This post is sponsored by Optimum Nutrition and contains affiliate links.
St. Patrick’s Day or ANY DAY, my pumped-up version of a Green Shamrock Shake with protein powder is sure to satisfy post-workout recovery needs with 27g protein for muscle management.
This delicious, creamy Chocolate Mint Protein Smoothie features fresh mint and spinach, sugar-free chocolate chips. My protein choice today is Optimum Nutrition’s Gold Standard 100% Whey protein (in French Vanilla Creme) which offers 24g high-quality whey protein per serving and 5.5g naturally-occurring BCAA to help endurance and recovery.
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BTW, I’ve actually visited the HQ and manufacturing facilities for Optimum Nutrition and it was very impressive with so many safety protocols– it made it obviously clear why this product line is the “world’s best-selling whey protein powder” and why I trust it in my green mint protein smoothie (as well as so many other protein powder recipes).
I’m such a food manufacturing nerd, I could have watched the production line at Optimum Nutrition all day long!
This protein shamrock smoothie with Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey Protein was my post-workout snack after an intense sweat session the other day, but with 320 calories it would also make a great breakfast or light meal on the go.
Of course, you can trim it down a little by skipping the whipped topping and sugar-free chocolate chips — I’ve made it that way many times too!
Enjoy St. Patrick's Day or any day with this better-for-you version of a green shamrock shake — featuring fresh spinach and mint plus other key ingredients like protein powder and a few sugar-free chocolate chips! A great post-workout snack or breakfast on the go. Get more clean eating recipes at thefitfork.com
Course:
Beverage, smoothie
Keyword:
chocolate mint, green bean, protein powder, protein smoothie, shamrock shake, smoothie
Servings: 1
Calories: 320kcal
Ingredients
8oz.unsweetened almond milk
1small bananaabout 6” in length
3Tbspfresh mint leaves
½cupfresh spinach leaves
1scoop Optimum Nutrition’s Gold Standard 100% Whey proteinFrench Vanilla Cream
1tablespoonsugar-free chocolate chipssave a few for the garnish
2tablespoonssugar-free non-dairy whip
Instructions
Add almond milk, banana, mint, spinach, protein powder and chocolate chips to the blender and process until smooth. Blend in a few ice cubes, if needed, to achieve desired consistency. Add whipped topping and a few extra chocolate chips for garnish.
So green and so good and so glee-fully easy to make and clean up, my recipe for 15-mintue Shrimp with Hatch Chile Green Sauce, makes a speedy southwestern-inspired meal made with one of my favorite ingredients, Hatch Green Chiles. Suitable for keto and low-carb diets with 3.6g net carb per serving.
If fact, I love these mild-to-hot green peppers that hail from Hatch New Mexico so much that I hold the title of Hatch Green Chile Champion in a local Austin cook off (and have been runner up a couple times too). You can find my Hatch green chile cookoff recipes in a past post, 101 Ways to Use Hatch Green Chiles.
I was looking to make a bright green sauce for an entrée, like BOOM . . . GREEN! So, I knew I needed a protein that could cook fast at a high heat so the vibrant green of the blended hatch peppers, cilantro and spinach didn’t start to turn to a darker green – that’s what happens when you cook green stuff too long. I knew shrimp would be the perfect “fast cook” protein to help me avoid blah, deep green sauce . . . and I even short-cut my Hatch green chile recipe even further by using frozen shrimp that had been shelled, deveined and pre-cooked.
If fresh Hatch green chiles are not in season, order from Hatch-Chile-Store.com
After blending my fresh Hatch chile green sauce ingredients (cilantro, spinach, green chiles, garlic, etc) for about 30 seconds, the only task that remained was to dump those thawed shrimp in a baking dish, cover with the sauce and sprinkle of queso fresco, and bake in the oven at 475F degrees for 10 to 12 minutes – just until the sauce bubbling and cheese starting to get slightly browned on top.
Garnish with green onions and avocado hunks to kick up green! If you put on a pot of noodles or rice at the start of this recipe, you’ll have a hearty base to pile on all this green magic! Who doesn’t love a 15 minute meal that is nutritious and tastes great?! Each serving has 236 calories, 12g fat, 3.6g net carb, and 25g protein making it work for those looking for low carb Hatch green chile recipes and Keto Hatch green chile recipes.
If you are looking for Hatch green chile and it’s not August (the short season for this much coveted pepper), you have a couple options. Head over to the Hatch Chile Store and order a bunch of roasted, skinned, seeded and chopped Hatch chiles to be delivered to your door flash-frozen. I get the 1 lb. zip-top bags that are frozen “thin” (like the thickness of a magazine) which makes it easy to pop open the freezer and just break off what you want (even without thawing first). Second, you can substitute canned green chiles, which in some cases can be a reasonably decent substitute (like for stews and such), but this super-fresh tasting shrimp hatch chile recipe turns out much better with fresh or flash-frozen Hatch chiles.
Green and so good for you, this speedy super is a slightly-spicy lip-smacker thanks to mild Hatch green chiles! Suitable for keto, low carb and gluten-free diets.
Course:
dinner, entree
Cuisine:
Southwestern
Keyword:
fish, black cod, sablefish, merken, spicy, tangerine, 20 minute, gluten free, green bean, hatch green chile, keto, peppers, shrimp
Servings: 4servings
Ingredients
1lb.frozen medium pre-cookedshelled shrimp (thawed)
¾cuproasted mild Hatch green chilethawed (I get mine from Hatch Green Chile store)
2cupspacked fresh spinach
1cupfresh cilantroupper tender stalks okay, but discard bottoms
2tbsp.avocado oil
¼cupseafood or chicken stock
½teaspoonsalt
6oz.queso fresco cheesecrumbled
3green onion stalkswhites and greens chopped
½avocadodiced
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 475F degrees.
Add Hatch chiles, spinach, cilantro, oil, salt and stock to blender; blend for approximately 20 to 30 seconds.
Pour out thawed, drained shrimp into 8”x8” baking dish or 9” round baking dish.
Pour sauce over top of shrimp to cover and sprinkle to with crumbled queso fresco cheese.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until cheese starting to brown a bit on top and sauce bubbling.
Remove and garnish with chopped green onions and diced avocado.
Great served on rice or noodles of any kind (traditional, gluten-free, zoodles, etc)
Warmer weather is on the way and I’m craving all the watermelon things and quite literally working my appetite up! Check out my “Shake It Up” Paleo Watermelon Ice Cream that is fun to make as it is to eat!
Do you have memories of making “kick the can” ice cream at summer camp or spring break gathering as a kid? Back in the day, my mom would pour in the ingredients for ice cream into a can and then stick that can into a bigger can filled with ice and salt. Then my brother and I would kick, roll and throw that can around until a creamy sweet treat formed from our hard work!
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I took the same idea for this no-machine-needed, no-churn ice cream and turned it into a healthier version with fewer carbs and suitable for Paleo diets – and, of course, it features my favorite fruit – WATERMELON! Plus, you get a little 15-minute workout during the human-powered freezing process.
3 cups of chopped watermelon has only 120 calories!
Technically, you can make “kick the can” ice cream (or in this case, “shake the container” ice cream) with any type flavor profile you desire. However, for me, watermelon was a non-negotiable featured ingredient – the amount and volume of watermelon used (3 cups cubed) helped me to cut some of the extreme richness and displace some of the calories used with the second main ingredient – full-fat coconut cream. Did you know that three cups of cubed watermelon have just 120 calories?!
Watermelon also adds natural sweetness and a bumper crop of health benefits for my active lifestyle like vitamin C and A, lycopene for heart health, and the amino acid l-citrulline which studies show may help move blood through the body, lower blood pressure, and help lessen muscle soreness after a workout. Plus, watermelon always puts me in a happy mood.
Watermelon is deliciously sweet, but I added a few drops of stevia to bring up the coconut cream. Collagen powder from Great Lakes Wellness (save 10% code: THEFITFORK10OFF) is also added for a protein boost and other functional nutrition.
save 10% Great Lakes Wellness collagen and products with code THEFITFORK10off
For me specifically as an older runner and athlete, I use collagen to help support my joints, ligaments, bones and overall wellness. Collagen combined with the l-citrulline in watermelon is a big win-win for my workout recovery. Feel free to use an animal or plant-based collagen powder depending on your dietary needs – or, the collagen powder can be omitted completely without any change to the recipe.
This low carb watermelon ice cream is super easy to make – let the kids make their own batch and have a family “shake off” to see who can get theirs to freeze first! Simply toss cubed watermelon in a blender with full-fat coconut cream, and puree it all up.
Next, pour watermelon coconut ice cream mixture in a heavy-duty zip-top bag and set inside a larger container filled with ice and 1/2 cup salt. Salt will typically be labeled “ice cream salt” or “rock salt,” in in a pinch you can use COARSE sea salt (but not regular table salt). I had to go this route as the rush on rock salt cause by the recent Texas storm. Now it is in the 80s – crazy Texas weather!
When choosing your container, you can use a big old coffee can like my mom did (if they even sell coffee like that anymore). I preferred to use a big-mouthed water jug with handle so that I could swing it around! In a pinch, you can also put the ice and salt in a bigger gallon-sized baggie.
Then all that’s left is shaking, swinging, kicking or rolling it around for about 15 minutes until the coldness of the ice (kept colder by the salt) and constant motion of the container creates a creamy sweet reward for your work!
“Shake It Up” Watermelon Ice Cream Exercise Ideas
Shake it Up Watermelon Ice Cream is a fun activity for kids of all ages — sneaking that exercise in is a win-win. Stock the freezer with frozen watermelon cubes for year-round enjoyment.
For a complete demo on how to make Shake it Up (Kick the Can) Watermelon Ice Cream, watch my IGTV videoHERE.
Work up a hunger for this simple and naturally sweet watermelon ice cream that is friendly for lower carb and Paleo diets. No churning required, simply shake the ice and salt filled outer container for 15 minutes until you create a sweet reward! Fun for kids and whole family.
Servings: 4
Calories: 232kcal
Ingredients
3cupschopped watermelonfrozen if you want a head start, but not necessary
113.5-oz can full-fat unsweetened coconut milk
½cupunflavored collagen powderoptional
5– 15 drops liquid stevia
5 to 6cupsice cubes
½cuprock salt or coarse salt
Topping of choice
Instructions
Add chopped watermelon to blender. Use cold watermelon chunks or if you want a head start, use frozen chunks.
Add full-fat coconut milk to pitcher. Other milk options can be used (like almond milk, light coconut milk, or whole milk), but will create a less creamy result.
If desired, add a plant-based or animal-based unflavored collagen powder to blender. This may be omitted completely without need to swap for another ingredient.
Blend everything up until smooth, about 30 seconds. Taste test the mixture and add stevia drops to achieve your level of sweet preference.
Pour mixture into a 1-quart freezer-style zip-top baggie; seal tightly.
Fill container with half of the ice and salt. Use a container similar to a large coffee can, handled wide-mouth jug, or even gallon sized heavy-duty zip-top bag.
Add tightly sealed smaller baggie of watermelon mixture in center. Top with remaining ice and salt. Close container lid or seal tightly.
Shake vigorously for approximately 15 minutes, constantly moving the ice around ice cream mixture.
Remove ice cream bag from container and snip off end. Pipe into four small bowl or cones. Enhance with toppings as desired (I used crushed freeze-dried strawberries).
Egg white chips, I’ve heard rumor of them . . . sometimes they are called cloud chips and popular with the keto and low carb diet fans.
I googled “how to make egg white chips” and found an assortment of savory takes on this low carb snack. The method on how to make egg white chips seemed time consuming, requiring them to be made in mini muffin tins and pulled out one by one (ugh, I’m thinking SO MUCH STICKING).
I also couldn’t find any type of egg white cloud crackers that were sweet . . . in a low carb sweet way. Everything was just salty, herby, cheesy — I have a sweet tooth and want a sweet egg white chip.
My solution to both the time consuming making process AND the lack of sweet egg white chips was to just come up with my own recipe and own way of making these keto snacks.
Just shake up egg white, PB powder, cinnamon and stevia in a jar, pour out on baking sheet!
A little protein powder, cinnamon and stevia blended into the egg whites was easy enough, especially just all dumped in a mason jar and given a vigorous shake to combine. After baked crispy this tasty flavor combo reminded me of some popular cereals — like Captain Crunch mixed with Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
Cut the egg white chips into squares BEFORE they are done baking.
Common factor here is the CRUNCH. If you can pour the egg white mixture thinly enough in a big sheet pan, and par bake, cut into squares, flip and continue baking you can get the crunchiest little bites of YUM! This process of cutting them in the pan eliminated the tedious process of cooking all these cinnamon egg white chips in muffin pans.
A serving of these cinnamon peanut butter egg white chips have just 50 calories for TWELVE chips. Also, just 1g net carb and and welcomed little protein boost of 8g. If you don’t eat them all in one sitting, the leftovers can be stored in the fridge (air-tight container) and then re-crisped in the microwave for about 30 seconds, then let cool down some.
This creative "chip" is made from egg whites — almost no carbs or fat and a good source of protein. So addictive, you'll love them for entertaining or as a grab-and-go snack after a workout.
Course:
Appetizer, Snack, workout
Keyword:
eggs, keto, low carb, sugar-free
Servings: 4servings (12 chips each)
Calories: 50kcal
Ingredients
1cup8oz 100% Egg Whites
¼cuppeanut butter powder (like PB Fit)or almond powder, if preferred
20drops liquid Steviamore or less, depending on sweetness preference
1tsp.ground cinnamon
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Generously coat 10” x 15” rimmed cookie pan with cooking spray, paying extra attention to corners/sides.
Add all ingredient to jar with lid and shake vigorously until combined. Pour out onto baking sheet, the entire surface should be thinly covered.
Bakes for 15 minutes total but in 3 stages: First bake for 5 min, then remove and make slices with knife (6 rows short side, 8 long side for 48 pieces). Second, return and bake 5 MORE min, Third, remove and carefully use flat spatula to pull up pieces and flip over and then return to bake 5 min MORE, or until golden and crispy.
Remove and let cool 5 minutes. Store in air-tight container. If needed, crisp back up in microwave for 30 seconds or so when eating leftovers.
Recipe Notes
Makes 48 chips. A serving of 12 chips has 50 cal, 0.8g fat, 1g net carb, and 8g protein
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You’ll love this tasty little treat, Orange Coconut Chia Cheesecakes with Collagen. A smart choice as a healthy dessert option, easy breakfast to meal prep or bedtime snack.
In fact, I love to eat one of these healthy cheesecakes an hour or so before bed – the protein from the cottage cheese and collagen keeps me from getting hungry at night and support workout recovery and gains. In fact, studies show that most muscle “gains” happen during your deep, deep sleep. Both collagen and diary-products (like cottage cheese) are shown to support better sleep.
In addition to being a great snack or light meal for an active lifestyle, you’ll also love how easy these protein cheesecakes are to make – there is no official baking required, just a quick zap in the microwave to set the crust before topping with the cottage cheese filling. And, the orange protein cheesecake recipe makes four individual servings of collagen cheesecake which is great for portion control and meal prepping.
Each of these Orange Coconut Chia Cheesecakes with Collagen has approximately 234 calories, 8g net carb and 19g protein – no added sugar and gluten free, grain free.
If you’d like to consider collagen from Great Lakes Wellness (a brand I trust and have worked with for several years), you can save 10% with my discount code THEFITFORK10OFF
Also, check out my past e-cookbook featuring lots of other variations on this same cottage cheese protein cheesecake recipe – No-Bake Protein Cheesecake Cookbook
These low-carb protein cheesecakes made with cottage cheese and collagen powder are healthy option for dessert, breakfast, bedtime snack. Also, conveniently single-portioned and easy to meal prep. No added sugar and grain/gluten free.
Mix together almond meal, ¼ cup shredded coconut, cocoa powder, stevia, and coconut in bowl until a “dough” made.
Divide into 4 even portions and place each in bottom of four 12-oz. ramekin or mason jar.
Press down with spoon to cover bottom of jar. Place all containers in microwave and microwave on high for 90 seconds. Remove, and set aside to cool.
In blender, add cottage cheese, collagen powder and orange juice. Pour evenly over cooled crusts.
In container with lid, add ¼ cup orange juice, chia seeds and 1 tbsp. shredded coconut. Add lid and shake until combined, chill for 10 to 15 minutes until gel setting.
Remove chia gel and spoon evenly over cheesecakes. Add chocolate chips and/or orange segments if desired.
