If you follow me on IG, you may have heard me talk about how Mr. Hungry is on a smoothie kick lately. He actually told me the other day “I want smoothies every day for breakfast for the rest of my life.” In which my response was that he had better learn to make them himself then!
In truth, I don’t mind making him smoothies in the morning at all, it’s fun to do something for him. It’s just in the summer I’m juggling getting Nala out for a walk, making Mr. Hungry’s smoothie, and trying to get up a post as early as possible.
I keep trying to go back to pre-writing posts but lord knows I need to edit them in the morning when I’m at my peak alertness otherwise I get texts from my MIL and Mr. Hungry “you forgot the comma, missed a word in the second sentence, it’s there not there, etc…” I think maybe I’ll add a disclaimer at the top of every page “I love to write, but I don’t claim to be good at making it readable, hang out at your own risk. ” Thank God for Grammarly! Okay, let’s get off of that tangent now, shall we?
Since I’m head smoothie creator here at the Shallal headquarters I’ve been trying a ton of different combinations for Mr. Hungry. I thought I’d share some of his favorite combinations with you guys! Also, in the reader survey (take it now if you haven’t already!), it seems that many of you would really love more nutrition topics covered on the blog. So let’s talk a little bit about why I am loving collagen powder recently.
Collagen Functions in the Body
So collagen is one of MANY MANY types of proteins found in our bodies. In fact, collagen plays an extremely important role in many vital organ systems, such as:
- Provides elasticity and strength to our skin.
- Bone is made of a mixture of collagen and mineral complexes which give it strength and flexibility.
- Provides strength and elasticity to both skeletal muscle and smooth muscle.
- Provides strength and elasticity to the walls of blood vessels.
Collagen Supplements
Where most people get confused is by assuming that consuming collagen supplements will provide more collagen for your skin, bones, muscle and other organs. Keep in mind that during digestion your body will break down collagen, just like any other protein, into amino acids. However, collagen does have a much different profile of amino acids compared to other types of protein typically consumed. So the thought process is by providing your body with the right amino acids you may boost the natural production of collagen made in the body.
What does the research say?
Research is super limited and the sample sizes are usually extremely small so keep that in mind. Also, keep in mind there is a ton of research done in animals that I did not include. I never get super excited about studies that were done on animals because they don’t matter to me. For example, when you give cholesterol to rabbits and it raises their cholesterol, duh they are natural herbivores, duh! In humans, dietary cholesterol does not raise cholesterol levels unless someone is a hyper responder. So keeping that in mind, here is what I found:
- Collagen may help retain muscle mass better than whey protein, especially for the elderly or those on a low calorie/protein diet. (1)
- Collagen may improve skin appearance by reducing wrinkles (2)
- Collagen may reduce pain in athletes. (3)
- May improve mechanical properties of the Achilles Tendon (4) (animal study but interesting)
Why I Use It
I use it for Mr. Hungry because he doesn’t tolerate the taste of most protein powders and his stomach doesn’t tolerate many types of protein. Collagen has been an awesome thing to add to his protein shakes in the morning without altering the flavor of them. It dissolves in hot liquid or blends right up in a smoothie no problem.
I like getting in extra protein in general, but I’ve been using it regularly for about a year now and I do feel that my hair and nails are DEFINITELY stronger. So that’s a win because before they peeled all the time and my hair had a really hard time growing.
However, I don’t feel it’s 100% fair to contribute all those improvements solely to the addition of collagen because my hormones are also much more balanced than they were a year ago. Overall, I do think it had a positive effect though.
Vital Proteins is the only type of collagen I’ve ever tried and I like it so I stick with it. We use the beef sourced one (affiliate link) but some of my clients that can’t tolerate beef use the marine sourced one (affiliate link). I’ve also heard great things about Great Lakes Collagen as well (affiliate link).
4 Power Green Smoothie Recipes with Collagen
Note: This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.
Peach Mango Green Smoothie
- 1/2 cup frozen mango trips
- 1/2 cup frozen peach slices
- 2 scoops collagen
- 1/4 cup hemp seeds
- 2 cups power greens or spinach
- 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
Tropical Green Smoothie
- 1 cup frozen tropical fruit mix
- 2 scoops collagen
- 1/4 cup hemp seed hearts
- 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 2 cups power greens or spinach
Coconut Berry Smoothie
- 1 coconut yogurt blueberry (5.3 ounces)
- 1/2 cup rhubarb
- 1 cup strawberries
- 2 scoops collagen
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 cup power greens or spinach
Tropical Coconut Smoothie
- 1 cup tropical fruit mix
- 1 cup full fat or reduced fat canned coconut milk (I typically do full fat)
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots
- 2-3 cups power greens or spinach
- 2 scoops collagen
Love smoothies with collagen, but don’t have time to make them yourself? Check out my review on SmoothieBox smoothie delivery subscription services!
If you like this post, you may like these other hot topic nutrition posts:
- How to Make Your Smoothie More Filling!
- 6 Foods That Seem Healthy, Why I don’t recommend them!
- Supplement Spotlight: Multi-Vitamins
- Benefits of Grassfed Dairy & Meat
- 5 Foods to Make a Healthy Lunch More Filling
- Nuts and Avocados for Weight Loss or Weight Gain?
- Friday Focus…How to Become a Breakfast eater.
- Three Big Meals vs. Smaller Meals and Snacks?
- 35 Quick and Healthy Snacks
- Tips to Drink More Water
- How To Spot A Healthy Carb
- Why Carbs Are Important
- Tips to Increase Veggies
- 10 Tips to Eat More Real Food
- Why You Need Healthy Fat & 15 Ways To Get Enough
- How To Fight Inflammation With Food: Omega 3’s / Fish Oil Supplements Tips
- Protein: Importance and Best Sources (added vs. natural vs. supplements)
- Why You Might Need A Caffeine Detox
- How To Decrease Sugar Cravings
- Which Foods To Buy Organic
- Why You Need to Eat Red, Orange/Yellow, Green, Blue/Purple, white vegetables and fruit
- Why You Should Stop Reading The Nutrition Facts Panel
- How to Eat More Veggies
- Ideas to have Veggies at Breakfast
- Ideas to have Veggies at Snacks
Patrick@looneyforfood.com says
They all sound great! And I do love all the green
Emily @ Pizza & Pull-ups says
These smoothies sound delicious! Thanks for sharing.
Kyle says
Great information. My wife has used collegen to help with wrinkles in the past, but I didn’t know about the full body benefits. Thanks for sharing.
Bella says
good very healthy recipes
Alex Jordan says
I’ve never used any sort of protein powder, thanks for this informative post! That smoothie looks fantastic, so creamy and thick and what a great color!