Not long ago I met up with Tucker Max in Gainsville for the pre-screening of his new full feature film, I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell. Some of the best $10 I have ever spent.

Not only did I get to see the movie, but I got a bundle of stuff that was actually useful. As seen in the pic, one of the items was an official pint glass for the movie.

What’s ironic is that I use the glass virtually 7 days a week- yet I haven’t had a drop of alcohol in…8 years?

And yes, I’m barely 21. Don’t ask.

To go even further, I’m a big supporter of the book and movie- if that’s not apparent by now- despite the lack of alcohol consumption.

If I don’t use it for beer, then what the hell am I using it for?

The Dream Shake of course- the world’s most ridiculously awesome and delicious shake. I made a video the other day about (one version) of the shake. You can watch it at the end of the post if so inclined, but as you’ll come to see, the ingredients are constantly changing.

Like a friend recently commented, I’m quickly becoming a (non gay) Martha Stuart- for guys. I basically wake up every day- and once my brain begins functioning, start brainstorming ideas for what to put in The Dream Shake ®.

Today I’m going to reveal the foundational ingredients, as well as some more optional additions.

The Base Ingredients

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These are the items your Dream Shake can’t live without, the ones that *actually* make it TDS worthy.

First up, grass fed, minimally processed, whey protein.

I currently use a whey protein supplement by the name of Whey Cool (or Paleo Meal, very similar).

Why whey you ask? It’s the best, period. Unless you have some type of allergic reaction to it, I recommend it above all other types of protein supplements.

I may try a new one out soon at a better price, but thus far it has served me well. The whey itself undergoes the least amount of processing possible- giving you the most bang for your buck nutrient wise- and comes from pasture fed cows never injected with anti-biotics or artificial growth hormones.

While the majority of the negative side effects from those things- grain feeding as one example- end up in the fat, I still believe it plays a role in the bottom line of the protein. Essentially, you are what you eat no matter which way you slice it- and if you constantly eat animal products, from corn and soy fed animals… well then you’re still going to get the side effects from those substances (notice I didn’t use the word foods).

As for the amount, usually just one scoop. I would use two, but even I won’t go through 2 containers of Whey Cool a month at it’s price tag.

I’ve been using the vanilla flavor model, but will now be switching to the unflavored version to avoid the steiva and “natural” vanilla flavor. While those things should be the least of most people’s worries, I would prefer to avoid those ingredients and just flavor the shake to my preference- chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, strange combinations of random ingredients, or otherwise.

Next coconut fat.

Now, I would say coconut oil- which is just pure coconut fat- except recently I have been using more and more versions of coconut. More often than not I use a generous amount of coconut oil, and then add in something else “coconut” in addition to that.

As seen in the first picture, I went a bit overboard and used an entire can of non-watered down coconut milk. Ya…holy crap. Give it a shot but that’s close to a clean 1,000 calories, on top of everything else in the shake. But hey, if you can manage, chug it.

I also add in some “raw coconut” I bought a while back on accident, thinking it was just a different version of coconut oil.

While it’s great for you, ground up coconut in a jar (not just the fat, which tastes like not much at all) is not the best tasting thing on the planet. I throw it in my shake simply because it doesn’t affect the overall taste, and I’d rather not waste it.

Why coconut fat? Well for one, fat is great for you- especially the saturated kind. Coconut fat in particular is almost pure saturated fat- and it contains a few hard to find fatty acids that other fats don’t have.

Next, milk fat.

I nearly put this in the “optional” ingredients section coming up in a minute, but decided to throw it in here. Point being, you’re better off with it than without it for flavor and texture- assuming you like milk fat.

I use it virtually every day as well- either in the form of grass fed butter, organic heavy whipping cream, or organic cream cheese- or a combination of all three.

I’m in the process of switching to just a large chunk of grass fed butter though. It tends to work the best in the shake and I like the taste best from it.

Why not just add milk?

I’ve talked about this before, but the problem with cow milk is casein, and milk sugar. For the most part, you want to avoid these nutrients at all costs- especially milk sugar. There is a post here that explains milk fat further for those interested.

Finally, some type of flavoring.

This sounds kind of vague, but it will make more sense in a minute.

Basically find something- or a combination of ingredients- that you like, and throw them in.

I’ve tried a lot of different things (that we’ll get to in a moment), but I’ve found that the best 2 ingredients are

Vanilla Extract

Organic frozen fruit (usually berries)

These 2 ingredients are potent, add a ton of flavor, and very little carbohydrate. Black berries, blue berries, cranberries, strawberries…use your imagination. I occasionally throw in a little banana as well, but it packs more sugar than berries.

A bit of raw honey (much less than I use in the video) can also work well- but like bananas, add a lot of carbohydrate, fast.

As a “base ingredient”, it should go without saying I add an ample amount of water to make it a shake. Wanted to make sure no one was planning on creating a “dry” shake though =)

Optional Ingredients

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This is the fun part. Get creative, and add new stuff every day. Seriously, I’m a big dork with this stuff, but it’s fun.

Guess I’m easily amused, ha!

Cinnamon

Cinnamon’s great. I love the taste, and it supposedly has a lot of health benefits. I have used it every day for weeks on end.

Egg Yolks

I use these every day, however I know a lot of people are put off by the idea of eating raw egg so I left it out of the base ingredients.

Why egg yolks?

A. Cheap- even organic, flax seed fed eggs.

B. Add a certain texture to the shake, and flavor

C. IMO, one of the healthiest things you can eat

D. Egg whites need to be cooked, period. Rocky had it wrong, do not use raw egg whites in your Dream Shake.

Egg yolks have everything a body could want (well, almost). Awesome fat content, protein, a ton of micro nutrients- and even that heart healthy cholesterol.

And for anyone new to my blog, no, I’m not kidding. Dietary cholesterol is awesome, read more about it here.

As for the “raw” part, they’re better for you this way- and, just as safe in my opinion (your worries are probably better placed on what’s crawling around your kitchen counter than raw yolk).

Nuts and Nut Butters

I like almonds the best, and throw them in on occasion- or almond butter. It doesn’t matter which, but the butter tends to mix better and not pool at the bottom like whole almonds. Make sure both the almonds or butter are lacking any additional ingredients too since the cheaper/more common brands tend to pack crap you don’t want to be eating.

Walnuts also work, as do pecans. Not a big fan of peanuts- they taste great don’t get me wrong, but they’re not actually nuts (or seeds for that matter).

That’s right, peanuts are legumes (beans). Weird huh? Bean butter…yum.

Flax Seed

I was using this for a while but won’t be anymore. Finely ground I think it’s fine to add, but I don’t see a nutritional reason to do so- and it certainly doesn’t add to the taste factor. If you want to add it, go for it. If not, don’t sweat it.

Dark Chocolate

I usually add a small piece to the mix, or bite off a small chunk while drinking the shake. What can I say, I love the stuff =). If you’re not adding any other (substanial) carbohydrates to the mix, it’s not something to worry about either (try to use 85% and up though). Good source of yummy saturated fat too =).

Random Fruit/Veggies

If I have some fresh berries, grapes, or some small carrots, I throw them in on occasion. In small amounts they certainly aren’t bad for you, and add to the flavor a bit.

In Summary

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This is what I’m eating nearly every morning. I’m not in a rush to eat it- as I don’t believe my body is in some frantic state of “catabolism” and destroying the hard work I’ve put into strength training- but when I’m ready, I make it.

It’s simple, and takes up a large portion of my calories for the day- 1 of my usual 2 meals. It tastes really, really good too =).

And hey, I get to use my spiffy IHTSBIH pint glass.

Speaking of which I’ll be seeing it in theaters this Friday at 10:30pm. There is a Facebook event my room mate made here if you’re interested in coming (in Orlando)- either way I recommend checking it out, great movie.

And on that note, while the content of the movie is hardly “inspiring” (it’s more in the piss your pants funny direction), seeing it come to be, the momentum, and a tiny bit of the hard work that’s gone into it’s creation and distribution- well damn, I’m inspired personally.

Anyway hope this post helps those of you who were curious as to what I eat daily. Check out a video of me creating one of these here.

-Anthony