This smoothie is inspired by the original Gym Rat Smoothie from Angela Liddon over at Oh She Glows – a delicious, naturally sweet blend of dates, oats, and chia. I’ve adapted it slightly to suit my own routine and nutrition goals, giving it a protein boost with brown rice protein and a few small swaps. It’s still creamy, satisfying, and deliciously vanillaery (that’s not a word) – just a little more geared towards post-workout recovery (or simply keeping you full a bit longer). I call it Gym Rat Smoothie #2.
I’ve been making this for years, it’s actually my oldest smoothie recipe. Angela’s first book came out in 2014, so I think it’s safe to say that this variant is a good decade old. When I lived with one of my friends way back in 2017 (I think), we trained together almost every day – we had a mini CrossFit gym in the living room. It was awesome! Anyway, this was our fuel for after training. Back then, the protein power was the Classic Vanilla from Sunwarrior, but these days, I use unflavoured brown rice protein powder and add my own vanilla – it tastes so much better!
I initially used almonds instead of peanut butter (I didn’t like peanut butter in 2014!), but these days, I use either almonds or Brazil nuts (to get some additional creaminess and selenium). Almonds do add a great taste depth to it though, so do whatever works for you. I’m pretty sure it’d be great with peanut butter too (I now love peanut butter. Weird, huh?).
The outcome is a smooth, thick, lightly nutty, naturally sweet, filling vanilla milkshake thing. It blends really well in a high speed blender, such as a vitamix.
Also, it actually fills you up. It’s perfect after a workout. It’s got carbohydrates from a mixture of sources, a good dose of protein and some healthy fats. If we’ve trained hard and we need to replenish some electrolytes, then we add 1/2tsp (3g – 4g) white miso per person. It sounds disgusting, but it really brings out the date flavour. I really do suggest trying it. You will be pleasantly surprised.
If you’re wanting more raw veggies in your life (which you should, they’re so good for you), you can easily hide 80g cauliflower per serving. We use frozen cauliflower and as long as we’ve got some in the freezer, I add it every time. As far as I can tell, it makes it a bit more creamy, but otherwise, I don’t think I’d know it’s there. It definitely doesn’t add a cauliflower taste.
I hope you love this as much as we do.
If you’ve been training and you need to replenish carbs, you can increase this.
1tbsp.
Or Brazil nuts.
1/8tsp;
Optional. Great for replenishing electrolytes if you’ve been training hard.
Optional. Adds a bit of creaminess and no flavour!
