author
Hurray! So glad you liked it Sarah 🙂 Thank you for your fab pic too! xx
Lovely morning milkshake! I made this today for my family – conversation that followed with my son (15): “Mum, that was lovely! Why is it green?”
me: “Because it has some spinach in it”
him:”But mum, why do you tell me these things … I thought it was Kiwi”
me “Ok, then it was Kiwi”
him: “ok”
🙂
Author
HAHAHAHAHA, oh that is so funny!!! I love it 🙂 You’ve made my night!!! 🙂 xx
This sounds awesome. Don’t know why I haven’t tried this before soon to be a new favourite. Thank you of introducing us together. Xx
Author
Hehe, no problem 🙂 Enjoy! xx
Substituted the almond milk for chocolate alpro milk, and a vanilla protein powder. It was delicious. I will try it with regular almond milk next time.
Author
Oooh that sounds gorgeous!! Thanks for your comment Kirsty xx
Made this for the first time today (my pic is even on your site already!) and I have to say it is awesome. It is actually pretty filling without leaving me feeling bloated, the taste is really great and I felt really good on it all afternoon meaning I could easily run a 10K this evening after dinner.
I just need to make sure I have a big stockpile of frozen bananas!
This is a genuinely fantastic shake.
Author
Thank you so much Richard!
Really big fan of this smoothie!!! What’s your opinion on juice detoxes? What would you say is better for you? Smoothies or juices?
Author
Aw thanks Chris! Juice detoxes are unnecessary.. I personally prefer smoothies as more fibre and less mess at the end of it!
Could I use lettuce instaed of spinach? Would this smoothie be suitable for a post work-out? For example, I run in the evenings. Thanks,
Author
I would use kale instead 🙂 It’s perfect after a workout! x