I enjoy my beet and berry smoothie almost every day, but this morning after a stroller walk with Mason, I wanted to switch things up. I had recently thrown some raspberries in the freezer (a great hack for fruits and veggies that are about to go bad), and the chocolate-raspberry combination came to mind. Simultaneously tart and sweet, this smoothie is not only delicious, but also packs about 26 grams of protein.

I am all about less is more when it comes to smoothies these days. In the past, I have added #allthethings – I had this mentality that the more superfoods the better. But there can be too many cooks in the kitchen, and I realized ingredients add up fast; when I worked with my macro coach last year, I relearned how basic can be best. Plus, the protein powders I use lend a lot of flavor, and not much else is needed. My formula for smoothies look something like this:

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk + 1/2 cup filtered water
base of frozen fruit (~ 1/2 cup, maybe a little more)
1 scoop of protein powder (I alternate between Be Well By Kelly brand, Truvani, and Just Ingredients whey protein)
3/4 cup (or a little more than 70 grams) frozen raw zucchini

My smoothies are typically a post-workout snack; if I were to consume one as a meal, I would probably add a tablespoon of nut butter, or other form of healthy fat to prolong satiation. In this case however, four ingredients is all I need, and I love topping it with Catalina Crunch Honey Graham cereal for a little crunch at the end. So good!

On another note, I have gotten in the habit of tracking my protein intake during pregnancy. I find that using a digital kitchen scale for this purpose is so valuable. I had no idea I was under-eating protein and over-eating fat until I began to track. I think people can really benefit from gathering this information, and then once you have a general sense of your macro consumption and breakdown, you can stop. If understanding your macro intake aligns with your health goals, I highly recommend! That being said, you will see most of my recipes are now listed in grams (with U.S. imperial measurements where applicable).

Lastly (and while I think using just one protein powder is sufficient), I have started adding a bit of whey protein after learning more about the benefits. It’s not necessary, and I don’t even use it every day, but you might see that listed either alongside, or in lieu of, the other protein powders I use on a daily basis.