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Claudiu Pop, BA, is a medical writer, an expert in weight management, nutrition, and fitness, and the founder of Unfold Today.
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Since apples are low in calories, they can be a tricky ingredient for people who try making an apple smoothie without a high-calorie recipe designed to make gaining weight easier.
Nevertheless, the key to delicious weight gain apple smoothies is blending apples with high-calorie foods and high-calorie drinks without overpowering apples' flavor.
But, don't sweat. You don't have to find the right ingredient combo by yourself. As proven experts in creating high-calorie smoothies, we applied our guide for making high-calorie smoothies to craft an apple smoothie recipe that will help you gain weight.
Moreover, we got registered dietitian Iulia Serban to approve the recipe, and took pictures of the preparation phase of the smoothie to make it easy for you to follow the recipe's instructions.
From recipe creator’s experience:
In my opinion as a long-time consumer of high-calorie smoothies, apple flavor is one of the most pleasant ones while being especially efficient at masking plain protein powder.
Calorie-wise, this high-calorie apple smoothie has 594 calories.
But, if you need more calories, you can modify this smoothie's calories to your goals by adjusting ingredient quantities.
Follow these guidelines:
With that cleared out, let's explore the recipe.
To make the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie, you need 3 pieces of kitchen equipment:
Every high-calorie smoothie recipe is made following our comprehensive guide on how to make weight gain smoothies.
To explain the composition, below are the main reasons why we chose each ingredient in the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie.
The core ingredient of the smoothie is apples because this is an apple smoothie and we want it to taste accordingly.
Secondly, the 2% fat Greek yogurt has the role of bringing a thicker consistency to the smoothie.
Furthermore, peanut butter's mission is to boost the total calories.
Onward, whey protein powder increases the total protein content.
Finally, besides accentuating the apple flavor of the smoothie, apple juice is meant to thin out the smoothie so it's easily drinkable.
If you are vegan, on a dairy-free diet, or allergic to nuts, you need to substitute some of the ingredients in the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie to make it satisfy your needs.
You can use add-ins to enhance the taste and the nutrients in the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie.
Here are a few add-ins that work for this smoothie:
Firstly, you need to wash, and then slice the apples, like in the picture above, to get the core out of the apples and make them fit in the blender.
Don't peel the apples because their skin contains many nutrients.
Think whether all the ingredients will fit inside your blender.
If you use an undersized blender with a capacity of less than 800 ml (27 fl oz), break the ingredients into 2 or more identical portions, then follow the next instructions for each portion individually.
Add the ingredients to the blender, making sure the apple juice ends up at the bottom of the blender.
In case you have a blender with an ingredient recipient that must be turned upside down when installed on the blender, always add the apple juice lastly. This way, the blades will work smoothly without clogging in other ingredients.
Blend the ingredients until the smoothie develops a fine texture (about 30-60 seconds).
If you own a less powerful blender, you may need to mix the ingredients for longer than 1 minute. Still, to prevent overheating your blender, abide by the recommended blending duration in your blender's manual.
Pour the smoothie into a glass, or into a shaker bottle, and serve.
Congrats! You just learned how to make a high-calorie apple smoothie with a fine texture that combines a pleasant apple flavor with notes of peanut butter.
If you prefer the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie to have a less thick consistency, you can thin it out by adding more apple juice or water.
Yet, it's unlikely you'd want to thin this smoothie because it already has a pretty light texture, especially if compared to other smoothies, like the High-Calorie Oat Smoothie.
As a rule of thumb, although we recommend drinking the smoothie right after blending to have the best experience, you can safely store it in the fridge for about a day.
Besides being loaded with calories, the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie is rich in proteins and abundant in carbs while having a slight amount of fats as well.
Therefore, this smoothie is energizing, promotes muscle growth, and encourages weight gain.
As a further consequence of being high in proteins, the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie can replace pre-workout meals designed for muscle gain.
Also, because it's low in fats, this smoothie is easily digestible and counts among the low-fat high-calorie foods.
Moving on, let's see how each ingredient contributes to the overall nutrition facts of the smoothie.
Source: FoodData Central - Raw apples with skin.[1]
FoodData Central
Apples bring 57% of the carbs in the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie.
Source: FoodData Central - Unsweetened apple juice.[2]
FoodData Central
Apple juice brings 32% of the total carbohydrates in the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie.
Source: Nutritionix - 2% Greek yogurt.[3]
Nutritionix
The 2% fat Greek yogurt is responsible for 25% of the total proteins in the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie.
Source: FoodData Central - Creamy peanut butter.[4]
FoodData Central
The smooth peanut butter, which counts among the high-calorie nut butters, is responsible for 67% of the total fats in the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie.
Source: FoodData Central - Whey-based protein powder.[5]
FoodData Central
The whey protein powder brings 62% of the total proteins in the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie.
The High-Calorie Apple Smoothie is a great dietary option both for those that need many calories to maintain their weight and for most people looking to gain weight.
To expand, here is a list of people who can benefit from adding the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie to their diets:
Our High-Calorie Apple Smoothie has plenty of health benefits, from gaining weight to improving health and saving money.
Explore 7 of the smoothie's benefits below.
The first and most obvious benefit of consuming the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie is that it makes weight gain easier by increasing caloric intake without satisfying the appetite for too long.
As further proof, according to the ranking of best weight gain foods for females, 91% of the females who gain weight successfully drink smoothies as part of their diet.
The High-Calorie Apple Smoothie increases caloric intake significantly because it's nutritious, having 594 calories per serving. These almost 600 calories will help you get on daily caloric surplus, the main condition for gaining weight.
Another helpful characteristic of the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie is that it will keep your appetite satisfied only for short periods of time.
By doing so, the smoothie makes the weight gain process more convenient by enabling you to eat more food in a briefer period of time.
To establish this fact, a University of Bristol study compared fruit smoothies with fresh fruits and other drinks in terms of satiety. They concluded that fruit smoothies are more filling than drinks less alike to food (e.g., water and milk), but less filling than solid foods.[6]
Nutrients
Made at: University of Bristol
See the study that compares the satiety effects of fruit smoothies, fresh fruits, and other drinks.
An additional benefit of drinking the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie is that it can increase your ability to build muscle because it has 40 g of proteins, which come mainly from the whey protein powder and the Greek yogurt in the smoothie's composition.
As proof, a pre-workout serving of 20 g of protein, according to a University of Birmingham trial on protein ingestion effects, is enough to aid in muscle-building.[7]
American Journal of Physiology, Endocrinology, and Metabolism
Made at: University of Birmingham
See the study that claims protein ingestion of 20 g is sufficient to promote muscle growth.
The High-Calorie Apple Smoothie increases energy levels because it's full of carbs, which come mainly from the apples and apple juice in its composition.
In the end, as stated in a University of Lausanne study on the energy potential of carbs, carbohydrates are the main energy source for humans.[8]
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Made at: University of Lausanne
See the study that shows carbohydrates are the main source of energy for humans.
The High-Calorie Apple Smoothie is great at strengthening bones because it's made with Greek yogurt, a source of calcium.
Yet another benefit of drinking the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie is that it contains antioxidants, given it's made with apples and peanut butter.
Apples, according to a Cornell University study on apples' health benefits, contain a variety of strong antioxidants.[9]
Nutrition Journal
Made at: Cornell University
See the study that explores apples' health benefits, including antioxidants.
Antioxidants, according to a scientific review of antioxidants, increase health protection and disease prevention.[10]
Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications
See the review exploring the benefits and myths of antioxidants.
Besides improving immunity, the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie may be proficient at combating colon diseases.
If you drink apple smoothies, according to a German study about apple smoothies' effects on the colon, apple smoothies may be more efficient at protecting against colon disease than apple juice or apple cider.[11]
Molecular Nutrition Food Research
Made in: Germany
See the study about the effects of apple smoothies on the colon.
A financial-related benefit of adding the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie to your diet is that it's affordable. The cost of making it is just $3.5.
After all, two of the smoothie's ingredients, peanut butter and apple juice, count among the list of cheap high-calorie foods.
For the sake of comparison, a 20 oz Apple Kiwi Kale smoothie costs around $7.5 at Smoothie King. That's almost double the cost of our recipe.
To follow our High-Calorie Apple Smoothie recipe in a compressed format, check the summary below.
If you decide to make this High-Calorie Apple Smoothie, let us know by tagging your recipe @unfoldtoday on Pinterest, Instagram, or Facebook.
Also, don't forget to leave a comment and a rating in the comment section found at the very end of this article.
And if you haven't already tried the recipe, we encourage you to do so and share the result with us.
Now, why don't you explore other smoothie recipes below?
If you want to try other homemade smoothies that can help you gain weight besides the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie, visit our full list of high-calorie smoothie recipes,
And if you want to get creative, you can build your own high-calorie smoothie recipes. Learn what can you add to your smoothie and how to bring extra calories to it from our guide on how to make high-calorie smoothies for weight gain.
Bored with smoothies?
Try switching high-calorie smoothies for high-calorie shakes. If you don't know the difference, check our smoothie vs shake comparison.
Although the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie can be healthy for people looking to gain weight, it needs to be complemented by solid nutritious foods and a regular exercise regimen to ensure efficient weight gain.
First of all, by eating a high-calorie diet and not exercising, you will gain weight in the form of fat instead of muscle.
Secondly, without focusing on solid foods instead of liquid ones, according to registered dietitian Iulia Serban, you will find it difficult to get satiated and maintain a healthy dentition.
In simple words, your weight gain diet should contain a combination of high-calorie drinks, like smoothies, and high-calorie foods, with the focus being on the latter.
Here are some high-calorie foods that can help you gain weight:
With high-calorie foods and drinks in your diet and regular workouts, you'll be able to not only enjoy the High-Calorie Apple Smoothie but also to gain weight more efficiently than ever before.
Unfold Today has rigorous sourcing principles adhering to the top journalistic standards, so our writers always look for official, experienced, and first-hand sources. Read more about how we keep our content trustworthy and updated by reading our editorial process.
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