After I gave up my beloved fatty, sugary shakes from McDonald’s years ago, I learned the best ways to make a skinny shake that I think you’re going to love! There’s nothing like a cold, creamy shake in the afternoon or evening to soothe and satiate you, right? Instead of pulling through those fast food drive-thrus and wasting your daily calories on one little shake, try some of my favorite ways to make a skinny shake. You’ll be satisfied and completely in awe that your shakes can actually be diet-friendly instead of a dieting disaster.
1 Almond Milk Cubes
One of the best ways to make a skinny shake is to pour one carton of unsweetened almond milk into ice cube trays and freeze at least 12 hours. Use at least 2 cups of almond milk ice cubes with one cup of liquid unsweetened almond milk in your shakes to create a creamy, thick texture for only 90 calories versus 330 calories from 2 cups whole milk, and even more from ice cream.
Frequently asked questions
2 Say Hello to Stevia
Use stevia to sweeten your shakes instead of sugary ingredients. The vanilla and chocolate flavored liquid stevia varieties are fantastic and all you need are 2-3 full drops per recipe. Stevia has zero calories, fat, gluten, or sugar and it's 100% vegan.
3 Cocoa Instead of Cacao
Cacao powder is raw chocolate powder that's incredibly healthy for you, but it’s also very high in calories, carbs, and fat. Instead of using cacao powder, use 1 tablespoon of regular cocoa powder. You’ll still get plenty of chocolate flavor for only 30 calories, 1 gram of fat, 3 grams of fiber, and absolutely zero sugar.
4 Yogurt Cubes
For an even creamier, authentic flavor, freeze plain Greek yogurt into ice cube trays. Use 1 cup of yogurt ice cubes with 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk ice cubes instead of using all almond milk ice cubes.
5 Thicken with Psyllium
My favorite way to thicken a shake is with psyllium husk powder. This viscous powder is rich in fiber and thickens up anything you add it to. I use ¼ teaspoon per shake and get 2 grams of fiber for zero calories. You can buy it online or in any store wherever fiber supplements are sold.
6 Berries, Not Bananas
If you'd like to add fruit to your shake, always opt for berries as the skinniest choice. Bananas are higher in sugar and lower in fiber. Use acai puree, strawberries, and raspberries for the lowest sugar content and if you have to have that banana flavor, only use 1/4 the banana for the skinniest option.
7 Try Peanut Powder
Love peanut butter shakes? Then try Protein Plus peanut powder. It’s much like PB2 (defatted, powdered peanuts), but it contains no added sugar or salt like PB2. Protein Plus peanut powder adds a yummy peanut butter taste to your shakes for only 1 gram of fat and 30 calories per serving! You can buy Protein Plus peanut powder online or in stores.
8 Choose the Best Base
The best way to make a skinny shake is to stick with the lowest calorie liquid you can buy for your base -unsweetened almond milk. Almond milk has a delicious, creamy flavor but is lower in calories than dairy, soy, hemp, or coconut milk.
9 Use Extracts
Last but not least, I suggest using liquid extracts like coffee, maple, vanilla, cinnamon, mint, lemon, and even butter rum to add tons of flavor to your shakes for zero calories. Just be sure to read labels since some liquid flavor extracts do contain added sugar.
Do you use any of these tips to make a skinny shake or have a tip of your own? As a milkshake lover, I’d love to hear your skinny shake secrets, so speak up!
