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NUTRITION

High Protein Shakes To Boost Your Daily Intake & How To Make Them

Getting your protein right is essential for good health, exercise recovery and muscle building and maintenance.Whether you are trying to increase your muscle mass, lose body fat or tone up, making sure you get enough protein on board is key to achieving your fitness goals.

The recommended daily protein intake for those looking to build muscle mass is approximately 1.7g/kg/d.

If you’re not quite sure how much protein suits your body and your goals, head over to our macro-calculator to find out.

Protein shakes are a quick and easy way to boost your protein levels if you struggle to meet your protein needs through your meals alone.

To make sure your shakes don’t get boring, we've come up with some suggestions on how to be creative with your protein powder and help keep your daily diet interesting.

Jump to:

High-protein breakfast protein smoothies

To maintain or build muscle, protein must be eaten at regular intervals, every 3-4 hours during the day. And after a good night’s sleep, it’s likely that it’s been a long time since your evening meal or snack. In other words, breakfast is the perfect opportunity to start hitting your protein goals for the day.

A high protein breakfast (approximately 20g+ of protein) will optimize your body’s muscle protein synthesis rate (the process in which your body builds and maintains muscle). A smoothie can be an easy, protein-packed way to start your day.

Soothing turmeric smoothie

Ingredients
  • 1-inch fresh turmeric root (grated) or 1 tbsp. turmeric powder
  • 300 ml coconut water
  • 150g frozen tropical fruit mix or 150g fresh or frozen pineapple
  • 1 scoop Clear Whey Protein – Mango & Coconut
Protein: 21g

High-protein post-workout shakes

To repair your muscles after a workout, it is important to get enough protein to allow them to start recovering. On a long term basis, evidence has shown that those supplementing with post-workout protein may gain more muscle than those who don’t. Although it’s unclear whether this is just down to an increase in daily protein, a post-workout shake is an easy way to boost your daily protein intake and will help to repair damaged muscles and rehydrate you after your training session.

Mighty peanut caramel shake

IngredientsProtein: 37g

Mighty Peanut Caramel Shake | Protein Plates Recipe Book

Packed with everything you need for recovery.

Blueberry burst breakfast smoothie

Ingredients
  • 150g frozen blueberries
  • 1 scoop Impact Whey Protein (Vanilla)
  • 2 tsp. Organic Spirulina Powder
  • 200ml milk
Protein: 39.3g

High-Protein Breakfast Smoothies 3 Ways

Such an easy way to get your day off to a strong start.

Strawberry Whey Forward Isolate smoothie

Ingredients
  • 1 scoop Whey Forward Isolate (Strawberry)
  • 75 g Greek yoghurt
  • 0.5 cup frozen strawberries
  • 100 ml semi-skimmed milk (or your go-to milk)
  • Handful ice
Protein: 29g

Strawberry Whey Forward Isolate Smoothie

Fast track your progress with Whey Forward.

High-protein bulking smoothies

Liquid calories can be a saviour when it comes to bulking. When you can’t face another plate of chicken and rice, a calorie filled shake is just what the nutritionist ordered.

Filled with calories and protein galore, you’ll be hitting your macro goals without any problems.

Bodybuilder’s 1,800 kcal shake recipe

Ingredients

Protein: 89g Calories: 1,874

Mass gainer shake

Ingredients
  • 100g oats
  • 1 banana
  • 150g blueberries
  • 20g peanut butter
  • 1 cup egg whites (about eight egg whites)
  • 240ml full fat milk or almond milk
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 handful spinach
  • 50g crisped rice cereal
  • 1 scoop Impact Whey Protein
Protein: 79gCalories: 1,334kcal

'Cheat Codes For Bulking': Joe Fazer's 1,000+ Calorie Shakes

Liquid calories to help reach your bulking goals.

Fruity high-protein shakes & smoothies

As well as providing a taste boost with some sweetness, adding fruit to your smoothie will increase the nutritional benefit by adding micronutrients and fibre that play an essential role in keeping us healthy.

Certain micronutrients have also been shown to reduce the amount of muscle damage experienced after a training session. Vitamin C, found in kiwi fruit and strawberries is a great example of this.

Clear protein slushies

IngredientsProtein: 20g

Protein Slushies Recipe | Clear Whey Isolate & Clear Vegan Protein

This is post-workout refreshment on a whole new level.

Merry berry protein shake

Ingredients
  • 150g frozen strawberries
  • 1 scoop Protein Meal Replacement (Strawberry)
  • 200ml milk

Protein:21.5g

High-Protein Breakfast Smoothies 3 Ways

Such an easy way to get your day off to a strong start.

Vegan high-protein shakes

The health benefits of switching to an entirely vegan diet have been heavily debated. Although plant sources contain a range of highly beneficial micronutrients and fibre, completely cutting out meat may mean you could be missing out on important nutrients such as B12 and iron.

However, including more vegan protein sources will make your diet more environmentally sustainable. The production of plant-based protein sources such as oats, wheat and potato results in considerably less greenhouse gas emission than the production of beef and pork. Therefore, switching an animal based protein source for a vegan smoothie can be a way for you to keep your protein intake high whilst doing your bit to look after the environment.

Immunity boosting smoothie

For a joint protein and vitamin hit, it has to be the immunity boosting smoothie. Packed with essential nutrients to help boost your immune system and keep you fighting fit. And, to make it vegan, all you have to do is swap out Impact Whey Protein for your favourite vegan protein.

Ingredients
  • 2 small cooked beetroots (steamed not picked)
  • 120 g frozen berries
  • 1 handful spinach
  • 1 small piece ginger
  • 1 small piece turmeric
  • 1 scoop Impact Whey Protein (Vanilla)
  • 1 tbsp. hemp
  • 100 ml soy milk
  • 2 tbsp. kefir or live yoghurt

Protein:32g

Immunity-Boosting Smoothie

And it’s great for your gut.

Tips for making a high-protein shake

Use protein powders

Protein powder is a quick, cost effective way to help you get enough high quality protein at regular intervals. You don’t have to cook anything and it makes your food prep easy; all you need is a scoop and a shaker handy.

Swap out water for milk

Swapping milk for water can boost the protein content with half a pint of milk containing approximately 10g of protein. Milk contains both whey and casein and there is evidence to show that a combination of both whey and casein can have the best effect on building muscle.

Use natural ingredients for added flavour and protein

Using additional natural ingredients can help add to the nutritional benefit of your smoothie. For example, adding chia seeds is a great way to boost the protein and fibre content as well as providing an extra dose of calcium and other important vitamins and minerals such as zinc, magnesium and iron. Including fat sources such as coconut oil and peanut butter can also add a big hit of flavour and boost the calorie content.

Invest in a blender or food processor

A good blender or food processor makes mixing your ingredients really easy and will improve the consistency of your smoothie. Easy to operate and clean, a blender can be a great investment for improving the quality and convenience of your food prep.

Take home message

Reaching your daily protein target doesn't have to be as boring as shaking up your protein powder with water. There are so many ways to make your protein shake so much more interesting and tasty so that you enjoy hitting your protein targets rather than it being a chore.

 

 

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Our articles should be used for informational and educational purposes only and are not intended to be taken as medical advice. If you're concerned, consult a health professional before taking dietary supplements or introducing any major changes to your diet.
Liam Agnew
Liam Agnew Sport and Performance Nutritionist

Liam is a certified sport nutritionist with the International Society of Sport Nutrition and is enrolled on the British Dietetics Association’s Sport and Exercise Nutrition register. He has a Bachelor’s of Science in Sport and Exercise Science and is graduate of the ISSN Diploma in Applied Sport and Exercise Nutrition.

Liam is an experienced personal trainer, helping clients reach their health and fitness goals with practical, evidence informed exercise and nutrition advice. In his spare time Liam has competed in numerous powerlifting competitions and enjoys hill walking, football and expanding his recipe repertoire in the kitchen.

Find out more about Liam's experience here.

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