Red Hot Superfood Protein Shake

As a kid I could just sit and eat red hot candies by the handful, loved them! I found that people either loved or hated them. They are my inspiration behind this Red Hot Superfood Protein Shake. This shake packs a superfood punch with chia seeds (chia gel), cinnamon, gelatinized maca and cayenne pepper. Wanting it to be red or pink and not alter the flavor I found beets worked great. Of course you can omit the beets, as I do when enjoying this warm (yes it makes a delicious hot drink!), and it tastes just as delicious! If you are looking for a shake that taste truly like a red hot you will have to add a little sweetener, shocking I know, but it tastes great with out and if you do you only need a small amount. I found half a packet of Stevia In The Raw was plenty sweet when creating this recipe (I usually omit it), using 1 tsp coconut palm sugar when making it warm.

Red Hot Superfood Protein Shake

Makes 1 serving

1c almond milk (used So Delicious Unsweetened Almond Milk Plus)

1 scoop protein powder (used Vega Protein Smoothie Viva Vanilla)

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch cayenne pepper

chia gel (1 TBSP chia seeds, 1/4 cup water, soaked 10-15 minutes until gel forms)

2 tsp gelatinized maca powder, optional (Navitas Naturals)

beet for coloring, optional*

sweetener such as coconut palm sugar or Stevia In The Raw to taste, optional

1c ice

*For the flames and hearts I blended 2 medium to large pre-cooked, cooled, organic beets with a little, 2-3 tablespoons, So Delicious French Vanilla Creamer until smooth. I used the leftover of that to add to the smoothie for coloring. Alternatively if you don’t want to add any designs you can just use 1 beet (about golf ball size).

In a Vitamix, or high-speed blender, blend everything except ice together until smooth. Add ice, blend until smooth. Enjoy!

To make a hot version omit ice, use half a scoop of protein powder or adjust the amount of milk, and steam/warm almond milk before adding. I also use the soup setting on the Vitamix. Enjoy!

As a Vega Recipe Ambassador I receive Vega products, which I used as an option in this recipe. I use Vega not because it is given to me but because it has been my plant-based protein of choice since before I started blogging and some recipes are made with Vega products I purchase. I only write about foods I love, my blog is an extension of my hobby to make fun healthy food creations for me and my family.