I witness countless celeb diet habits emerge online and while I often turn my nose up at any ridiculous-sounding ones, I do sometimes come across the odd one I want to try. I recently stumbled across Tom Brady's favorite smoothie recipe. After checking the recipe for any ridiculously expensive or hard-to-source ingredients like cacao beans freshly harvested from the Amazon rainforest, I liked the look of it and decided to try it out myself.
Brady has shared variations of this recipe online over the years but the original version is shared on the TB12 website where the former quarterback shares what you need to make it. The TB12 Method is an exercise and nutrition plan created by Brady that leans on following a mostly plant-based and organic diet. So it's no surprise that Brady's specialty smoothie is packed with lots of whole ingredients.
And when I say packed, I mean packed. The recipe is loaded with nutritiously rich and filling ingredients, not to mention a whopping 34 grams of protein. Sick of my usual toast with PB&J or oats, I switched things up and started drinking Brady's smoothie from one of the best protein shakers every day for seven days straight to see if there were any benefits.
Before I discuss what happened, it's important for me to emphasize that what works for my body wonn't necessarily work for someone else's. The purpose of this story is not for Tom's Guide to recommend this smoothie as an answer to any dietary or health goals but is an experiment to see how I personally found drinking this smoothie for a week.
I also contacted a qualified dietician to find out their take on the health benefits, if any, of this smoothie. If you do plan on adding this smoothie to your diet, check that the ingredients agree with you, and feel free to adjust the measurements of each ingredient to make it work better for your body.
What is in the Tom Brady smoothie recipe?
Thankfully, if you own a blender this smoothie was a very quick way to make a healthy breakfast. Check out what ingredients you will need to make this recipe below (taken from the TB12 website) and watch Brady make it via the video also below.
- 1/2 tbsp hemp seeds
- 1/2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1/2 tbsp flax seeds, ground
- 1 handful of walnuts
- 1 tbsp almond butter
- 1 scoop of protein powder
- 1 cup frozen organic blueberries
- 1 banana, medium-sized
- 3/4 cup oat milk
Please note, that the video below shows Brady making his smoothie but this particular time he notes, "Sometimes you come home and you realize you're out of blueberries," so he switches some elements to accommodate what he has available in his pantry. Before you get into my experience of drinking it for a week, I'd like to point out that I followed his original recipe listed just above.
What does a nutritionist think of the smoothie recipe?
I had no objections to any of the ingredients in the recipe and as a big blueberry fan knew I'd get on fine with the taste of the smoothie. But, I wanted to find out if it gets the approval from a food and nutrition expert so I ran it by registered dietician, Dr Emily Porter from the Gut Health Clinic.
Porter likes how Brady's smoothie contains fat, protein and carbohydrates all in one. "Often we see people simply blitz fruit with yoghurt or water. Whilst this still contains some vitamins and minerals, we miss out on all the amazing benefits of the other macronutrient groups.
"For example, chia seeds and walnuts are great sources of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids, whilst blueberries pack an antioxidant punch and almonds provide magnesium, important for immune responses and muscle and nerve function. Bananas can help boost dopamine levels and flaxseeds are great for helping to keep you regular as they bind water which provides bulk to stools."
This was reassuring to hear but she did add that eating the smoothie ingredients in their whole form would be better for you as this means they are higher in fiber, which has many benefits such as fuel for the gut microbiome, taking longer to digest and keeping us fuller for longer. She adds, "Smoothies also don’t need chewing, which is an important part of eating as it signals to our digestive tract to prepare for an incoming meal."
Let's see how I got on with drinking the smoothie every morning...
Dr Emily Porter, PhD, is a UK based registered dietitian with a background in scientific research. She completed her PhD at the University of Bristol in veterinary virology and immunology before re-training as a dietitian to embrace her love of science, people and food. She started her career as a gastroenterology dietitian within the NHS and now sees private patients at The Gut Health Clinic, as well as working as an NHS specialist diabetes dietitian and a freelance health and science writer.
I drank the same smoothie as Tom Brady every morning for a week — here’s what happened to my body
It was a quick solution to breakfast
I am not one to miss out on breakfast and I'm glad I stick to this as research suggests that skipping breakfast can have a negative effect on your mental well-being and academic performance. But when I'm in a rush it can be tempting to miss or pick up an unhealthier item such as a pastry on the go. So I often need something healthy that I can easily make and take on the go with me.
As much as I wish it was socially acceptable to eat my bowl of oats or toast and coffee on the tube, it isn't. This was where I found Brady's smoothie to be a real lifesaver. Once I got used to the measurements of the recipe, I was able to just fling all the ingredients into my NutriBullet, blend it all up, shove it in my shaker, and drink it on my commute. It really was as easy as that and it's a well-balanced recipe so I felt like I was starting off my day nice and healthily.
It helped me increase my protein intake
While I love cooking my meals from scratch and enjoy getting all food groups into my meals, I don't always get enough protein in. According to Harvard Health, the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight or 0.36 grams per pound. So depending on your weight, this could look something like 45 grams of protein or 55 grams a day. Here is a calculator you can use to work this out.
Brady's smoothie claims to pack in a mega 34 grams of protein. Obviously, the exact amount will differ depending on the specific products you use and their volumes of protein especially with the protein powder and almond butter. However, if you're a bit like me and sometimes reach the end of the day and realise you haven't eaten enough protein-rich foods then having this smoothie for breakfast or as a post gym snack is a great way to boost your daily intake.
If you don't like the idea of using protein powder, you can still benefit from Brady's smoothie with other ingredients in the smoothie such as chia seeds and flax seeds. Plus, as Porter notes, "Depending on your health goals and activity levels, protein powder could easily be replaced with another protein-rich food such as yogurt or a plant-based alternative (or excluded altogether)."
It was almost too filling
It's not unusual for me to reach 11:30 AM and be thinking about lunch. This wasn't an issue when I was drinking Brady's smoothie recipe every morning. It was almost too filling and going forward from my week of following Brady's exact measurements, I'd reduce the portion sizes of the nut butter and fruit in there.
There is no denying that my guaranteed satiety after drinking the smoothie is down to the bundle of nutritious and whole ingredients included in the recipe, plus, the volume of protein it contains. Protein is known to keep you fuller for longer because it takes longer for your body to digest and reduces your level of the hunger hormone ghrelin.
I also think that because I found this smoothie tasty it helped stave my mind off snacking. Sometimes, when you eat something that is very healthy looking it can feel like you haven't satisfied your cravings and you yearn to eat more. But I genuinely enjoyed the blueberry and banana combo as well as the nuttiness from the almond butter and walnuts. I experimented with a few of my protein powders in Brady's smoothie recipe and settled for my favorite chocolate and peanut butter powder, which added even more to the yum factor.
I drank the same smoothie as Tom Brady every morning for a week — my verdict
Will I continue drinking Tom Brady's smoothie? Yes!
This was a genuinely tasty experiment to try out and one that offers various health benefits. I think this is a really well-balanced recipe, well done to Brady, and has been designed to support the body in many ways. Whether that's packing in lots of whole ingredients to your day, increasing your feeling of fullness, upping your protein intake, or making a great pre or post-gym smoothie to enjoy and help build and repair your muscles after a tough workout.
As I did find it to be very filling, I would look into reducing the portion size of this smoothie or enjoy the full recipe on days where I am exerting a lot of energy and burning a lot of calories such as days where I will be completing intense strength sessions or after a long run during marathon training.
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