How to Make a High Protein Drink

Getting enough protein throughout the day can be a challenge, especially for people with busy lifestyles. But as we get older, this nutrient becomes more and more important as it can help reduce the risk of sarcopenia (age-related muscle decline), support a healthy immune system and help you recover from injury or illness.

Ideally, you should have protein at every meal and snack, since it’s best to consume your protein throughout the day, rather than save it all for dinner.

A good rule of thumb is to aim for 20-35 grams of protein at meal and snack.

Protein Drinks for Easy Nutrition

Nutrition shakes make it easy to fit in some high-quality protein throughout the day. Depending on your goals, a high protein drink supports your everyday muscle health and it’s also great for muscle recovery after exercising, and for body healing such as from wounds or after being hospitalized.

There are some ready-to-drink shakes you can buy at the store, which can be great for a quick protein-picker-upper. You can also make delicious high protein drinks at home, using whatever ingredients you find most exciting. All you need is a blender.

Choosing Ingredients for Your Protein Drink

Before you bust out the blender, first consider just how filling you want this protein drink to be. If you want it to serve as a meal (or the majority of your meal), you might want a hearty mix of ingredients, particularly those with fat and fiber to help keep you feeling satisfied. But if it’s meant as a snack, then a quality protein base and a few other simple ingredients may be all you need.

Also consider whether this protein shake will be for exercise recovery, or for weight gain. In both cases you want plenty of protein, but for weight gain, you might choose higher calorie sources of protein, such as whole-fat milk or yogurt, or nuts/nut butters.

You should also take into account the type of protein to use for your shake. Complete proteins contain all of the essential amino acids (the building blocks of protein) and tend to come from animal sources. Cow’s milk is a complete protein, for example. Plant sources of protein, such as nuts and seeds, might have fewer amino acids, but they still have other important nutrients like fiber and vitamins.

Eating a mix of protein-rich foods throughout the day will help you get all of the amino acids and other nutrients you need.

How to Make a High Protein Drink

You will need a blender, preferably a high-speed blender. As for your ingredients:

1. Start with a liquid. Cow’s milk is a great base for protein shakes, since it has 8 grams of protein per 1 cup serving. You can also use a ready-to-drink shake as a base.
    
2. Add fruits and/or vegetables. Both add good nutrition and give you some fiber. The water content of fruits and vegetables also help liquify the drink. Using frozen fruit or vegetables helps make it thicker.
    
3. Round it out with extra nutrition. Especially if this shake will be your meal, consider adding nutritious add-ons, like a scoop of protein powder or peanut butter for extra protein, or some dried quick oats for fiber and B vitamins.
    
4. Enhance with flavors. Make it interesting by adding some flavor, such as vanilla extract, cinnamon, turmeric or ginger. Not only do they add flavor, but certain herbs and spices may also have some health benefits.
    
5. Blend together, pour into a glass and enjoy!