raspberry protein shake

A couple weeks ago I ran out of my favorite ready-to-drink protein shakes, Premier Protein.  I drink one on the way to work everyday since my commute is now 45 minutes.  By the time I finish it and get myself to my desk at work, about 30 minutes has passed, which means I can sit down and eat my breakfast right away. (I'm not supposed to drink within 30 minutes of eating, before or after).  I was going to run right to BJ's to get more, but then realized I have three bags of protein powder mix in the cabinet.  I haven't used the powder much at all since surgery.  Mainly because they mix up very thick and I just haven't been in the mood for a milkshake-consistency protein shake.  Plus, I've just been lazy.  But I decided to change that.  I bought myself a nice BPA-free plastic cup with a straw, I portioned out some ingredients to keep in the freezer, and I unpacked my little mini blender.

Last week I made the standard chocolate shake and added some PB2.  Tasted like peanut butter cups. Yummy!  I lived on these during my two-week pre-op diet in December.  Then I made a strawberry shake, nothing added but skim milk and water.  Then I tried a chocolate shake with frozen cherries and Sugar-Free Torani Black Cherry Syrup.  It was good, but I couldn't really taste a lot of chocolate, nor could I taste the cherries too much.  I'll have to tweak it.  Maybe add some cocoa powder and more cherry syrup.

This morning I had no motivation whatsoever.  I was going to get up, get stuff done, rule the world, etc.  But it just didn't happen.  So, after a few hours of surfing the 'net, I decided I could at least get up out of the chair and make breakfast.  That's not hard and doesn't require much motivation.  Then I got into the kitchen and didn't feel like cooking, so I decided to make a shake.  My first thought was the old standby:  chocolate with PB2.  But then I saw the bags of strawberry and vanilla and realized they've been neglected.  I decided to use the vanilla, although I don't really care for plain vanilla.  I started looking through my syrups and saw the raspberry.  Then I remembered I had frozen raspberries.  So, a raspberry shake it was.

This came out really good.  Delicious, actually.  Strong raspberry flavor, nice and thick, and I can taste the creamy vanilla underneath.  Recipe below the picture.

Raspberry Protein Shake

6 oz. cold water

2 oz. fat-free milk (I use Simply Smart by Hood)

2 scoops vanilla protein powder, or whatever your protein container calls for (I use Bariatric Advantage)

2 ice cubes

1 tsp Sugar-Free Torani Black Raspberry Syrup

1/2 cup frozen raspberries

If you're using a Bullet Blender, Ninja, etc., put the ingredients into the cup in the order listed above.  Blend until smooth.  If you're using a standard blender, reverse the order and blend until smooth.