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This Chunky Monkey Protein Shake is a vegan protein shake recipe that is meant to satisfy not only your body but also your mind. It’s delicious and tastes indulgent even though it is totally healthy! I got the idea from the Endless Summer Cookbook and adapted it slightly.
I am all for protein shakes, I love ’em! I might sometimes even drink them as dessert. Teehee. I never leave for the gym without my trusty Blender Bottle and a shake made from one of my favorite protein powders.
If you are a peanut butter fan, you will love this shake. It has a very predominant peanut butter flavor with subtle hints of banana. I didn’t taste very much chocolate, even though I used dutch chocolate whey protein powder (not vegan) , but you can always add cocoa powder in there if you so desire, for a more complex flavor.
Truth be told, I don’t think I’m PB fanatic enough to make this my daily protein shake, especially if I was to add 2 Tbsp of peanut flour. I prefer a more delicate peanut flavor, so I opt for using only 1 or 1 and a half Tbsp of peanut flour.
But a larger amount is nice once in a while when I’m intensely craving peanut butter. Normally though, I prefer my chocolate flavors 😉 I know a lot of you PB fans will love this though!
What makes this an awesome shake
The chunky monkey shake is one of my absolute favorites because there’s so much goodness packed into a single drinkable glass. You have a banana, protein powder, and almond milk. Each have their own benefits:
Bananas: rich in fiber and potassium. Also full of a medley of essential vitamins and minerals.
Almond milk: There’s two ways to make almond milk: either by blending almonds with water and straining the mixture, or by blending almond butter with water. It’s a superb replacement for milk, with nearly the same consistency and creaminess, so it’s a great choice for vegans or those who are lactose intolerant.
Almond milk is not as nutritious as cows milk, but it does contain lots of vitamins and minerals, namely vitamin E. If you’re counting calories and trying to lose weight, almond milk contains far fewer calories than cows milk.
Note: Almond milk is NOT a suitable replacement for infants!
Which protein powder to use
To keep the recipe vegan, use your favorite vegan(ie not made from whey protein) chocolate flavored protein powder. It may be difficult to source the stuff in some parts of the world, so if you’re unable to find it, you can also use unflavored soy protein powder with a teaspoon of cocoa powder mixed in. It will give nearly the same effect.
The chocolate notes will be rather mild, as the peanut butter and banana flavors will be more overpowering. You can always add less peanut butter and substitute with equal parts yogurt for a less peanut-y flavor.
- Includes 1 (2.03 Pound) Orgain Organic Plant Based Creamy Chocolate Fudge Protein Powder
- 21 grams of organic plant based protein (pea, brown rice, chia seeds), 7 grams of organic dietary fiber, 3 grams of net carbs, 0 grams of sugar, 150 calories per serving
- AMAZING CHOCOLATE FLAVOR: Infused with organic Peruvian cacao, organic Himalayan pink salt, organic coconut milk, a dash of organic stevia and organic monk fruit, this vegan chocolate protein blend is simply delicious!
- 5 PROTEIN BLEND: We incorporate 100% non-GMO Pea, Flax Seed, Quinoa, Pumpkin Seed and Chia Seed Protein into our proprietary formula, all of which are USDA organic, gluten, soy and dairy free.
If you want to ditch the ice cubes
Ice can dilute your protein shake bigtime. A neat way of keeping your shake cool is to slice your banana into thick pieces and freeze it beforehand. Then just add the frozen bananas into the shake and you’ve got an icy cold protein shake ready to go.
Related
What kind of blender to use
Personally, I don’t like to taste banana chunks in my shakes. I prefer bananas to be completely liquidized if I am to drink them, so I recommend opting for a high-speed blender to blitz this shake.
The Blendtec blenders are really nice, as are the Magic Bullets and Nutri Bullets.
I have a Nutri Bullet at home and that’s what I use for blitzing these shakes.
Another advantage of blitzing at high speeds is that the protein powder will also get really evenly distributed. There’s nothing worse than tasting unmixed clumps of protein powder!
- Ninja Professional Blender with Nutri Ninja Cups has 1100 watts of professional performance power with 3 speeds, pulse, and single serve functions
- 72 oz Total Crushing Pitcher pulverizes ice to snow in seconds for creamy frozen drinks and smoothies
- The Ninja professional blender 1000 features a sleek design and outstanding performance with 1000 watts of professional power 64 ounce maximum liquid capacity
- Ninja total crushing blades gives you perfect ice crushing, blending, pureeing, and controlled processing crush ice and frozen fruit in seconds
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 1 smoothie | 2 minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 1 minute |
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This chunky monkey protein shake is vegan, packed full of protein, and tastes really great. Not only is it a great pre-or-post workout shake, it's also effectively a meal in itself, so if you're craving something chocolatey and sweet, go for it 🙂
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- 3/4 banana
- 5 ice cubes
- 1/2 scoop chocolate protein poweder
- 1 to 2 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup almond milk
- Add all the ingredients into a blender, blitz, and enjoy 🙂
Nutritional Stats: 208 calories, 28g carbs, 20g protein
If you're feeling hungry, use an entire banana instead of just 3/4. For a post workout shake, up the protein to a full scoop so you get a bigger boost of protein for muscle repair and building.
Ice cubes are a matter of personal preference. Blitzing at high speeds generates lots of heat, so 5 ice cubes ensures a chilled drink. It will also increase the volume of your shake, though, so you can just ditch the ice cubes, substitute for a bit of water, and chill in the fridge.
To keep the recipe vegan and sugar free, stick to unsweetened vegan protein powder and unsweetened almond milk. If you're not looking to keep vegan, use whey protein powder and any kind of milk(though almost milk is full of good fats and nutrients).
This is also a great recipe for kids, so if you're making it for the younglings, skip the protein powder and add yogurt instead. Greek or plain yogurt, your choice, but I prefer greek because it is much thicker. Also bear in mind that yogurt will make the shake much more runny, so go easy on the ice. Since the chocolate flavor is coming from the protein powder, just add 1 tsp of unsweetened pure cocoa powder instead to get the rich cocoa flavor.
Kammie wants to know:
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What’s your favorite way to use bananas?
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Do you ever freeze your bananas?
Let me know in the comments below!
LOVE this smoothie, Kammie! Simple and full of nutrition. I love how you used cinnamon in there. Such a healing spice. I have all these ingredients on hand (hemp protein powder and raw cacao) would work in place of your chocolate protein powder I’m sure. And I’ll use almond butter since I’m allergic to pb. Lovely, lovely. 🙂
Be Well,
–Amber
Glad you like it, Amber! And I’m sure it will be just as (if not even more) yummy with your alterations. Enjoy! 🙂
But there’s no sub for the banana, which is my allergy. 🙁 Boo! Just kidding… it looks fantastic and I would totally make this if I weren’t allergic to banana.
Ohhhh no, that sucks! It’s okay, I used to hate bananas, I only recently got back into them. I’ll make more shakes without bananas in the future just for you 🙂
You might try substituting yogurt (I USA almond milk yogurt) for the banana.
use
I had no idea there’s almond milk yogurt, how awesome! I might have to seek that out next time I’m at Whole Foods
Hello There Kammie,
Pssst…I passed you an award: The Sunshine Award. Thank you for your amazing blog. Please don’t feel too much pressure with these awards, they’re just a fun and way for bloggers to recognize other bloggers and spread some love. And so with admiration and appreciation, today I’m passing it to you.
Warmly,
-Amber from The Tasty Alterative
Award Post: http://www.thetastyalternative.com/2012/07/spreading-love-part-i-sunshine-award.html
Oh my gosh, thank you so much Amber! 🙂
What is PB2?
PB2 is simply a brand of Peanut Flour. You can use any type of peanut flour for this shake, if you use a plain peanut flour, I recommend adding a few drops of Stevia. PB2 has a little bit of sugar in it.
thank you!
Sounds delicious!
So simple yet so delicious!
Sounds refreshing! 🙂
http://www.prettybitchescancooktoo.com
Is pb2 good for you?? and what kind of protein do you use in your shakes?
Yes I love PB2! It’s just powdered peanuts. They do add a bit of sugar though so you should be aware of that. I love that it adds a nice peanut flavor though plus you can use it with water to make a paste with it. As for protein powder, I use a lot of different brands depending on the type. For whey, I am currently using Designer Whey the most because they are all-natural and I like the flavors.
Read what the FoodBabe has to say about pb2. Not a healthy way to get protein. Would never use it. Organic hemp protien is a healthy protien not processed.
Can you link me to the article? Thank you for the comment!
My usual Shake is PB2 & vanilla protein powder – but I’m gonna have to try this banana, chocolate, cinnamon addition. Sounds yummy!