protein shake in a bowl

I know we talk a lot about protein shakes around here, but I'll be honest—if it's not wine, I don't love drinking my calories.  Drinking just doesn't say, "Wow, that was a great meal." like something that requires cutlery might.

Lucky for me, I found out that the addition of some gums transforms an ordinary protein shake into one that rivals one of my favorite foods of all time...frozen yogurt.  Frozen yogurt and I go way back; in fact, I'm pretty sure I lived on the stuff my final year of college.  A bowl full of the chunkiest frozen yogurt I could find, topped with Golden Grahams cereal, got me through many exams and morning shifts as a Starbucks barista.

Fast forward a couple years and I'm still a frozen dessert diehard, but I've cleaned up my act.  Dairy has been swapped for almond milk, Golden Grahams for organic, unsweetened shredded coconut and chocolate for unsweetened cocoa and mocha cappucino protein powder.  *Almost* the same?  As someone who had thought it'd be forever before I'd have anything close to fro-yo, the answer's a resounding "YES."

The gums and ice beef up a single-serving shake into a generous and filling bowl of creamy, almost-frozen yogurt. I happily have this for lunch, dinner or both.  Flavor combos are seemingly limitless, and it's a good excuse to buy all other kinds of mix-ins (can you say cacao nibs?!!?!).

Protein Shake in a Bowl
adapted from HEAB

1 cup Almond Breeze, unsweetened vanilla
1 heaping scoop protein (I used mocha cappucino flavor)
1.5 T unsweetened cocoa
10 drops vanilla stevia
1/2 tsp guar gum
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
ice

Blend everything but the ice.  Once mixture is smooth, blend ice in batches until it's thick like ice cream.  Stir or top with mix-ins.  Note: More ice is not necessarily better. If you add too much, you lose the flavor of the protein, so just add enough to get the consistency you want.