Cookies 'N Cream Protein Shake

I would first like to start off this post by letting you know that Margot is a complete genius. She gets full credit for the success of this recipe since she gave me the idea of a critical ingredient: almond milk ice cubes! 

Say what? 

I've been experimenting lately with creating a cookies 'n cream protein shake, and was talking it over with Margot. I wanted to make it thicker but didn't want to use frozen banana in case it tasted too banana-y or even regular ice cubes because that might water it down. I wanted something to give the shake a mild flavor but needed it to be frozen to give it a thicker texture. Then, she was like well why don't you freeze almond milk in to ice cubes? And, then, I told her she was the smartest person alive and wanted to hug her via text message. Pretty soon I won't have to do that, though, since she'll be home in a few days! FOR THE WHOLE SUMMER!! 

So now that we've established Margot is a genius, we can get on to the recipe! It's very simple but it is something that you need to prep ahead of time since the ice cubes need to freeze overnight. 

All I did was take a standard ice cube tray and fill it up with unsweetened vanilla almond milk. You can use any kind of milk you want with this recipe! Almond milk is just my favorite in general. I froze about 10 ice cubes since I didn't know how many I would need but ended up using only about half of that. 

So for the recipe you'll need: 

1 and 1/2 tablespoons of instant Oreo pudding

4-5 almond milk ice cubes 

1 1/2 cups almond milk 

3/4-1 scoop vanilla protein powder of your choice 

You can use any protein powder but this is one of my favorites to use in protein shakes since it dissolves nicely, and the macros are really good too! 

Put everything in a blender, blend, and enjoy!

I topped mine off with whipped cream, 1 mini Oreo crumbled up, and then a drizzle of Walden Farms chocolate sauce. Of course the toppings are optional buuuut are they really?!

Sorry that the pictures are a tad blurry but I had just finished a killer leg workout on Saturday morning when I made this, and my legs were shakin' big time! So it was hard to stand still enough to get a good picture!