Ice Cream Shake

If you follow me on Instagram, you already know my love for anything sweet. I cannot go to bed without some sort of dessert. I’ve even got to the point where I need a lunch dessert, too. Thank you, MACROS, for teaching me balance rather than restriction, right?

This Ice Cream Shake has become a staple in the evening dessert department. If it’s not a shake, it’s a yogurt bowl or cake bowl.take your pick! The best part is that you’d never know that this was under 200 calories and still under 300 or 400 calories, depending on the toppings. I’ve been able to fit this ice cream shake into my meal plan each week during my cut with no restriction needed.

Are You Ready To Make This Macro Friendly Ice Cream Shake? Here’s What You Need:

• 200(ish) g Crushed Ice:
  I don’t mean to be extra, but you really need to use crushed ice. It makes all the difference for me because the texture becomes so much smoother.
• 1/4 tsp Xanthan Gum Powder
  It’s like protein fluff – it creates the shake like consistency, but when you don’t blend it as long as the traditional fluff, it becomes like a Frosty or a McFlurry.or an Ice Cream Shake.
• 5 g Sugar Free Jell-o Cheesecake Pudding Mix
  Make sure you’re using the sugar free mix. I like the cheesecake flavor, but vanilla or white chocolate would be a great alternative!
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
  Don’t forget it! It seems silly, but it really does enhance the flavor – of all of the concoctions I’ve made.
• 1/4tsp Salt
  Just a hint! I like to save a little back to sprinkle on top, too!
• 1/2 scoop (17 g) Vanilla Protein Powder
  I have been using Clean Simple Eats because I love the taste and the texture. They also have Cake Batter flavor and Brownie Batter that have been two staples, depending on what flavor of shake I’m going for.
• 5.5 oz (1/2 container) Vanilla Premier Protein Shake
  The more protein the better. Adding the Premier (or Fairlife) protein shake to create a more liquid consistency like a traditional milkshake would have. If you don’t need extra protein, regular milk, almond milk or any milk of your choice – I’ve also been using non-fat Fairlife Milk when I don’t need AS MUCH protein.

How Do You ENSURE The Ice Cream Shake Consistency?

In a high powered blender (I use the Ninja brand, individual cup blender), add your ice. It should take up about half of your cup. Blend until you get a snow-like consistency. This really is an important part, especially if your blender isn’t all that great. If you’ve made protein fluff before, that’s the initial consistency you’re looking for.

Add the remaining ingredients to your blender and blend slowly for 1-2 minutes. I often start out by pulsing the ingredients before mixing on low for the full time. It should blend together and start to thicken up similar to a traditional Ice Cream Shake. You may find it even starts to grow like protein fluff would.

Total Game Changers:

My ice cream shake game has come a long way from the inception of it – which was following a recipe to a T. Now, I’ve learned what works.and what doesn’t work. I hate to say it, but I’ve dumped a few down the drain because they were that bad. Here’s a few products that I’ve decided NEED to happen to make the ice cream shake the real deal.

Big Straw. Ain’t nobody got time for the tiny, cheap bendable straws. They crack and just ruin the experience. I grab these thick shake straws on Amazon because how else do you get all the great toppings in? Cole agrees. He’s a straw snob.

Long Spoon. Ask anyone – when all the cookie crumbles and delicious toppings gather at the bottom and you have to get ice cream on your fingers to retrieve them – it’s annoying. Here’s the ones I use.

Snow-Like Consistency Ice. I’ve already said it once, but blend your ice before adding any ingredients. It truly does help the consistency and helps avoid any chunks of ice throwing off your A-Game ice cream shake.

Toppings of Your Dreams. Whoop -there it is. I’ll go into this a little more below, but seriously. Toppings are the ultimate game changer. From cocoa powder and PB2 to cookies and nut butter. I can’t say enough about the toppings MAKING the shake what it is.

Ice Cream Shake Inspiration:

So, I can’t take total credit for this concoction. When I started tracking macros, Clean Simple Eats introduced the idea of making any shake – fruity, chocolatey or salty sweet caramel – macro friendly. From there, I stemmed out on my own, but was quickly introduced to macro-recipe genius, Lillie Eats and Tells. She really INVENTED the shake. Another great inspiration came from Motivation Mindy – by adding Perk!

After a few times of trial and error on my own, this is what I’ve come up with and am always looking for different toppings to change up the flavor. Check out the topping suggestions I have to make these fun shake options.

Birthday Cake Ice Cream Shake: A cake batter base topped with frosted animal crackers & Ring Leader American Dream Nut Butter.

Mint Chocolate Ice Cream Shake: A chocolate base with a hint of peppermint skinny syrup or liquid stevia topped with mint chocolate American Dream Nut Butter and thin mint girl scout cookies.

Peanut Butter Dream Ice Cream Shake: A vanilla or chocolate base topped with PB2, any peanut butter, peanut butter Captain Crunch and Reese’s peanut butter cups (or pumpkins, trees & eggs because those are obviously better)

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Shake: A vanilla base topped with strawberries, cheesecake chunks (see Sculpted Strong Summer eBook), strawberry syrup & graham cracker crumbs.

Chocolate Lovers Ice Cream Shake: A chocolate base topped cocoa powder, cookies & cream rice krispies (or cocoa puffs), Oreos, chocolate chips or cocoa nibs, chocolate syrup and Yabba Dabba Delicious American Dream Nut Butter.

YOU’RE UP.

Tell us what you think. Tag us in your post and share what concoction you’ve come up with to cure that sweet tooth. The options are endless!

Don’t forget to check out our other nightly treats like the cake bowl or yogurt parfait. Follow us on Instagram at @MorganEatsMacros_, @HaleyNicoleFit and @HNFitCommunity for more fun recipes and information about tracking.