A high-fat, low-carb smoothie built on avocado and coconut cream, with frozen zucchini instead of banana to keep the carbohydrate down.
Created by Elite Supps athlete Georgie Stevenson. Everything in a blender, about two minutes.
Key points
- Six ingredients. One blender, two minutes.
- Low carbohydrate. Zucchini in place of banana.
- Genuinely filling. The avocado and coconut cream do that.
- Dairy free. As written.
- Freeze the zucchini. It is what makes it thick.
Ingredients
- 1 scoop salted caramel protein powder
- 1/3 avocado
- 30 ml coconut cream
- 250 ml almond milk
- 1 tsp peanut butter
- 1/2 frozen zucchini (or banana)
Method
- Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Zucchini in a smoothie?
It sounds worse than it is, and it is the ingredient doing the most work here.
Frozen zucchini gives a smoothie thickness and body without the carbohydrate a banana brings. It is very mild, so with cocoa, peanut butter or a flavoured protein powder in the mix you genuinely do not taste it. That is why it turns up in low-carb smoothie recipes so often.
Two things matter:
- Freeze it chopped. Whole frozen zucchini is hard on a blender and hard to portion.
- Peel it if you are unsure. The skin carries most of the vegetal flavour.
Frozen cauliflower does the same job if zucchini is not to hand.
What makes this high fat and low carb?
Avocado, coconut cream and peanut butter, and the deliberate absence of fruit.
Most smoothies are carbohydrate-led: banana, mango, berries, juice. Replace the fruit with fat sources and you get something that keeps you full for hours rather than an hour, at the cost of being considerably more energy dense.
That is the honest trade-off. Fat is more than twice as calorie-dense as carbohydrate, so this is a filling smoothie rather than a light one. It suits a low-carb or keto approach, or anyone who finds fruit smoothies leave them hungry by ten.
Is it okay to drink a protein smoothie every day?
For most healthy adults, yes.
A protein smoothie is food in a different form. There is nothing about drinking your protein that makes it problematic, and if it helps you eat a decent breakfast on days you would otherwise skip it, that is a genuine benefit.
Two things worth watching:
- It should replace something, not add to it. A smoothie on top of your normal breakfast is simply more calories.
- Do not let it displace whole foods entirely. Blended food is less satiating than chewed food, and whole foods bring fibre and micronutrients a powder does not.
If you are meeting your protein needs through food already, a daily shake adds cost rather than benefit. That is the honest position, and we sell the powder.
What can I add to boost the protein?
This recipe is fat-led rather than protein-led, so if protein is your priority there is room to improve it.
- A second scoop of protein powder. The obvious one.
- Greek yoghurt, if dairy is fine. Adds protein and thickness.
- Silken tofu. Neutral in flavour, blends invisibly, and keeps it plant based.
- Egg white powder, if you want protein with no flavour at all.
Adding nuts or nut butter increases protein slightly but adds far more fat, which this smoothie already has plenty of.
Are shop-bought protein smoothies healthy?
It varies enormously, and the honest answer is to read the label rather than the branding.
Commercial smoothies and meal-replacement drinks are often built around fruit juice or added sugar, so a bottle can carry as much sugar as a soft drink while being marketed on the protein. Others are genuinely well formulated.
What to check:
- Protein per serve. Under 15 g and it is a flavoured drink.
- Sugar per serve, and whether it is from whole fruit or added.
- Serving size versus bottle size. Two serves per bottle is common and easy to miss.
Making it yourself is cheaper and you know exactly what is in it. That is the main argument for a recipe like this one.
Which protein powder should I use?
A plant protein keeps this dairy free and suits the coconut and avocado base. Salted caramel as written; vanilla and chocolate both work.
Power Plant Protein is what the original recipe used, and 100% Vegan Protein is the house-brand alternative. The plant protein range has the rest.
Storage
Drink it fresh. Avocado oxidises and browns within a couple of hours, and while it is perfectly safe it looks unappealing.
If you want to prepare ahead, portion the frozen zucchini into bags so all you do is tip one into the blender with the rest.
For more like this, browse the full recipe collection.
