Normally, I’m not a shake/smoothie person. For me, I like chewing my food. It makes me feel like I’m eating more and it takes longer to consume a meal. When I have shakes I tend to take one, long sip…pausing occasionally to swallow. Classy and not gross at all; I know. But, I know that many love liquid meals, because they’re so fast and easy Moreover, I know that a lot of people love Shakeology, specifically. I’ve never had Shakeology, for one reason: the cost. “Cheap,” is not a word that would ever describe me, but I’m not willing to pay $129.95 for a 30 day bag of the mix- that’s $4.33 every time you have a scoop. My friend (Hi!!!) is a Shakeology lover, and inspired me to find a copycat recipe. So, I did. And I made it. And I ate it. And it tasted good.
Truth be told, even though there are a lot of great ingredients in actual Shakeology (How many times will I have to type that word?), there are some suspect ones as well. Vegan Shakeology contains 4 types of grains, which for many, would wreak havoc on your GI tract due to the lectins and phytic acid found in grains (gut irritants and enzyme inhibitors). Phytic acid binds to calcium, zinc, iron, manganese, magnesium and other minerals (all Shakeology ingredients), preventing them from being absorbed. Non-vegan Shakeology contains whey protein, and there seems to be a lot of controversy as to the source. Meaning, are the cows that this whey protein comes from, eating GMO corn and soy, as opposed to grass that cows are meant to eat? According to Shakeology, they don’t use GMO ingredients, and the non-organic ingredients they do use are just not certified, “organic.” Hmm….pretty sure anyone can say that, but, ok.
Take a look at this article for more information, and for a full list of ingredients: http://www.ancestral-nutrition.com/unbiased-review-shakeology/
So, anyway on to the recipe…
I based my recipe off of this: Shakeology Recipe
I’m wondering if this guy is Italian, based on the lack of clarity in his directions and measurements…there’s definitely a key ingredient he’s holding out on (Joking…but if you get a recipe from an Italian, there is a missing ingredient that will sabotage the recipe when you make it. Just sayin.)
I had everything to make this, so for me…minimal cost. If you’re starting from having none of these, it’s going to be an investment. But, for the price of one bag of Shakeology, you can have 100 servings of this. I used Pumpkin Protein for this recipe. I don’t do dairy, and I’m not a big fan of protein powder, in general. With pumpkin protein, there is one ingredient: Pumpkin Seeds. No fillers, sugar, or artificial sweeteners. I also skipped the Hemp Seeds, because I don’t like them. I just dumped these ingredients into a container…until it, “looked right.” Sorry…I didn’t measure.
I don’t have a reference level to compare the taste to Shakeology, but this tasted really good. The taste of the Super Greens was completely masked (I detest Super Greens). If you plan to drink this from a Blender Bottle, I recommend grinding the chia seeds first…I get confused when I have to chew a drink. I added 2 scoops to a blender with some almond milk, coconut water, spinach, frozen banana, peanut butter, and stevia (remember, this recipe has no sweeteners in it).
Well, that was a lot of rambling for a recipe you probably will never use! The point is, be aware of what you’re consuming. There is no magic food out there that will solve all of your problems. And my biggest take-home from this is: You can always make a homemade version!
Have a great weekend, people! I hope your January is off to a great start. Don’t un-do all of the hard work you did this week! Have a drink or two, have a homemade treat, take a rest day…try not to have the whole bottle, the whole pan, the whole bag. But, if you do; do better the next day. That’s it!
lipstick holistic 