By the Whey

I recently found myself in a kitchen full of whey.  Like, a lot of whey.  Buckets of whey.  Why, you ask, do I have any whey, much less an inordinate amount?  I made cheese, of course.   But I'll get to that in another post.  This one is dedicated to whey. 

I have about 18 times this much whey. Eighteen. One. Eight. 

First off, how about a Q&A session on whey? 

• What is whey? - According to Wikipedia, it is the liquid remaining after milk has been heated and curdled. 
• Is whey healthy? - Yes! According to Self Magazine, it is a good source of Riboflavin, Potassium, Phosphorus, and Vitamin B12. It is also a complete protein. Hooray for having all the essential amino acids! 
• What to do you with it? - Funny you should ask. Keep reading. 

Not being one to throw anything away, I googled, "uses for whey" and what would I find but a multitude of ways to use this chalky, yellowish, disgusting-looking liquid.  "Use it in place of water in any baking recipe."  Ok, I can do that.  "Use it to cook rice, oatmeal, quinoa, etc."  Gotcha.  "Use it as shampoo."  Wait, what?  Why don't you try it and let me know how it goes? 

The idea that intrigued me the most was freezing the whey in ice cube trays and adding the cubes to smoothies.  I have been training in beastmode recently and looking for an energy replacement to drink after my workouts.  Ah, how sweet it is when worlds collide.

Yesterday morning, I got back from a spectacular run (10 miles at a 7:37 clip #shamelessbrag), and I needed nutrients, and I needed them quickly.

Let me introduce you to the Strawberry Banana Whey Smoothie.  I would drink one of these every day if my blender weren't such a pain to clean*.  It was both replenishing and tasty. And quite easy to make. (Once you have the whey. Making the whey does take some time. But if you ask nicely, I might give you some whey cubes.)

Strawberry Banana Whey Smoothie
To the blender, add 4 whey cubes, 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt, 1 banana, 1 tablespoon strawberry freezer jam, 2 tablespoons milk (I used Almond, unsweetened). Blend, and enjoy.

Update: I made another one today and added 2 T of chia seeds. It's a great addition of healthy fats, but I definitely recommend soaking them in the yogurt and milk for about 30 minutes beforehand. If you don't have 30 minutes, skip the chia seeds.

Here are the stats, with chia seeds included:

It might seem a little heavy on the cals and carbs for a snack, but that's the banana, and the arches of my feet need that potassium.  Feel free to replace with any other fruit or veggie to you liking.

*Lightbulb moment: I just made my own cheese, and here I am whining about the time it takes to clean my blender.  I think I will drink one of these every day. And I will clean my blender every day, and I will like it.