I am excited to share this simple recipe with you because it is delicious! Beyond that, it is full of protein and it can be eaten for breakfast, dessert, or a snack throughout the day.
I came up with this recipe when I was just beginning my healing journey after my first born. I was struggling to eat enough protein throughout my day, but I was always wanting fruit. Instead of force feeding myself chicken breast and eating a handful of blueberries afterward, I thought to skip the extra chicken breast and replace it with plain non-fat yogurt and my favorite vanilla protein powder.
My first concoction was simple and perfect for a new mom with her newborn in one arm and the other arm available to mix it all together. I simply weighed out 1 serving of plain yogurt and 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder and I stirred it all together. *If I thought about it in advance, I would throw the mixture in the freezer for 15-30 minutes just to let it firm up a bit, but this didn’t always happen. After the ingredients were stirred up, I would top it with my favorite fruit. Frozen wild blueberries are my favorite. They are incredibly nutritious and you get to eat a lot of them without adding up too many carbs and calories.
As time went on and my daughter was able to leave me hands-free more often, I decided to get a tiny bit more fancy. When I say fancy, I just mean I threw all the ingredients in my blender and blended until thick and smooth.
What I love about this recipe is that you get double the protein with the non-fat plain yogurt and the protein powder while also being able to substitute in any fruit you’d like. You could even sneak in greens like kale or spinach or flax seeds or chia seeds. The same flexibility goes for toppings. Whether you are weighing your food and tracking your macros or eating intuitively, you can pick your favorite yogurt toppings to complete the perfect treat!
Here’s the recipe…
My version is very simple and often reflects what I actually consistently have on hand at my house.
Ingredients:
Non-Fat Plain Yogurt (any brand that you like, but if you are using MyFitnessPal to track your macros, make sure to scan the barcode of your brand and make sure the nutrition facts are correctly input)
Vanilla Protein Powder (I use I Heart Macros whey protein powder because the ingredients list is short and it doesn’t make me bloat or uncomfortable afterward, but your favorite will work the same)
Frozen Wild Blueberries (you do need to use frozen fruit in order to make it like frozen yogurt, but you may use any kind of fruit you like. Frozen fruit is frozen immediately after being picked which preserves all the nutrients, so some may even argue that frozen fruit is better for you than fresh. I love it all!)
SIDE NOTE: This recipe is also very flexible. If I were planning out my meals the night before and I needed extra protein, I would just adjust the amount of yogurt and protein powder in the recipe.
1 scoop or 25g of Vanilla Protein Powder
1/2 cup or 70g of Frozen Wild Blueberries
*If eating intuitively, you can just eyeball the amounts, but if you are tracking, you will want to weigh everything out before putting into the blender.
Blend until smooth and eat as is or top with favorite topping, I chose cacao nibs today!
In my food world, there is no fear and guilt, only joy and balance.