Strawberries and Cottage Cheese Protein Smoothie

This strawberries and cottage cheese protein smoothie is a perfect pre-bed recovery smoothie to give a slow and steady release of protein. Made with just four every day ingredients, this is a wholesome, nutritious drink that tastes good and won’t break the bank either.

When it comes to bumping up protein intake, many people automatically assume they have to resort to expensive protein shakes. Not so! There are plenty of naturally sourced foods that are great sources of protein, more satisfying, much tastier and much more affordable than supplements.

Cottage cheese has been frequently appearing in my kitchen as of late. Cottage cheese is a great quality source of casein, but there’s only so much cottage cheese you can eat without getting a bit sick of it (in my experience at least).

Casein is a slow-releasing protein that provides your muscles with the essential proteins they need to grow and repair while you sleep. A bit of experimentation in the kitchen led me to create this nutritious, creamy strawberry protein smoothie. Thanks to the frozen berries it’s so thick that you pretty much need a spoon to drink it.

This smoothie only contains small amounts of natural carbohydrates to prevent it being stored as fat overnight, making it the perfect bedtime recovery snack.

Strawberries and cottage cheese protein smoothie

Ingredients

150g 0% fat cottage cheese (1/2 a tub)
125ml skim milk (1/2 a cup)
½ tsp vanilla essence
6 frozen strawberries

Method

Combine the cottage cheese, milk and vanilla essence in a blender and blitz until smooth.
Add the frozen strawberries and blend well.
Drink immediately for a thick shake consistency.

If you prefer, 0% fat Greek yoghurt also works well in this recipe with very similar nutritional profile. To boost the carb content to speed up glycogen restoration add a generous spoonful of honey.

Train Smart. Eat Smart. Perform Better

Gemma

DrinksGemma Sampson25 January 2017strawberries and cottage cheese protein smoothie