I’ve never been a huge fan of protein powders or similar supplements. First of all, protein powder never tastes all that great. And if it does happen to taste good, there’s a good chance that it is chock-full of sweeteners and artificial flavors. When I started to pay more attention to my diet in college, I cut back on dairy, and eventually eliminated it completely. Well, that presented a problem. It’s not easy to find a dairy-free protein powder that doesn’t taste like you’re drinking dirt. I tried hemp, brown rice, pea, and several types. Ick. So for a while, I gave up on protein powders. There are other, albeit less-convenient ways to get protein after a workout or in a time crunch.
After trying one of Garden of Life’s products at a health food store a couple of years ago, I decided to give their protein powder a shot. I added it to plain old water and I was more than surprised by how good it was. I was expecting it to be like drinking chalk -- but no! It was smooth and tasty instead. I’ve been hooked on the brand ever since.
Per calorie, plants offer the highest percentage of protein of any type of food. Garden of Life harnesses that power with a combination of high-protein plants and grains to create a complete protein. And it gets better -- the protein is dairy-free, gluten-free, completely organic, and raw.
Clark drinks a shake every day after the gym and I add the powder to smoothies all of the time. While Vanilla Chai is usually my go-to, I’ve never met a flavor that I didn’t like. Needless to say, when I found out that Garden of Life had created a Marley Coffee flavor, my first question was “WHERE DO I FIND IT?” Lucky for me, I didn’t even have to hunt it down. Garden of Life liked something that I tweeted about the protein and sent us some to try!
If you're in the market to try some of the Marley Coffee version for yourself, you can find it at Whole Foods and only at Whole Foods. Other flavors are available from Amazon.
As is typical of most mornings around here, we started the day with Reggae playing on Pandora [which was drowned out by the sound of the Blendtec.] Since we were trying the new kind of protein, we combined flavors that we knew would allow the coffee flavor to shine through. A hint of peanut butter jives with the coffee and banana, and the protein powder blends perfectly: no grit, chunks, or goop. Oh, and the 8 ounces of coffee kills two birds with one stone -- breakfast and caffeine all in one convenient drink. We downed our glasses in no time and I don’t know about Clark, but I think I have a new favorite flavor. [Sorry, Vanilla Chai.]
The process on this recipe simple, simple, simple. Add everything to the blender and hit the go button. Garnish with a few slices of banana and drink with a side of “Stir It Up.”
Marley Coffee Protein Shake
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 5 minutes
Description
Vegan, Gluten-Free
Ingredients
- 1 scoop Garden of Life® Marley Coffee Flavored RAW Protein Powder
- 1 Tbsp. peanut butter
- 8 ounces chilled coffee
- 1 frozen banana
Instructions
- Make coffee ahead of time and let chill. ~2 hours
- Add all ingredients to high speed blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy!
Notes
Makes 1-10 oz drink.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 301
- Sugar: 17g
- Sodium: 147mg
- Fat: 11g
- Saturated Fat: 2g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9g
- Carbohydrates: 36g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 18g
- Cholesterol: 3mg
Considering ive bever tries the coffee protein at all, trying this recipe was good. it def has that coffee banana taste. I made mine with fresh brewed Kona classic coffee and put it on ice... im actually curious to add more banana and make it thicker. the protein is still overwhelmingly still what i can taste the most. but it almost taste like a dessert.
★★★
Thanks for the feedback!
Nice recipe; thank you! I just got done working out this morning and realized I wanted a cup of coffee and a protein shake, and wanted to figure out if there was a delicious way to consolidate the two.
Just a quick tip: you don't need to make your coffee ahead of time, you can just do the Japanese cold-brew method. Using this method, your coffee will chill instantly, and won't have that bitter, old coffee taste. Also, you can adjust how much ice you want to use; just enough to chill the coffee, or more if you'd prefer your smoothie a bit more slushy.
Hi Greg –
Glad you liked the recipe! I love how this smoothie combines protein AND a nice caffeine pick-me-up. Thanks for the tip!
Have never heard of coffee flavoured raw protein before, but it certainly sounds interesting. I will look into whether that is available in the UK. Do you think I could replace it with
?
I've been replacing my morning coffee with this stuff and I'd love to use it in a shake.
You could probably swap it out with that product without any problem. :) Let me know how it turns out!
Huge fan of vegan proteins and cold brewed coffee.. together they're heaven!
I've taken my cold brewed coffee and soaked a handful of cashews in it. In a few hours, they dissolve completely, and it is absolutely delicious!
I haven't tried that flavor from Raw.. but I did use another vegan protein packed with superfoods. Have you heard of Prime from primemybody.com?
You're so right! We love "clean" protein powders. We haven't heard of Prime, but we did get a chance to take a look at the link you posted. Looks like a great product that we might have to try in the future! Thank you for commenting!
Hey again, I can't get away from your blog! :) My hubby and I have tried the Garden of Life protein, and definitely enjoyed it. It's quite costly at our store, and we also love the PlantFusion brand. It's not organic :( so we switch it up sometimes. It's very smooth and tasty too! I love how one scoop plant protein is usually equal to 2 scoops of whey or any other. I'll take it! Keep up the great recipes! <3
Ah yeah...it's definitely pricey at most health stores. We usually order from Amazon since it's significantly cheaper. Yes! Plant based protein for the win. :) Keep coming back -- we love hearing what you think!