Higher-Protein Smoothies
Since I have been making goat milk yogurt the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) way, my kids and I have been enjoying healthy and delicious smoothies. To read more about SCD yogurt, please go to my “Lactose-Free Yogurt” article.
Drinking smoothies is a good way to get your fruit servings in for the day. With the tartness of plain yogurt, it is also a great way for your children to get healthy probiotics into their diet. And, smoothies remind me of milkshakes, so they are a delicious and fun treat.
We like to use a variety of frozen and fresh fruit. Very ripe bananas, strawberries, blueberries, and peaches are our favorites. My kids add just a tad of honey, but I don’t. Sometimes I will add six drops of Vanilla Creme stevia.
The goat yogurt is already high in protein and low in sugar. Since it has been cooked for 24 hours, most if not all the lactose has been eliminated. To read about the benefits of SCD-legal goat yogurt, click here. I personally feel better eating or drinking something higher in protein and lower in sugar.
If you are looking for other ways to increase the protein level of your smoothie, you can add a raw egg or two. Eggs are one of the best sources for high quality protein and fat. Raw eggs are very easy to digest. Raw eggs from pastured hens are the best. They tend to be healthier hens living in a more natural environment. According to Eat Wild, their eggs have 10 times more Omega-3s than caged hens.
Salmonella is a small concern, especially if the shell has been cracked. So, don’t use a cracked shell. Even then, your chance of getting an egg contaminated with Salmonella is 1 in 30,000. This bacteria comes from unhealthy hens. So knowing where your eggs come from, it comforting.
You can just add the egg yolk, which houses most of the nutrients of the egg. Some people are allergic to egg whites. Additionally, egg whites have avidin, which can decrease the amount of biotin in your diet. Since biotin is a great B-vitamin, some people choose to avoid any biotin deficiencies by not eating raw egg whites. From what I read, you would have to consume large amounts of raw eggs over a long time to actually become deficient. Most people combat that possibility with a vitamin B-complex supplement.
Another way to increase the protein in your smoothie is to add coconut flour. Coconut is naturally high in protein and fiber. It is also completely gluten-free. Most recipes call for 1-2 Tablespoons; however, I don’t like that much. It makes the texture too gritty for me. I suggest beginning with 1 teaspoon and slowly increasing the amount to your taste. Coconut flour imparts a subtle coconut flavor as well as the nutritional benefits.
Experiment making healthy smoothies for your family. Try different mixtures of fruit and yogurt. Increase the protein level of your smoothie with raw eggs and/or coconut flour. If you still are leary about raw eggs, read this article on Regenerative Nutrition by John Claydon.
