Drink Your Breakfast: Shakes and Smoothies

About author / Christine Gable

Culinary enthusiast; kids cuisine and slow cooking; magazine recipe developer; professional writer. Her simple recipes are great for family dinners.

Just the other day we were rushing around on our way out to an early morning class when I realized there was no way we were going to fit breakfast in before hopping in the car. Sad, but true.

That’s when I remembered shakes and smoothies. A-ha—to the rescue. Start with milk, spoon in protein powder and your favorite frozen fruit. Whiz in the blender and drink. This is one of the easiest breakfasts we manage to pull together—and, thankfully, one of the kids’ favorites.

The only caveat to making it a protein power boost and not a carb-loaded drink is to have a quality protein powder on hand. I usually buy a vanilla-flavored one at the health food store, and it lasts for many months. We’re not into body-building—just into growing healthy kids’ bodies, so a scoop of this powerful powder can really give kids a super boost of protein, isoflavones and amino acids (depending on the brand you choose), not to mention hold off the hunger pangs for some serious hours.

And that’s really great when you have a kid who's not hungry in the morning, but by mid-morning is ravenous (yes, we have one). Drinking that breakfast is just an easier way to start the day. Compared to bacon, eggs and bagels, it wakes up the digestive tract slowly, provides easily digestible protein and phytonutrients (read: much-needed plant nutrients for growing bodies), plus protein and one daily serving of milk that will tame those temperamental hunger pangs for those hours until lunchtime.

Perhaps your kids are lucky enough to have a mid-morning break? If so, they can tuck a pre-mixed shake or smoothie into a reusable bottle with a straw folded over under the lid. Packed into a backpack or carry-on, it’s a mid-morning pick-me-up that can be sipped down in a minute.

Here are a few flavor variations that my kids favor to get you started—add to 1½ cups of milk with a scoop of protein powder, and blend for 10-20 seconds:

Berry Delights:

* 1 cup frozen strawberries
* 1 cup frozen blueberries
* ½ cup frozen blueberries with 1 extra-ripe banana

Better than Dessert:

* 2 T. chocolate syrup
* 1 T. chocolate syrup, 1 T. peanut butter and 1 extra-ripe banana

Tropical Treat:

* ½ cup pineapple, 1 extra-ripe banana, 1 T. coconut (optional)
* ½ cup pineapple and ½ cup coconut milk