Protein is a crucial aspect of any diet plan, whether your goal is to lose weight, build your muscle mass, or maintain your current weight.
Protein powder makes it easier to reach your nutritional goals because it is fast, convenient, and available in a variety of flavors. As an added bonus, protein powder can easily enhance your results, especially if your goal is weight loss. How? Protein keeps you feeling fuller longer .
Of course, this doesn’t mean that you have to drink protein shake after protein shakeevery single day. There are a number of ways you can incorporate protein powder into your daily diet without the shakes.
So, how can you add protein shake powder to your daily diet? Here’s several tips to help you.
- After you finish cooking your morning bowl of oatmeal, stir in a bit of protein powder.
- Combine egg whites, oats, a mashed banana, and protein powder to create banana protein waffles or pancakes. Just prepare the batter as you usually would.
- Instead of choosing a gourmet coffee that is high in calories, brew your own cup of coffee and stir in a scoop of protein powder.
- For a healthy salad with a sweet taste, combine fresh cut fruit, plain Greek yoghurt, vanilla extract, and protein powder.
- Combine low-fat milk, frozen yoghurt, a tablespoon of sugar-free vanilla or chocolate pudding powder (for thickness), and a scoop of chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry protein powder to make a yummy milkshake.
- Although yoghurt, particularly Greek style) is already a good source of protein, you can add about ½ a scoop of protein powder to it to boost its protein content by around 10 grams.
- Create a protein crepe that’s also low carb by mixing two egg whites with a scoop of protein powder. Cook it just like you would a pancake and top it off with a bit of almond butter or peanut butter.
- Make your own protein bars instead of buying the pre-packaged varieties. There are hundreds of different recipes available online to choose from. Look for recipes that include your favourite dried fruits or nuts to whip up something you are sure to enjoy.
- Use protein to bake. You can replace ½ the flour in any cake, cookie, or muffin recipe with protein powder to substitute some of the carbs for much needed protein.
- For a high energy snack that is filled with protein and will keep you full until your next mealtime, keep protein peanut butter balls on hand. Simply mix protein powder, honey, mixed oats and natural peanut butter or low-fat peanut flour together and form into a ball.
Final Thoughts
It’s a common misconception that protein powder should be left to people who are trying to bulk up. This really isn’t true. There is absolutely no reason to avoid protein powder. In fact, adding protein powder, whether its egg albumen, casein, hemp, pea, soy, or whey, to your diet is an excellent way to meet your daily protein requirements and get faster results.
There are so many types and flavors of protein powder available, that you are sure to find one or more you really enjoy. Just keep in mind that you want to opt for protein powders that have as few artificial and added ingredients as possible for optimal health.