Vegan Strawberry Protein Shake

This Vegan Strawberry Protein Shake is the best tasting healthy treat made with just 5 plant-based ingredients. It's an instant breakfast, snack, or meal that will take you only 5 minutes to prepare, and keep you fully satisfied for a long period of time.

This vegan strawberry protein shake is a quick and easy breakfast to make for adults and kids alike! It's a better alternative to some of the strawberry powders that are meant to be added with milk with a long list of ridiculous ingredients.

Growing up, I absolutely loved drinking strawberry milkshakes. It’s like drinking strawberry ice cream but without the brain freeze! Which it actually is because traditionally homemade strawberry milkshakes are a blend of strawberries, sugar, milk, and vanilla ice cream; clearly not healthy.

Let me share how I've transformed a strawberry milkshake into a healthy strawberry vegan protein shake, and managed to have it taste even better.

Just 5 ingredients to make it happen!

• Dairy-free milk - Your choice of any plant-based milk. Personally, I prefer to go with Oat milk for it taste closest to a strawberry milkshake.
• Filter Water
• Freeze-dried Strawberries - Fresh is always healthier, but freeze-dried strawberries are not unhealthy and taste better in this smoothie. Definitely a better alternative to strawberry flavored powders.
• Protein Powder - Vanilla flavored protein powder is a must. My personal adult favorite is the vegan protein powder from Ritual.
• Maple Syrup - This ingredient is completely optional. However, if you are interested in the strawberry milk shake taste, then I recommend adding it in for sweetness.

Full recipe is in the recipe card.

How to make vegan strawberry protein shake (Step by Step)

Here's how to turn your favorite childhood summer treat into an everyday health drink with just 2 steps.

Blend all plant-based, clean ingredients together in a personal blender.

Serve in a glass over ice and garnish with freeze-dried strawberry.

Protein Powder for Kids

There are risks associated with the amount of protein you are supplementing kids on a daily basis. It is not advised to give children the same protein in-take as adults. To learn more about how safe are protein powders for kids, please visit WebMD. ? If you're making this recipe for your kids, then you can use a plant-based vanilla-flavored kid’s protein that is formulated with safe amounts of protein intake for kids. Here are some options for kid’s protein powders:

• Safe and Fair
• TEJARI
• NuZest
• Truvani

Are freeze-dried strawberries healthy?

If fresh strawberries are available where you are, then use them. If you're buying them directly from a farmer, then that's even better! But don't feel bad about using frozen or freeze-dried strawberries. These are also healthy and flavorful as fresh.

Freeze-drying will not alter the sugar content of strawberries or any fruit for that matter. It will have as much sugar as its fresh counterpart. However, because the freeze-dried berries are smaller in size after being processed, you end up consuming more sugar per portion. 100 grams of freeze-dried strawberries will have more sugar than fresh strawberries of the same weight because the sugar is more concentrated in the former.

Sometimes, freeze-dried and frozen strawberries taste better because frozen berries are being preserved at their peak freshness. A lot of the time, the fruits are frozen just a few hours after picking so in a sense, they are fresher than fresh when they get to you.

Personally, I use freeze-dried strawberries because I always have these stocked in my pantry. They have a longer shelf life; they are convenient and nutritious; and I can replicate the taste of the traditional strawberry milkshake when I use them instead of fresh or frozen.

Freeze-dried vs Dehydrated

Ordinary freezing doesn't remove the moisture content of fruit. It just converts the water in the fruit into ice. While frozen fruit does have an extended shelf life, it's not usually for very long; maximum 1 year and it must be kept frozen. On the other hand, freeze-dried fruit can last up to 25 years... without refrigeration. That's insane!

In freeze-drying, the fruit is frozen first. Then it goes into a freeze drier which is a kind of vacuum chamber that zaps the ice into gas. In other words, this method of preservation dries your fruit from a frozen state.

Dehydrated fruits are dried using low heat over a period of time. This process leaves you with a shriveled fruit that can later be rehydrated. On the other hand, freeze-dried fruit looks more like its fresh counterpart albeit smaller. It also retains more flavor than dehydrated fruit. Try making your own dehydrated strawberries.

Equiment

• Personal blender - To blend the protein shake.

More Vegan Smoothies or Shakes

• Plant-based Mango Cream Shake
• Pumpkin Spice Smoothie (No-sugar)