This Matcha Green Tea Vanilla Protein Smoothie is a delicious and healthy way to start your day. Matcha green tea powder is blended with vanilla almond milk, vanilla protein powder and a little ground flaxseed. You can also shake it together and pour over ice to enjoy it as a matcha iced latte. You’ll enjoy it even more knowing it’s also really good for you!
The Idea:
Maybe I enjoyed myself a little too much at dinner the night before, or maybe I tried one too many appetizers at happy hour. Maybe I’m old enough that my metabolism doesn’t work any more. However it happens, some mornings I wake up thinking I should make a healthy choice for breakfast. Smoothies are a great way to go when you’re feeling hungry, but also want to choose wisely. I also like trying new ingredients in smoothies. I mean, strawberry banana smoothies are great, but it’s nice to have options!
Have you tried a matcha latte or smoothie yet? If you’ve ordered one at your favorite coffee or tea shop, you know how good they can be. If you want to avoid the line and the expense, they’re also really easy to make at home. Matcha is a powdered green tea that has a smooth, delicate tea flavor. Because it’s powdered, it’s blends into drinks really well. You don’t get any graininess or little tea leaves floating in your drink, which is always a plus.
My favorite way to use matcha is in this matcha green tea vanilla protein smoothie. I love smoothies because they’re so easy to make, they’re filling (especially when you add protein powder), and you can take it with you as you run out the door on a busy morning.
You can also take the same ingredients, shake them up, and pour over ice for a delicious, smooth, matcha vanilla iced latte!
The Ingredients:
The first thing you’ll notice about the matcha is how pretty it is. It’s a very finely ground powder and it has an amazing grass green color. Matcha green tea powder has been used in Japanese tea ceremonies for at least a thousand years. The powder is ground from stemmed and dried tea leaves, so you keep a greater concentration of the flavor and antioxidants than if you brewed tea the usual way, and then threw out the leaves. Matcha is actually jam packed with health benefits. It contains the best of the cancer fighting antioxidants (EGCg), and also L-Theanine, which in combination with the caffeine in the tea, is said to increase energy and endurance.
The delicate macha flavor pairs well with vanilla because neither flavor overpowers the other. You’ll get double the vanilla flavor from two ingredients in this smoothie, the almond milk and the protein powder. If you don’t have almond milk, you can use whatever you have on hand. If you do use regular milk, or an unflavored milk substitute, you might want to add a splash of vanilla extract to your mix.
Finally I like to add ground flaxseeds to the smoothie. They not only make it more filling, but they’re also considered a high fiber super food, and who doesn’t need more super foods in their diet? Flaxseeds are loaded with omega-3 essential fatty acids and antioxidants. I try to sneak them into every kind of smoothie I make! I buy the flaxseed already ground and keep the bag in the freezer so it stays fresh for a long time.
The Preparation:
Now the only thing you need to do is measure the ingredients into a jar or blender with ice, depending on how you want to serve it. Then just shake until cold, or blend until smooth and icy!
The Payoff:
Enjoy your easy, delicious, matcha green tea vanilla protein smoothie even more knowing how good it is for you. Your body will thank you, especially if you enjoyed yourself a little too much at dinner the night before like me.
The hardest part will be deciding if you want it blended, or over ice!
Disclaimer: the links to products in this post may be affiliate links. This means I would get a very small commission if the products were purchased. I only link to products I like and use myself, or are similar to what I use. Thanks for your support!
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Matcha Green Tea Vanilla Smoothie (or Iced Latte)
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
Description
This Matcha Green Tea Vanilla Protein Smoothie is a delicious and healthy way to start your day. Matcha green tea powder blends beautifully into vanilla almond milk, vanilla protein powder and a little ground flaxseed. You can also shake it together and pour over ice to enjoy it as a matcha iced latte. You’ll enjoy it even more knowing it’s also really good for you!
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups vanilla almond milk, or milk of your choice
- 1 tablespoon matcha green tea powder
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (4-5 tablespoons)
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
Instructions
If having as a latte over ice:
- Add all ingredients to a shaker or jar with ice. Shake until the ingredients are combined and really cold. Pour into two glasses filled with ice.
If having as a smoothie blended:
- Add all ingredients to your blender with 2 cups or so of ice. Blend until smooth and pour into two glasses.
Notes
If using regular milk, you can add 1 teaspoon of vanilla to the mix if you like.
