Ahh protein powder. There are about a million options and a million opinions to go with each one. Ooh don’t forget the million questions everyone has about it! Is it necessary? What’s the best one? When to use it? Let’s dig in shall we?!
First things first. Protein powder is not a requirement for progress or for living a healthy and fit lifestyle. Protein is a supplement aka a supplement to your healthy eating. Not a staple, not a requirement. It’s not a veggie after all :D.
More info below the video!
So why use it? Protein powder makes post workout fueling super convenient! It’s quick, you don’t have to cook it or cut it up and you can make it in delicious flavors like chocolate! Mmm. It can also be helpful if you don’t feel that you get enough protein in your diet.
Why not use it? You don’t need it. It can be pricey sometimes, especially the quality ones. It also doesn’t automatically mean ‘gains’!
What to look for. When purchasing a protein powder I always recommend taking a good look at the ingredients list. You want it to be short and sweet (Vegan protein is generally going to have a longer list of sources but that part is fine!). You don’t want much else besides the protein source. If there are multiple sweeteners and chemical sounding ingredients that you don’t recognize, it’s probably best to move on to something new. Ideally the protein you get will be just the protein/carb source dependent what you buy. Ex: an oats & whey protein would have just that. Not artificial sweeteners, hydrogenated oils, fillers or any other craziness.
Test and see. One of the big things with any supplement it to take time to see if it works for you. Just because someone else says it works for them, doesn’t mean it will be your best bet. For example, I took whey for a while a few years back because it was the thing to do. Never stopping to think that maybe it wasn’t the thing for my body to do. Knowing that too much dairy gives me some issues, it should have been common sense but I was determined to keep on with the whey! For some people it’s a great fit! For me, not so much. Remember to take notice of how you personally feel on supplements! Even if something or someone claims it’s amazing, make sure it’s actually making you feel amazing too!
When should I have it? Generally people take protein post workout. It’s a convenient way to refuel! If you’re going to use protein post workout, especially if it’s a strenuous one, I’d reccomend
Here’s a few brands that are good examples of what I’m talking about!
Naked Nutrition Oats & Whey (link is just whey, couldn’t find oats & whey at the time of this post!)
Genuine Health Fermented Vegan Protein
These can all be found on amazon and their own sites! They’re great examples of what to look for when looking at a potential protein powder. I’m not affiliated with any of these! Just wanted to show some examples of what I’m getting at here! 🙂 Enjoy!
Annd as promised! here’s the recipe for the Cinnamon Sugar[Free] Bites! If you want a little more detail head to the linked post!
Cinnamon Sugar[Free] Bites
What you need:
10 Medjool Dates
1 & 3/4 Cup Oats
1/4 Cup Protein (I’d recommend unflavored or Vanilla)
3/4 Tbsp Cinnamon
*If you don’t want to add protein you can sub more oats!
What to do:
x Add pitted dates to the food processor and process for a few seconds (just a few, they’ll need like 10 at most)
x Add oats, protein and cinnamon and process until everything is blended. You may need to scrape the sides especially if you have a small food processor! You want things to be evenly distributed in the mix! If you blend too long, it gets a bit sticky. I recommend blending 20 or so seconds, scraping and repeating a few times or until everything looks pretty well mixed. You’ll still have some little oat pieces around! Pretty much like the picture above.
x Roll into bites and enjoy!
These can be stored for at least a week in an air tight container..I’ve never been able to make them last longer that that! They don’t need to be refrigerated but can be.
I hope this blog was helpful and you get to try the bites! Let me know what you’d like to see! 😀
Sweat, Smile, Repeat! And Eat!
xxNiki
