My Absolute Favorite Smoothie Recipe to Gain Weight
Although smoothies are often used as a weight loss tool, some of us need a smoothie recipe to gain weight!
I love the versatility of smoothies to add calories to your day, without having to eat an additional meal. Also, you can drink the smoothie while you are on the go, in class, at work, or running errands.
If you use the right recipe, smoothies can easily add more than 500 calories to your diet.
The fundamentals to bulking and eating to build muscle or gain weight are still true. You need to eat more calories than you use up per day. Those calories should come from a mix of carbs to give you energy, healthy fats to provide a store of energy that your body needs and keep you in balance, and proteins to repair and build muscle.
Get a blender for smoothies
Before we dive into the recipe, make sure you have the right equipment to make the smoothie. There are a variety of blenders available for this. The key is to find something strong and durable enough to crush ice and run at high speed. This will make sure your smoothies are cold and actually smooth. No one wants to drink a grainy smoothie.
Two that I use regularly are Vitamix Ascent 2300 and Magic Bullet. The Vitamix is powerful and great, especially if you are making smoothies for multiple people. However, it is bigger and more to clean up. That’s not worth it if you are just making a single serving smoothie. The Magic Bullet comes in a variety of options beyond the pack that I linked. So, you can get just the base and a cup for cheaper.
I like the full pack because the same container you use to blend the smoothie can turn into your cup to drink it. That means less clean up overall.
The smoothie recipe
Now that you have the right tools, let’s get to creating the smoothie. The base idea is a banana and berries smoothie. However, with a few modifications, we can really increase the protein content and total calories.
Based on estimates from the MyPlate app, the ingredients below will provide about 700 calories! That’s a huge help to getting a caloric surplus and gaining weight. The actual products and brands you use will cause the actual calories to vary.
Ingredients
- Frozen Berries (1/4 cup)
- Banana (1 medium size)
- Peanut Butter (1 tablespoon)
- Macadamia Nuts (12 pieces)
- Pumpkin Seeds (1/4 cup)
- Cottage Cheese (1/4 cup)
- Milk (1/2 cup)
The method
The short version is simple- drop these ingredients into a blender and mix until smooth.
I like to start by adding the frozen berries and then the milk to submerge the berries. Then, I add the other ingredients and let it sit for about 5 minutes. This allows the berries to thaw out just slightly, so that it’s easier for the blender to crush them and make sure they are blended well.
I use frozen berries instead of fresh berries is for two reasons:
- Frozen berries are easier to buy in bulk and keep ready for use in the freezer without going bad
- Using frozen berries replaces the need for ice, which would water down the smoothie without adding any of those needed calories
Modify to your preference
I like the smoothie above, because it provides a delicious, high-calorie snack with only 7 ingredients. None of the ingredients are filled with artificial fillers or sweeteners, so it’s a healthy approach to gaining weight. The end result is flavorful, without an overemphasis on any one item in particular. It’s not too sweet, but it’s also not bland and boring.
However, depending on your dietary preferences and restrictions, you can swap out ingredients or add a few modifiers.
For example, if you don’t use dairy, try a coconut milk or almond milk in place of the regular cow’s milk. Coconut milk will increase the calorie count in the end product. You can also remove the cottage cheese. Here are some other ideas for ingredients to swap out or add:
- Add flax or chia seeds for protein
- Use cashews or walnuts instead of macadamia nuts
- Freeze bananas that are close to going bad to save them and use them in the smoothie
- Swap out Greek yogurt for cottage cheese to get a smoother texture
- Add honey for a touch of sweetness
- Add a scoop of protein powder to increase the calories
