Delicious High Calorie Smoothies For Weight Gain + Recipes

If you're looking to gain muscle mass you may have thought about adding high calorie smoothies to your meal plan. These types of smoothies -- especially those high in protein and nutrient density can be effective in supporting muscle repair, replenishing glycogen to your body's tissues, and helping you reach your weight gain goals by providing the amino acids and calories you need to grow muscle mass.

But what are the best protein smoothies for weight gain -- and how do you best consume nutrient-rich ingredients to increase your overall calorie intake? This article will explore high calorie smoothies, high protein smoothie ingredients and provide high-calorie, nutrient-dense smoothie recipes designed to help you gain weight.

Are Smoothies High In Calories

A typical green smoothie, for example, consisting of one cup of fresh spinach, one banana, water, and one cup of frozen fruit, will come out to be a 16-ounce drink that will be around 200 calories. This is great if you intend for your smoothie to be a meal replacement rather than further supplementing your meal plan and active training regimen. 

A typical smoothie can serve as a good foundation for losing weight if your calories are kept down elsewhere in your day, but for those who want to gain weight, additional calories will need to be added to a typical smoothie recipe.

Still, a 200-calorie smoothie -- pretty high on its own (only 50 calories less than a 95-gram fast-food hamburger sandwich). Though packed with more nutrients than fast food, a green smoothie like this can still be considered a high-calorie food for sedentary individuals.

But this is all relative. A 200-calorie smoothie has quite a lot of calories for those who aren't really active -- but it is not nearly enough calories to exceed the Basal Metabolic Ratio (BMR) of active individuals who are intentionally trying to gain weight or muscle.

The answer to the question "are smoothies high in calories?" might not be as straightforward as you think. This is because it depends on your body dimensions, your body goals, and your activity level.

For example, A 6-foot tall, 178-pound man has a BMR of 1919 calories (the number of calories spent daily by just being sedentary). If this person is moderately active 3 to 5 days a week, this BMR gets multiplied by 1.55 -- resulting in a BMR of 2974.45.

According to the Harris-Benedict equation, the initial BMR is listed (a method that incorporates an individual's sex, weight, height, and age to determine BMR). This figure is then multiplied by an activity expenditure number ranging from 1.2 to 1.9.

To gain muscle, this man would have to consume at least 300 to 500 extra calories a day. To reach this, he would need more intake than a 200-calorie green smoothie.

How Can I Increase The Calories In My Smoothie?

If you want to increase the calories in your smoothie, use high-calorie natural ingredients -- like spinach, kale, avocados, bananas, strawberries, and orange juice -- to increase the overall calories, natural sugars, and fibers of the drink.

These ingredients are nutrient-rich, and the addition of plant-based milk, nuts, flax seeds, and chia seeds can increase calories as well. If you are hesitant to add these ingredients (because of their potential high-fat content, for example), give dietary supplements a try.

Prolab's Advanced Essential Whey will add a substantial 120 calories per serving to your smoothie, in addition to its low sugar and high protein benefits. 

Prolab's N-Large2 Mass Gainer is similarly suitable, providing a total of 600 calories per serving, just when mixed with water alone.

In this way, you can combine your favorite ingredients with nutritionally sufficient, calorie-rich, high-protein powdered supplements -- increasing the overall calories in your smoothie.

High Calorie Smoothies With Recipes

The following recipes are high-calorie smoothie recipes that incorporate dietary supplements and natural ingredients. These recipes are intended to support weight gain, specifically weight gain, in intense anaerobic muscle training -- as its high fiber and high protein ingredients allow.

Advanced Essential Whey Intense Blueberry Smoothie

This smoothie is meant to have a strong blueberry flavor with a banana base to keep it sweet. The spinach is high in Vitamins A and K, while the dietary supplement provides amino acids and ingredients conducive to healthy muscle growth.

• 1 Cup of Fresh Spinach
• 1 Cup of Almond Milk
• 1 Frozen Banana
• 4 Cups of Blueberries
• 1 Scoop (30 grams) of Prolab Advanced Essential Whey (Vanilla Donut or Chocolate Mousse)

1. Combine all ingredients into a blender, or incorporate ingredients by part as necessary.
2. Blend from low to high.
3. Pour and serve.

Total calories: 632 kcal.

N-Large2 Mass Gainer Hail Kale Smoothie

This recipe incorporates the high Vitamin A, K, and C content of kale and the whey proteins and amino acids of the dietary supplements. A high-calorie smoothie for very intense muscle building.

• 1 Cup of Fresh Raw Kale, rinsed well
• 1 Frozen Banana
• 1 Cup of Almond Milk
• 3 Scoops (152 grams) Prolab N-Large2 Mass Gainer (Vanilla Cupcake or Chocolate Fudge Brownie)

1. Combine all ingredients into a blender, or incorporate ingredients by part as necessary.
2. Blend from low to high.
3. Pour and serve.

Total calories: 798 kcal.

What Can I Put In My Smoothie To Gain Weight?

To gain weight, you can put high-calorie mass gainer supplements into your smoothies. These protein-rich, nutrient-dense supplements are commonly made from whey protein, one of the primary proteins in dairy products.

Some examples of these products are Prolab's  N-Large2 Mass Gainer and Advanced Essential Whey dietary supplements. These supplements are a high-protein (some 21 grams to 52 grams per serving) mixture of whey proteins with nutrient-dense amino acids (for building muscle tissue).

In addition to this, these supplements have a moderate to a high amount of calories per serving -- starting at Advanced Essential Whey's 120 calories per serving and only increasing from there.

This, however, is not at the expense of the amount of calcium, potassium, phosphorus, and essential amino acids (like L-leucine) that help the body make proteins to repair tissue and ultimately grow muscle.

With more muscle, and the tendency for high-calorie dietary supplements to be low in sugar (Advanced Essential Whey has 2 grams of sugar overall, for example), you can gain weight through proteins and not an abundance of fat-producing sugars.