Whether you’re a bodybuilder, a runner or simply someone who wants to up the amount of protein they consume in a day, whey protein powder is an excellent and easy way to do it. This article provides three easy whey protein shake recipes that will energize your workouts and make it easy to hit your daily protein goals.

What exactly is whey protein?

Whey protein is the protein extracted from cow’s milk and then filtered and spray-dried into a powder. It is one of the two proteins found in milk, the other is casein. Protein powder can be made from casein or whey, but whey has some special benefits.

You can blend whey protein into shakes as an excellent way to get your protein. There are many easy protein shake recipes with vanilla and cocoa flavor out there on the internet for you to test out.

Why is whey protein so beneficial?

Whey protein contains all 9 of the essential amino acids, making it a complete protein. It is fast absorbing, easily digestible and low in calories. What more could any athlete want? It is one of the best ways to get high quality protein immediately after your workout and into the muscles that need it.

Whey protein can do a lot of great things for your body, especially post workout.

• • It can help increase muscle mass by providing the branched-chain amino acids your muscles crave.
  • It will speed up your muscle recovery time by giving muscles the nutrients they need to repair after a tough workout.
  • When blended into a shake, it can help to replenish liquids, electrolytes, and carbs lost during a workout
  • It will keep you full, lowering your caloric intake, making weight loss easier.

With all these benefits, many athletes and health advocates alike know how to make a whey shake they love and can easily incorporate into their daily routines.

Protein Shake Benefits

Protein shakes are one of the most popular ways to squeeze whey protein into your diet. This is mostly likely because they are quick and convenient, especially when you know how to make a whey protein shake that is tasty and nutritious.

Perfect as a pre or post workout snack, protein shakes can be blended up in an instant. They will help to curb your appetite and they will instantly set your muscles back on the road to recovery.

Whether you are craving something fruity and fresh or something rich and decadent to curb your sweet tooth, give a great whey protein shake recipe a try today and start experiencing the benefits of whey protein for yourself.

How to Make a Whey Protein Shake

Learning how to make a whey shake couldn’t be easier. You could just mix your favorite whey protein into some water and drink.

But there are a few specifics for how to shake whey protein that you should know before you get started. For example, our Vital Whey protein is whey protein concentrate that is full of intact non-denatured (not broken down) proteins. This is what makes it incredibly nutritious, but also quite delicate.

For the most benefit, we recommend that you just mix the protein with water or other liquid and stir lightly with a spoon. This will prevent any of the delicate proteins from getting damaged and will give you the most benefits.

That’s not to say that you can’t use a shaker or blender to make your whey shake, but the process of blending and mixing with other ingredients could impact the protein.

Regardless of how you make your whey protein shake, it will always contain the essential amino acids your body needs for muscle repair and recovery.

We know that just drinking protein with plain water is boring after a while, so we want to provide you with some delicious and easy protein shake recipes to enjoy as well. To get you started, here are 3 easy whey protein shake recipes for you to try out the next time you need a post workout pick-me-up.

3 Easy Whey Protein Shake Recipes

Nutty Banana Shake

This shake truly feels like a decadent dessert with the combination of banana, cocoa protein powder and peanut butter. Be sure to select creamy natural peanut butter for this recipe. It should only have one ingredient on the label “peanuts”. Feel free to substitute the milk for any milk alternative of choice, if desired.

Ingredients

• • 1 scoop Vital Whey cocoa whey protein powder
  • 1/2 tbsp natural peanut butter
  • 1 cup nonfat milk
  • 1/2 medium banana
  • 10 ice cubes

Directions

1. 1. 1. Add chocolate protein powder, peanut butter, nonfat milk, and 1/2 banana, sliced, to a blender.
      2. Add 10 cubes of ices, and blend for 2 minutes until well blended

Berry, Berry Shake

This delicious shake packs a huge amount of nutrition into just one serving. It starts with nutrient-dense berries of your choice (feel free to use fresh or frozen) and tops it off with vanilla protein powder. If you want even more protein, use Greek yogurt instead of regular yogurt.

To reduce the sugar content consider eliminating the fruit juice and using water instead. Regardless of the variations you choose, this will definitely be a great whey protein shake recipe that you will want to add to your regular routine.

Ingredients

• • 3/4 cup berries (frozen, blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, strawberry or mixed berry or 3/4 cup fresh, blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, strawberry or mixed berry)
  • 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (organic)
  • 1/2 banana
  • 1/2 cup fruit juice (cold, choice we use blueberry or white grape)
  • 1 tbsp wheat germ
  • 1 scoop Vital Whey vanilla protein powder

Directions

1. 1. 1. Blend for 30 seconds or until smooth.

PB and Chocolate Shake

This is a super simple, but incredibly delicious recipe. Why make things more complicated than they have to be? It just uses our cocoa protein powder and peanut butter. That’s it! Remember to always use natural, unsalted, creamy peanut butter for the best results. You can also use any other nut butter or milk alternative to vary the flavor of this simple recipe.

Ingredients

• • 2 scoops chocolate whey protein
  • 1 teaspoon creamy peanut butter
  • 16 oz nonfat milk
  • 1/2 cup ice cubes

Directions

1. 1. 1. Blend for 30 seconds or until smooth.

Want more ideas for how to make a whey protein shake? We have tons! Check out the recipe section of our blog for ideas for shakes, bars, bites and all the different ways you can get creative with whey protein.