Gulping down a protein shake after a good workout is probably the most convenient method there is when it comes to covering your post-workout nutrition. However, lately I’ve been skipping on the protein shakes in favor of smoothies loaded up with protein instead. I just feel like making a smoothie offers a bit more flexibility as far as ingredient choices go compared to protein shakes. While they both certainly have their upsides, today I wanted to share my most recent go-to post workout smoothie recipe with everybody. It’s for a peanut butter banana protein smoothie made with some ridiculously tasty ingredients that’s perfect for your post-workout meal or even just as a healthy snack.

Tasty Rocket Fuel for Your Body

Peanut butter and banana is without a doubt one of my favorite smoothie ingredient combos. They’re each incredibly tasty on their own, they offer quite a lot of nutritional value, and they’re both quite filling — all of which are factors that make for fantastic smoothie ingredients. Using a frozen banana adds plenty of fiber, potassium, and B-vitamins into this smoothie. Natural peanut butter is a great source of healthy fats and protein that really helps to increase the satiety of this smoothie. Not only that, but studies have found that regular consumption of peanut butter and other types of nuts may help to prevent cardiovascular disease, especially for women with type 2 diabetes. (1)

With peanut butter and banana forming the foundation of this smoothie recipe, you’ll be getting most of your protein content from a few other choice ingredients. The first item that you’ll be adding is ½ cup of Greek yogurt, which is one of my all-time favorite smoothie ingredients. Greek yogurt is an incredibly good source of protein that also offers plenty of calcium, potassium, and B-vitamins. On top of that, as with regular yogurt, using Greek yogurt in your smoothies also provides a ton of beneficial probiotics. These tiny microorganisms help to regulate your gut flora, keeping your gastrointestinal system healthy and functioning properly. (2)

While Greek yogurt is a great source of protein on its own, this smoothie takes things a step further by also mixing in some vanilla protein powder. I like to add one scoop of a vanilla whey protein isolate powder made by Nutricost (you can get the exact powder that I use and recommend by clicking here) as it adds a whopping 30 grams of protein to the smoothie and tastes delicious.

To finish the recipe off, you’ll be adding one cup of milk along with ½ cup of ice to make your liquid base. I usually use 2% milk when I make my smoothies as it provides a solid mix of protein and fat. However, if you’re looking to gain a bit of mass on your workout program, you can definitely opt to add whole milk into the recipe instead to quickly and easily squeeze some extra calories in. Whatever you decide on, simply blend all of the ingredients together to make some tasty pre or post-workout fuel.