Protein-Packed After-Workout Sunshine Smoothie!

I'm real fond of my after-workout smoothies. Normally, I do a berry one, but I decided to buy some frozen peaches last week and they totally kicked my smoothie making up a notch! It was like sunshine in a glass (which is exactly what I need in the dead of winter)! I thoroughly enjoyed the raspberry-peach flavor combo and I don't know why I didn't do it sooner!

You could also add 1/2 Tb. of coconut butter in here for an extra tasty treat. I love putting coconut butter in my smoothies! I'll also go with the excuse that it helps you absorb the Vitamin A and E in your ingredients. Lol! You could also add some greens but it won't make a pretty color.

Raspberry-Peach Sunshine Smoothie:
1 c. frozen peaches
1/2 c. frozen raspberries
1/2 a frozen banana (unfrozen would work as well)
1/2 c. unsweetened almond milk
1/4 c. silken tofu
1 Tb. hemp seeds
1 Tb. chia seeds
1/2 - 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder of choice
1 to 1 1/2 c. water to get it to smoothie consistency

Place the tofu on the bottom and layer the heavier ingredients on top. Blend until completely smooth, then add the protein powder while the blender is running (I do this so I don't get clumps). If you used more fresh fruit than frozen, feel free to add some ice and then blend for about 30 more seconds. Enjoy!

Protein count!

Peaches: 1 g

Raspberries: 1 g

Banana: .5 g

Almond milk: .5 g

Chia seeds: 2.5 g

Hemp seeds: 5.5 g

Tofu: 6 g

Protein powder: 12 g.

The value for the protein powder varies depending on the amount and brand of protein powder you used. I used 3/4 scoop of VegLife African Vanilla soy protein powder. I usually use the rice kind because soy gives me killer migraines, but I hardly have any left and I don't wanna waste it (it only gives me a headache if I use it consecutively for a few days). I recommend the soy kind though, it's pretty tasty. This smoothie recipe also makes way more than what's shown in the picture. I had just drank most of it when I realized that I needed to take a picture (mostly because I'm now out of raspberries and it would be awhile before I could post a post with a pic!).
Look at that pretty pink color!

TOTAL: 29 grams

I kind of subscribe to the idea that only around 30 grams of protein are absorbed at any one sitting. I tried to find some scientific articles on this to determine the validity of this claim, but I couldn't find anything.

However, I did find an article on iron absorption from plant foods (so excuse me while I geek out a minute). An article from the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition stated that they found evidence that the oxalic acid found in plants such as spinach and beet greens doesn't inhibit iron absorption. Even though less iron was absorbed when the spinach was eaten, it wasn't statistically significant, and it might be due to spinach's calcium content (kale doesn't contain anywhere near as much calcium as spinach). It also mentioned how beneficial vitamin C is at helping nonheme iron be absorbed (it was described as "powerful"!). Of course, more study needs to be done on this subject. 

Bonsmann S, Walczyk T, Renggli S, Hurrell R. Oxalic acid does not influence nonhaem iron absorption in humans: a comparison of kale and spinach meals. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition [serial online]. March 2008;62(3):336-341.

The healthful-ness of my smoothie helped balance out my supper. It was pretty processed, but I rarely eat processed foods (especially things I consider "freezer foods"). It consisted of Alexia spicy chipotle sweet potato fries and Gardein not-chicken tenders. My HyVee just got them in so I had to try them, especially since everyone in the blog world keeps mentioning them!

The fries and tenders were baked until nice and crispy (super nice and crispy...) and then served with spicy mustard and BBQ sauce, because that's how I roll. I really liked the Gardein tenders, but they're kind of pricey, and only 10 come in the bag. I ate 5 at one sitting (225 calories for all of those). I will probably only buy them when I have a serious nugget craving or a coupon. However, them sweet tater fries are glorious!