For years I drank smoothies that I made with vegan protein powder, but I never really liked the taste of any of them. They were always chalky, powdery, or just plain weird, not to mention really expensive. I’ve also noticed that most vegan protein powders contain pea protein now, and I don’t eat legumes after reading The Plant Paradox by Dr. Steven Gundry.

I decided to try to make a whole foods smoothie that would give me the same amount of (vegan) protein, lots of healthy plant-based fats, and tons of vitamins, minerals, and fiber to power up my day.

Vegan Protein Smoothie Recipe

In your high-powered blender like a Vitamix or Blendtec, add:

• 1 banana (potassium, vitamin C, iron, plus 3 grams fiber + 1 gram protein)
• 1 cup of spinach or kale (potassium, phosphorus, folate, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, plus 1 gram fiber)
• 1/2 cup strawberries (potassium, vitamin C, calcium, iron, plus 2 grams fiber + 1 gram protein)
• 1/2 cup blueberries (potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, plus 2 grams fiber)
• 3 tablespoons hemp seeds (iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, plus 10 grams protein + 14 grams fat + 1 gram fiber)
• 1/4 cup raw almonds (calcium, iron, plus 6 grams protein + 14 grams fat + 3 grams fiber)
• 1 1/2 cups vanilla coconut milk or almond milk

Blend on high for about a minute, add a sprinkling of chia seeds or fruit if you’d like, and enjoy your clean energy experience.

(Tip: If you’re using frozen fruit, that’s totally fine…you may want to warm it up a bit so it doesn’t jam up your blender. ;) I usually put any frozen fruit I’m using in a bowl about 30 minutes before I’m going to make the smoothie.)