Pina Colada Protein Shake

Pina Colada Protein Shake- a quick and easy protein shake that’s like a trip to the tropics!

Have you been prioritizing protein in your diet? Growing up I was a bowl (or two) of carby, sugary cereal for breakfast. I would sometimes have a glass of sugary orange juice on the side.

I’ve since grown up a little, started eating vegetables like brussels sprouts, and got my figurative stuff together in regards to diet and exercise this year in 2021.

I joined a new gym this year (as I talked about in more detail in my Egg White Frittata post) and lost 15 pounds from mid-April to the last week of June. My gym’s popular 10 week challenge worked well for me and helped me understand where I was previously going wrong with my exercise and nutrition.

(Full disclaimer, I am not a doctor, nutritionist, nor certified personal trainer. I’m just a regular lady who was fed up with not seeing results when it came to eating better and exercising more regularly.) I lost 5 pounds on my own from January to April 2021 by going to my local Planet Fitness a few days a week and incorporating cardio and strength training.

Without going into too much detail, as they are not my details to give away, the nutrition plan promoted by the gym is basically one of cutting out foods with sugars and artificial sweeteners, eating a balanced diet with plenty of “whole” foods like fresh fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and healthy fats. Properly portioned meals are also important, with an emphasis of having protein at each “meal” of the day. Ideally, each meal is spaced 3 hours apart.

The long and short of this explanation here is that I was looking for a little variety in my meal plans and decided to add a fun and fruity protein shake into the mix. My protein powder of choice these days is Orgain Vanilla Bean Protein Powder and I also like their Creamy Chocolate Fudge flavor for when I make a chocolate almond butter banana protein shake.

Orgain doesn’t have any artificial sweeteners like most brands and so it was the top choice for my gym’s nutrition plan. If you don’t care about artificial sweeteners, Quest Vanilla Milkshake Protein Powder was my previous favorite.

Ingredients

Four simple ingredients and you'll be well on your way to this Pina Colada Protein Shake!

• almond milk (I used vanilla unsweetned)
• protein powder
• frozen pineapple chunks
• unsweetened coconut flakes

Please see the recipe card below for quantities.

Instructions

I paid attention to the pamphlet when I ordered my new Ninja blender, which let me know there's an order of adding smoothie ingredients to make the best smoothies and shakes.

1. Liquids
2. Powders and other dry ingredients
3. Greens and leaves
4. Softer ingredients, like yogurt
5. Fresh fruit, nuts, seeds (I like to include peanut butter in this category)
6. Frozen ingredients (frozen fruit/ice/etc.)

I like to use my Ninja Foodi blender with the single serve cup attachment when I make smoothies and shakes for myself. If you're doubling this recipe to make more than one serving, use a larger blender!

Substitutions

This is a very basic recipe, so there are only a few things that could be changed. Instead of using almond milk, you could use coconut milk or another non-dairy milk of your choice.

If you don't have frozen pineapples on hand, use a little less almond milk (or milk of choice) and add ice to the shake so that it has that smoothie consistency.

You could also add any other unflavored supplements or powders to your smoothie, like collagen powder.