Turn Your Next Iced Coffee Into A High-Protein Peanut Butter Frappe With Just 4 Ingredients

If you're addicted to coffee, you might as well make it work for you. Beyond keeping you awake, coffee actually has some health benefits. It also offers an opportunity to slip some extra protein into your daily routine. The secret ingredient? Peanut butter.

A tablespoon of the protein-packed nut butter will help keep you full until lunch, and it blends well with other flavors if you want to add a chocolate or caramel syrup. One super simple way to sneak protein into your morning coffee takes four ingredients — ice, peanut butter, sweetened condensed milk, and coffee — blending into a frappe perfect for a hot summer morning. Keep in mind, it will be sweet. So, if you want a strong espresso flavor, try swapping sweetened condensed milk for regular milk and adding a natural peanut butter — or your favorite nut butter. When you're gearing up for an early workout or morning run, those quick carbs can give your body the boost it needs to get moving.

One of the great things about making an iced frappe at home is how customizable it is — from the amount of ice you add, to how strong you brew the coffee, to whether you go for smooth or crunchy peanut butter. Of course, an at-home peanut butter frappe isn't the only way to slip some protein into your morning cup of joe. Even Starbucks has picked up on the fitness-fueled trend, introducing a new line-up of whey-based cold foam drinks and protein-boosted lattes. At home, you can get creative making cold brew — notably different than iced coffee — by topping it with a whipped, nutty cream made from powdered peanut butter. 

Whichever drink you choose, round out your morning with a super-simple protein-packed breakfast at home. Or if you're on the go, there are plenty of fast food chains with great high-protein breakfast sandwich options that deliver the same energy-boosting, muscle-building power. Who says a healthy start to your day can't be delicious?