= PROTEIN POW(D)ER !

My Double Chocolate Fudge Quest Bar Inspired Protein Bars

2013-06-17T14:23:00.002+01:00

Where to begin... OK. Let me start a few months back, when I tried my first Quest bar. It was Vanilla and Almond and I REALLY didn't like it. I thought it was too hard, too chewy, and too sweet. I made a post on facebook about how disappointed I was and, within minutes, BAAAAAM! dozens and dozens of people took to the thread to comment about how Quest bars are the best protein bars on earth. A lot of OMGs ensued, followed by "you NEED to microwave the bars!"and "you MUST try another flavor!" But, after my first experience with Quest bars, I just wasn't that convinced. They just didn't do what my Protein Pow bars do to me: they didn't set off a huge cascade of nommage.

But the aforementioned facebook thread grew and grew and passions rose to an unprecedented high with people proclaiming an undying LOVE for Quest bars. I thought, "Zeus! What is this!?" So I decided to try Quest's other flavors. And I did. I got a box full of bars - a sample pack of sorts - and, there, I found two favorites.

The first bar I tried and loved was their Banana Nut bar. I was so impressed! It tasted of banana nut muffins! It was crunchy yet soft and... ah, it was absolutely delicious. I tried the rest of the bars in the box and there were high and lows - some bars I REALLY liked - like the Mixed Berry ones! Others I REALLY didn't - like the Vanilla & Almond and the Lemon ones.

After a few days of going through the bars though, my box was empty so I bought a couple more boxes of my favorite flavor bars from Predator Nutrition (Quest's exclusive UK distributor). And boy, did I enjoy them! Especially toasted, they're magical! Crunchy on the outside, warm and soft on the inside. Like a delicious intergalactic cake :-D I recommend you try them. You can get there here if you're in the UK and here if you're in the US.

Every time I ate a bar though, I wondered about their secret formula. I tried to dissect the bars in my mind while reading their ingredients' list. I'd chew the bar slowly while carefully chewing over various ideas regarding their making and composition. I thought about them a LOT. Why? Because there's nothing like them in the market! I mean, they're incredibly low in (net) carbs (about 4g), very high in fiber (18g) and remarkably high in protein (24g). How could it be!?

I tried to make a few similar 'uncoated' bars but could never come remotely close to Quest's. I used a lot of the same ingredients they did, except... well, I didn't use Isomalto-oligosaccharides (IMO)- an ingredient that I noticed ALL Quest bars contain. I tried to get some IMO but it proved almost impossible to source the stuff! UNTIL I stumbled on bineutra.ca - a Canadian company that sources IMO to wholesalers ;-)

What's so special about IMO? Well, IMO binds all ingredients together and retains moisture like nothing else does! It also changes composition dramatically when it's heated as opposed to when it drops below room temperate. It's a fascinating ingredient, it really is. And, as it turns out, an essential ingredient to making Quest-like protein bars.

I've made quite a few bars using IMO. These chocolate ones here were pretty sweet! I WAS going to use ground nuts, like Quest do, for a texture that isn't as dominated by the whey's stickiness. But I wanted to see whether using whey alone would work and, guess what? It does ;-) Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

2 tsps of VitaFiber™(IMO)
1 tsp of Walden Farms sugar-free pancake syrup
1 scoop of chocolate whey protein pow
1 tsp of cocoa powder

Directions

First, heat up the liquid IMO in a pot until bubbles start to form. Once this happens, add the syrup and mix it. Then, add the whey and cocoa until you get a sort of sticky dough. Remove the whole thing from the heat and mold it with your hands into a bar. Press this bar onto a silicone brownie tray and stick it in the fridge for an hour so it sets. Done.

Let me walk you through the process of how I went about making them because it's pretty interesting. OK. I figured that the IMO had to be heated up first because the bars change texture very dramatically depending on whether they're heated up (microwaved, or toasted) or eaten in a cold environment. They go from soft and sticky to extremely hard. So I heated up the IMO and then added in all the stuff. At first the mix is really sticky but as it cools it behind to set! Until a proper bar is formed. Macro-wise, my bar probably amounted to mostly protein, a small amount of fat (from the whey and the cocoa), virtually no carbs, and a LOT of fiber. I'll add in the macro breakdown when I get the IMO stats re its carb/fib content in gs.

Now, here's a Q&A so I can deal with what I foresee are some questions you may have about IMO:

Q & A

1. Q: You mention that you got your IMO from a Canadian wholesaler. But where can I - a regular consumer - get IMO from? A: Bioneutra.ca will soon open an online shop to enable anyone in North America to get some IMO! In Europe, OZ, and NZ, however, IMO has yet to gain full regulatory approval. Either way, I predict IMO will sart selling commercially pretty soon. I'll keep you posted though and, as soon as it does, I'll share with you the intel through The Protein Pow Newsletter!

2. Q: Anna, now that you've dabbled into the world of these kind of bars, would you say they're better than your Protein Bar Bars? A: No. I wouldn't. I wouldn't because I think my bars are far more nutritious in the long run - they contain more regular ingredients and less (or no) artificial sweeteners and/or 'artificial flavorings'. Sure, my bars higher in kcals and not as low carb, but they feature a lot of natural ingredients (including fresh fruit and even veg!) and pack a hefty punch of antioxidant, vitamin, and mineral goodness. Don't believe me? Get my Protein Bar Ebook and try the bars in it. They can't be beat! They're easy to make, feature basic fresh ingredients, and they're nom nom nom: delicious. Make them. Make them and compare them then to ANY store-bought bars. You'll see what I mean.
3. Q: Could you tell me more about isomalto-oligosaccharides, or IMO? A: Ah, yes. IMO is a prebiotic fiber used as a food ingredient that is completely devoid of vitamins, minerals, fats, and proteins. It's basically comprised of 'digestion resistant carbs' i.e. carbs that 'go right through ya' ;-) IMO can be found - in veeery small quantities - in honey, miso, sake and soy sauce. IMO has a caloric value of 2.4kcals per gram. Flavor wise, IMO has a relative sweetness level that's 60% that of sucrose.

4. Q: But what IS it? A: It is a "mixture of glucose oligomers with alpha (1-6) linkages" (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/gmf-agm/appro/isomalto-oligosaccharide-eng.php). Precisely, "Isomalto-oligosaccharide is composed of 15-20% of smaller saccharides and 70-80% of the larger oligosaccharides. Thus, IMO contains both digestible and non-digestible saccharides. The fractions composed of isomaltose, maltose, and panose would be digested in the small intestine and absorbed as glucose following oral administration. The non-digested oligosaccharides would pass through the small intestine and undergo microbial fermentation in the large intestine. The non-digested oligosaccharides would consist of the larger oligosaccharides" (ibid).

5. Q: Is IMO good for me? Or... what's the deal? A: There have been a few studies conducted that have looked at the potential health benefits of IMO. Most of them have concluded that, as a prebiotic, their effect is far from harmful; that, in fact, IMO can be beneficial to one's digestion. Wikipedia links a pretty solid list of studies about IMO worth checking out if you're interested (click here to see it).

6. Q: What's YOUR take on IMO though, Anna? A: If you're asking whether I think IMO is GREAT as a prebiotic to include in one's diet regularly, as a form of fiber, I'd say... hmmm... I'd rather get by fiber from food like fruit and veg, coconut flour, gluten-free grains, and psyllium husks! But hey, that's just me ;-)

A Sneaky Dark Chocolate & Cashew Nut Protein Cake

2013-06-16T17:49:00.004+01:00

"They're reeeeady!" she exclaims as she walks into the room holding a tray of dark chocolate protein cake sandwiches. "Do you one to try one?" she asks him.

"Sure thing!" he says excitedly, "what's in them?"

She shakes her head.

"I can't tell you."

He narrows his eyes suspiciously as he grabs one off the tray and examines it.

"I'll tell you after you eat it, how about that?"

He nods and looks at the cake sandwich curiously, trying to decipher its secret. He takes a small bite. His eyes widen. He looks at her in amazement and takes a second bite - this time a huge one.

"Oh my GOD! That's REALLY good!"

She smiles :-)

"What's in them?!"

"Oh, you know.... the usual.... just protein powder, dark chocolate, some beetroot and... a whole bag of spinach."

"WHAT!?"

"Yeah, a whole bag of spinach."

He looks at her in disbelief.

"And beetroot!? but you know how much I HATE beetroot!"

"I know! But see how you can't taste it? And there was a lot of it in there! And a lot of spinach too!"

"You, my lady, are a wizard!"

"....dess... wizardess," she says as she plants a kiss on his cheek.

"Ah, but there's no such thing, the female form of wizard is... well... witch, hehehe."

She punches him lightly on the shoulder, laughing, and reaches in to grab a protein sandwich to dip into her coffee. He gets a second piece and... nom nom noms.

"These are unbelievable. They're light, airy, moist, dark chocolatey, almost creamy, and oy! to think there are vegetables in here! What a way to hit one's veggie quota!"

Welcome to this recipe ;-)

This cake is seriously sneaky - sneaky in that it's packed full of veggie fiber, vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats while packing an absolutely sensational punch of deliciousness and protein kaPOW! I highly recommend you try this. I had one with my morning coffee (see Note 2 below) an hour before I hit the gym and BAAAAAM! I had a great gym sesh, I even got a bench PB! :-D

Ingredients

3 cooked beets
3 cup-ish of fresh spinach (200g)
1 cup of liquid egg whites
1/4 cup of toffee flavored hemp protein powder (see Note 1 below for subs)
1/2 cup of vanilla whey protein powder
1/4 cup of cocoa powder
1/2 tsp of baking soda

Directions

Blend all ingredients together and bake in a brownie pan at 160 C (320 F) for about 45 minutes to an hour or until, when stabbed with a knife, your knife comes out clean.

Allow the cake to rest and then cut 12 squares out of it.

To make the 'sandwiches', grab two pieces of cake and add some nut butter in the middle. I used this cashew nut butter by MP and the end product was LUSH, especially dipped in coffee!!!!!

Macros (out of six cake sandwiches you get from the mix above, each with 8g of cashew nut butter):

135.45kcals, 7.7g carbs, 18g protein, 3.7g fat and 3.46g fiber. With the 8g of nut butter: 182.15kcals, 9g carbs, 19.7g protein, 7.6g fat and 3.6g fiber.

Notes

1. If you'd like to sub the toffee hemp protein powder with another powder, you can use pea protein powder (these ones from GN are delicious), rice protein powder, or another veggie blend like this one!

2. I dipped my cake in some caramel Nespresso - sooo good! If you don't know what Nespresso is, check it out and get yourself a Nespresso machine. I have a Pizie and I can't live without it. Here's the link to get one on Amazon US and the link for it on Amazon UK (where Pixie's are now actually on sale!) It's my favorite espresso: foamy, creamy, and oyyyy oy oy!

Blueberry Protein Fluff - An Animated Video Recipe

2013-06-15T21:26:00.000+01:00

Today is a pretty big day for me: it's the day my first animation video was born! I felt like a proper Victor Frankenstein when I pressed PLAY and saw my drawings come to life! :-)))))) This video was the first one I made and the one here in this post was the second - an ode to protein fluff. Now, the end-product is very rudimentary and it illustrates just the process of making protein fluff (for the precise recipe and macros, scroll down below). But for my first attempt, I'm really happy with it! And I cannot convey in words how thrilled I am to begin what will no doubt be a very exciting journey! You see, I've been drawing cartoons since I was a kid and this is just so exciting! A whole universe of Protein Pow(d)er animation awaits :-)))) Hope you enjoy it!

Today is a pretty big day for me: it's the day my first animation video was born! I felt like a proper Victor Frankenstein when I pressed PLAY and saw my drawings come to life! :-)))))) This video was the first one I made and the one here in this post was the second - an ode to protein fluff. Now, the end-product above is very rudimentary and it illustrates just the process of making protein fluff. For the precise recipe and macros below. I cannot convey in words how thrilled I am to begin what will no doubt be a very exciting journey! You see, I've been drawing cartoons since I was a kid and this is just so exciting! A whole universe of Protein Pow(d)er animation awaits :-)))) Hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients

1 to 2 scoops of vanilla whey protein (I used this one by Optimum Nutrition)
1 cups of frozen blueberries
1/8ish of milk

Directions

First, blend everything together until you get a smooth sort of ice cream texture. Then, use an electric whisker to whisk the mix for 3-4 minutes until you start to see the mixture begin to gain some volume. That's it! You're done. Grab a spoon and dig in to protein fluff deliciousness. Here's a proper video of the recipe to further drive the point home ;-)

Macros per one entire bowl worth of fluff: 220kcals, 32g protein, 16g carbs, 3g fat and 4g fiber!

Banana Protein Cupcakes

2013-06-14T20:34:00.001+01:00

These cupcakes are GREAT for breakfast, especially next to a big ol' cup of coffee. They're bananay, soft, deliciously moist, and deliver one hell of a protein kaPOW! And to make them, all you need are six ingredients and 30 minutes of your time ;-) Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

3 tbsp of oat flour
2 large eggs
2 ripe bananas
2 tbsps of coconut flour
1/2 cup of banana flavored Myofusion (or just a nice banana flavored whey, like this one!)

Directions

Blend all ingredients together and pour into four muffin cases (I always use silicone ones - these ones). Bake for 20-25 minutes at 170 C (338 F) until, when poked with a knife, your knife comes out clean. Remove them from the oven and let them cool.

For your frosting, mix one pot of quark or low-fat cream cheese (250g) with 1/4 cup of banana flavored whey, casein, or, again, Myofusion.

Add the frosting on top of the muffins, sprinkle some cinnamon on top and... voila! Delicious Banana Protein Cupcakes!

Note: Mine kind of overcooked at the bottom a bit BUT worry not, they did not burn. They were delightful!

Macros per cupcake out of the four you get from the mix above:

250kcals, 24.1g protein, 16g carbs (out of which 4.15 is fiber!) and 8.75g fat :-)

PS: Click here to access all of my Protein Muffin and Cupcake recipes.

PSPS: Click here to watch a recipe video of my Carrot Cake Protein Cupcakes - cousins of these Banana Protein Cupcakes.

PSPSPS: Click here if you haven't signed up to receive the Protein Pow Newsletter! It went out yesterday and I'll be sending another round tonight :-)

Vicky's Cherry Protein Pie - Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free, and Delicious!

2013-06-11T14:57:00.000+01:00

The journey I took to get to this pie started off fine but then it took an ugly turn and descended into chaos. It was a roller-coaster journey that went from excitement to outrage to disaster and, finally, to success. Let me tell you what happened because I think much can be learnt from this pie. I'll start with excitement:

EXCITEMENT

On Saturday morning I got a message from my friend Vicky from suggesting I make a protein cherry pie. "Absolutely hell yes!" I said. "Can you send me a picture of what you want it to look like?" I asked her. She sent me this link.

As soon as I saw it oh, I was inspired! I was excited! I was looking forward to giving it a shot! Because I'd honestly never thought of making a cherry pie before and as a big fan of cherries, I was thrilled at the the prospect of eating a healthy Cherry Pie :-)

So I did what anyone looking to delve into the unknown waters of a new dish does: I googled some recipes.

OUTRAGE

That's when the journey took a turn towards the outrageous. There I was, at 11am in my saturday morning pajamas, holding my jaw in disbelief - shocked at how unhealthy traditional cherry pie is. I mean, close to 600kcals per slice with less than 6g of protein, more than 35g of fat, and over 60g of sugar?! Take a look at this recipe, for example. Sure, it probably tastes phenomenal. But how can it not, when you're basically relying on sugar and fat to choreograph the final product?

The beauty, to me, isn't cooking something that just tastes amazing. The beauty is cooking something that both tastes amazing and is ACTUALLY good for you. It's harder, YES. A lot harder. Below I show you just how hard it is ;-) But Zeus! Is it worth it! Because what's the point of eating purely for pleasure? Of cooking without taking into consideration the nutritional profile of foods? It's like having a car and fueling it with, I dunno... OJ! OK. It's a bit extreme, I know. But still, why eat sugar-packed cherry pie every once in a while instead of making it healthy and enjoying it whenever? Now, I don't always spend time thinking about this because it's how our world is set up - with taste reigning supreme in the world of both traditional and haute-cuisine. But I still get outraged when I think about the apotheosis of sugar-and-fat-packed recipes and how they're followed and applauded time and time again as the 'best' way forward.

Anyways, I shut down my computer (because google wasn't getting me anywhere) and assertively announced: "I'm going to design my pie from scratch!"

That's when disaster struck.

DISASTER

I put a bunch of ingredients together and I winged the whole thing. Didn't know what I was doing. I felt like this dog thoughout. The end product was disastrous - the filling was grainy because I used whey and coconut flour in there (mistake number one) and the 'crust' was badly designed and totally overcooked so it ended up completely solid (mistake number two). Click here to see what the whole thing looked like. It broke my heart completely, this 'pie' did. It was awful :-(

But I was determined to get it right! So I tried again ;-)

SUCCESS!

To arrive at a successful pie I had to draw from what the disaster taught me. The first thing that it taught me is that the filling shouldn't include any dairy-based protein powders or flours. I mean, cherry pie isn't cakey inside or creamy or... whatever. It's just cherry deliciousness :-D So what I did was use cherries + gelatine + BCAAs to make a sort of cherry-packed amino jelly. Then, I tweaked the crust ingredients to make a lighter 'pastry' and I cooked it at a higher heat for a lot less time to ensure it cooked just right.

The end product was a HUGE success. I couldn't be happier with it. I had a slice this morning and Zeus almighty, was it delicious! And I think it represents an absolutely phenomenal post-workout snack, macro wise. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients for the base

1/2 cup of liquid egg whites
1/2 cup of buckwheat flour (can sub it with oat flour)
1/2 cup of vanilla pea protein powder (or casein?)
1/2 cup of slivered almonds
1 tbsp of date syrup (optional but nice)
1 tbsp of coconut flour

Ingredients for the filling

1 packet of unflavored powdered gelatine (about 8g)
2 scoops of berry flavored BCAAs
400g of pitted cherries (about two cups)

Directions

Using a food processor or blender, blend all the base ingredients together until you get a sort of dough. Press 3/4 of this dough into a small spring-form pan. Cover the bottom of the pan and as much of the sides as you can, using a spoon. The remaining 1/4 of the dough will be used on top of the pie.

OK. Once the 'pastry' is all done and pressed into the pan, move on to make your filling. All you need to do is add the cherries to a pot and bring them to a boil. They'll release some water; that's a good thing. Once the cherries have started to disintegrate a bit and there's a good amount of liquid in the pot, add the gelatin and BCAAs and mix it all up until the gelatine disintegrates Note: if you don't want to bother with the gelatin + BCAA combo, you can use sugar-free jelly powder instead.

Once your filling is done, pour it onto the base and, if you want to add the pastry strands of top, roll out the 'pastry' into a ball and then get some strands from it to stick on top. This is what it should look like. If you can't be bothered with the strands, no worries. It's just for pie aesthetics really :-)

Finally, stick the whole thing in the oven at 170 C (338 F) for about 20-30 minutes or until the sides and top look and feel cooked. Then, take it out (and smell it because oh! it's like cherry heaven!) This is what it should look like once it's cooked.

OK. Let it cool overnight and the next morning BAAAAM! You have cherry pie deliciousness!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Add a dollop of greek yogurt on top and nom nom nom! Get ready to dig into amazingness!

Macros per slice (out of the eight you get from the pie above): 161kcals, 12g protein, 12g carbs, and 7g fat!

Bacon and Chili Dark Chocolate Protein Bars!

2013-06-08T17:36:00.001+01:00

I'm a HUGE fan of homemade protein bars. You know why? Because they're eons ahead of store-bought ones. They're so much healthier! Even the really 'clean' protein bars out there, they all contain a bunch of questionable ingredients - stuff like 'natural flavoring', dodgy sweeteners, and inferior sources of protein.

And it isn't only what they contain that we should pay attention to, it's also what they don't. When picking a protein bar, we should ask ourselves "what does this bar give me, besides protein and a whole bonanza of fiber? Micronutrient wise, what does this bar add to my diet?" Most often than not, the answer will be "not much."

This is why I'm such a strong proponent of homemade protein bars. Because you can design them to deliver not just protein and fiber but also antioxidants, healthy fats, and lots of vitamins and minerals. And you can completely eliminate any and all dubious ingredients.

Take for example these bars. They're gluten-free, high in antioxidants, magnesium, iron, essential fats, vitamin A, calcium, and devoid of natural flavorings, fillers, preservatives, stabilizers, hydrogenated bla bla blas, and artificial sweeteners. They're also ridiculously tasty. What's not to love!?

Ingredients

1/2 cup of unflavored whey protein powder (see Note 1 below for subs)
2 strips (20g) of cooked bacon - grilled until crispy and then chopped into bits (this stuff would also work though!)
4 tbsp of coconut flour
1/4 cup of cocoa nibs (see Note 2 below for subs)
2-4 tbsp of xylitol - or granulated stevia (see Note 3 below)
1/2 cup of milk (I used cartoned coconut milk but almond or rice would be nice too)
1 tsp of red chili powder

Directions

Blend all ingredients together, except for the bacon which you should add after blending so as to retain its crunchiness. Once blended, shape the mixture into five small bars (or three larger ones). Melt 1/2 bar (50g) of 85% dark chocolate in a bain marie (i.e. a glass bowl on top of a pot of boiling water) and dip the bars in there to coat them.

Now, if your mix is too watery or sticky to mold, add a bit more coconut flour or some casein. If it's too dry, add a bit more milk. Remember to follow the basic guidelines for protein bar making that I outlined in my "Protein Bar Ebook: Your Guide to Protein Bar Wizardry".

Watch this video I made and uploaded on youtube too because it illustrates the whole process really well.

OK. Once your bars are coated with chocolate, transfer them to the freezer for 30 minutes and... that's it. Your bars are done.

Let me try to describe what they're like. They're soft and at the same time crunchy inside. The bacon and the chocolate go really well together. The filling is sweet but has a slight saltiness to it and a 'bite' from the bacon which compliments the bitter chocolate to perfection! I think so at least. The bars also have a hint of chili running throughout which adds this spicy accent to all the flavors, enhancing them and setting them further ablaze.

All in all, I give them a 10 out of 10. I'd give them an 11 out of 10 but, as I wrote before, that's one of my pet peeves. They're phenomenal. Give them a shot! (unless you're vegan). You won't regret it :-D

Macros per one small bar (out of the five you get from the mix above): 206kcals, 12g carbs, 13g protein, 11g fat.

Notes 1: I used unflavored whey protein powder, this one. I like it because its ingredients' label reads as follows: Pure Whey Protein Isolate. You can substitute it with any other unflavored whey though. OR, you can use a flavored whey protein powder - ideally chocolate although vanilla and toffee would also work :-)

Notes 2: Cocoa nibs are great. They're basically just bits of the cocoa bean! They're somewhat bitter though so if you don't like bitter chocolate it's likely that you won't like cocoa nibs in which case you can substitute them with cocoa powder in the recipe :-)

Note 3: I added just 2 tbsp of xylitol to the mix because I like my bars really dark-chocolatey. When you make them, I suggest you try the mix before molding the bars to ensure they're sweet enough for you. If they're not, add more sweetener.

PS: If, for whatever reason, you don't want to use bacon, feel free to omit it and sub it with some chopped nuts or seeds!

PSPS: Check out this chocolate bacon bar! See? I'm not alone ;-)

Low-Carb Protein Wraps!

2013-06-07T11:22:00.002+01:00

I'm glad that, yesterday on facebook, you guys picked Low-Carb Protein Wraps. If you've never make protein wraps before, you're in for a treat. Protein wraps are one of the best foods you can make with your protein powders! They're easy, quick to make, and you can fill them with all sorts of gorgeous vegetables and meats. Whether you're in the office, school, gym, playground, or the comfort of your own kitchen, when lunch-time strikes, boom! protein wraps deliver ;-) I've uploaded quite a few protein wraps on here, as well as tortillas and crepes. I just love them. And there's so many ways you can play around with the flavors and macros, I've included a few pointers in the notes section below. OK. Let's dig in:

Ingredients

3 tbsp of organic and unflavored whey protein powder (see note 1 below for subs)
1/2 cup of liquid egg whites (see note 2 below)
1 tbsp of flaxseeds
1 tbsp of psyllium husks (see note 3 below)
1 tsp of herbamere (see note 4 below)

Directions

Blend everything together. Spray some PAM, low-cal spray or coconut oil on a nonstick pan. Get the pan HOT HOT HOT and then pour 1/3 of your mix on it, turning the heat down to medium when you do. Spread the mix on the pan by tilting the pan or using a spatula to spread it. Once you see bubbles begin to form on top, flip it. Then flip it again and move on to make the second one and then the third.

When they're all ready, add your filling on top and then wrap the whole thing tightly with some tin foil. This makes the wrap a lot easier to transport - and to eat! because it ensures nothing falls out the other end (and lands on your wizard's frock... ruining it forevah).

Macros per wrap (out of the three you get from the mix above): 70.1kcals, 9.2g protein, 4.2g carbs (out of which 3g is fiber!), 2g fat.

Notes

1. If you want to sub the whey for pea you can, just add a whole egg to the mix or two extra egg whites. You can use vanilla whey protein too! I know it sounds odd but it works, especially if you're filling your wrap with chicken and red peppers or sundried tomatoes :-)

2. If you want to use whole eggs instead of egg whites you can, 3-4 whole eggs should do the job.

3. I strongly recommend you use psyllium because it gives elasticity to wraps, tortillas, and crepes. If you really don't want to get some of can't though, use flaxseeds instead OR some chia seeds? plus an extra egg white.

4. Herbamare is my new favorite thing. It's a herbal seasoning salt that combines 12 organizally grown herbs and veggies. It's sold as a salt substitute and I really like it, tastes really herby and mmmm. If you've never had it and want to try it, you can get it here if you're in the UK and here if you're in the US. If, however, you don't care to try it, you can just use some sea salt for your wraps and a tsp of your favorite dried herbs! Dried rosemary works especially well as does dried basil or parsley :-)

My Hawaiian Protein Pizza - LOVE OF LOVES!

2013-06-04T13:21:00.000+01:00

I made this pizza base using just four ingredients: egg whites, oats, extra virgin olive oil, and pea protein powder. If you don't have pea protein powder, you can substitute it for another powder. I've included a few suggestions in the notes below. But let me try to build a case for cooking with pea protein powder, OK? Because it's one of the 'underdog' protein powders and it deserves a lot more love that it's currently being given!

OK. Pea protein powder is naturally savory. It tastes (drumroll...) of peas. The first time I tried it, I remember thinking I'd been had >:-( because I followed the tub's directions which said to mix it with water and drink it like a shake. I took a sip of this yellow shake thing and "arrrr, WHAT IS THIS!" I was REALLY unimpressed. It tasted of food; it tasted of... soup. So I did with it what I do with all the protein powders I don't like: I relegated it to the domains of The Forgotten. Then, one day, I thought hey! Let's try to speak its language. And I started experimenting with the powder - making savory breads, wraps, tortillas, etc! Then I added some sweetness to it and I found out that it bakes beautiful cakes and muffins!

It became one of my favorite powders and I urge everyone to try it! I get this one when I'm in the UK and this one when I'm in the US. They're both unflavored and great value for money! If you want flavored though, I recommend GN's chocolate and vanilla pea protein powders ; they're great for making sweet things like cakes, protein bars, puddings, etc :-)

All right. Now for the pizza:

Ingredients for the pizza base

1/2 cup of liquid egg whites
1/4 cup of unflavored pea protein powder
2 tsp of oat flour (or buckwheat or quinoa flour if you want to keep it gluten-free)
1/2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Blend all the ingredients together.

Spray a nonstick pan with some PAM or coconut oil.

Get the pan super hot.

Pour the batter on it and turn the heat to medium. You're basically making a pancake here!

Once the first side has cooked, flip it.

Remove it from the heat and add your pizza toppings to it, beginning with tomato paste (or ketchup is you're award-winningly-lazy), sliced ham, pineapple, cheese and whatever herbs you like! I used fresh rosemary and oregano on mine and twas.... mmmm: sublime.

Once all your toppings are on it, stick it under the grill or oven broiler until the cheese has melted. You can spray the naked edges of the pizza with some more PAM to make it crunchy OR, if you have a kitchen brush, you can just brush some extra virgin olive oil on there.

That's it, you're pizza's ready to be demolished ;-D

Macros per one base: 331kcals, 39.6g protein, 19.7g carbs (out of which 2.5 is fiber!) and 9.8g fat (out of which only 1.6 is saturdated).

Notes: You can substitute the pea protein with unflavored hemp or rice protein powder no problem. If you want to use whey though, just add a bit more oat flour or even a 1/2 tbsp of coconut flour or flax to thicken up the mixture ;-)

Woops

2013-06-03T10:47:00.004+01:00

Just a note to say sorry about the fact that "Portein Pow(d)er: The Cookbook" went 'off air' yesterday and was unavailable! I spoke with Amazon UK today and am happy to report that we've sorted it all out. It was a glitch in their system. But it's all sorted now and the cookbook is back! Here's the link from which you can order the cookbook whether you're in the UK, USA, OZ, Canada, Central/South America, EU, Asia, Africa or hey, Antartica ;-)

The cookbook, in case you were wondering, contains my favorite protein recipes from the last couple of years along with my Protein Powder Substitution Chart and the Ingredients Substitution Chart. It does not contain the same recipes as my Protein Bar Ebook. The ebook is just about protein bars whereas the cookbook has recipes for protein cheesecake, protein donuts, protein 'cereal', protein breads, protein pancakes, etc. None of the recipes in the cookbook or the ebook can be found on this blog any more (they were either taken off the blog or never published here). So yeah, just clarifying because I'm still getting a bunch of emails from people asking about this :-)

PS: Ham has been purchased. Pineapple has been purchased. Eggs have been secured. Why? Because I'm making a Hawaiian Protein Pizza postworkout!!!! Stay tuned for the recipe ;-)

A Lazy No-Bake Dark Chocolate Protein Cake

2013-06-02T10:43:00.000+01:00

Laziness killed this cake. It didn't kill it in the sense of absolutely destroying it but it killed it all right. And it was my fault, it was my laziness that did it :-( What happened? I left out the avocados. You see, I was going to mush a couple of avocados into the cake because avocados yield absolutely magical no-bake chocolate cakes. But I forgot to buy them and, instead of going to the store to get some when I started making this cake, I thought 'beh' and used Quark instead (Quark is a type of low-fat cheese that can be subbed with blended cottage cheese or a combo of blended cottage cheese and greek yogurt). I'm sorry for this, guys. I let you down. I promised you the best no-bake dark chocolate protein cake on earth and this isn't it. It's really nice, don't get me wrong! And I'm going to happily munch a slice with my pre-workout coffee for the next couple of days. The problem is that the cake isn't as smooth as I wanted it to be, no. It's not 'silky' if you know what I mean. It's more... like a big protein bar! It lacks... fat. But I'm giving you the recipe anyways because I want YOU to fix it! You can do it. I'll tell you how. It's really easy. Start by buying two avocados ;-)

This Cake's Ingredients

1 pot of Quark (250g)
1/2 cup of cocoa powder
1/2 cup of Sunwarrior Chocolate Warrior Blend (or chocolate casein)
1/8 cup of psyllium husks (or ground almonds)
1/8 cup of granulated stevia (or your sweetener of chocie)
1 and 1/4 cup of almond milk (or any milk you like)
1 tbsp of coconut flour

Directions

Blend it all together and press it onto a small nonstick springform tin before sprinkling extra cocoa on top. Let it sit in the fridge for an hour and presto: your cake is done. Cut yourself a slice, add some of coffee foam on top and BOOM: nommage :-D

How to Add in the Avocado

If you want to set this cake on proper fire, mush two ripe avocados into the mix, omit the Quark, and add bit more protein powder until you get to a nice flourless-cakey consistency. Sprinkle with extra cocoa on top and leave it to set in the fridge before digging in.

Notes

1. If you don't want to use psyllium husks, add some ground almonds instead! 2. To make the cake even more intense, consider melting 1/4 bar of dark chocolate and mixing THAT into the cake mix.

If In Fear...

If you don't want to fix the recipe yourself and get dirty with experimenting, I promise I will remember about the avocados next time and share with you my recipe for the best no-bake dark chocolate protein cake on earth. I'll do it next week - because there's only so much chocolate cake a girl can eat without delving into the realms of indecency ;-)

This Cake's Macros: Per 1 out of the 8 small slices you get from the mix above: 110kcals, 4.5g CARBS (out of which 1.7g is just fiber!), 12.1g protein and 4.7g fat.

The Amazing Sweet Potato Protein Cake with Cinnamon Swirl Protein Icing!

2013-05-31T20:39:00.000+01:00

I don't know about you but I love eating protein cake, especially after a good workout! There's just something about smashing the weights and then absolutely demolishing a big slice of cake (even though to an outsider the whole sight of someone in their workout gear munching cake is absurd). But it's just too much fun to say no to! And weheheeey too tasty to turn away ;-)

To the left here is an illustration of how I made this cake. Please note the ridiculous straight-forwardness of the assembly process. You basically just:

1. Bake a little protein cake in a small bread pan.
2. Add protein icing to it.
3. Cut it diagonally.
4. Stick one half on top of the other.

Making cake this way is awesome because it's easy and allows you to make individual slices! Instead of a whole cake which takes up a lot more time, ingredients, and space in the fridge ;-) It's also really fun because you play around with different icing options (e.g. use chocolate whey and cocoa for a chocolatey center, use strawberry whey for a fruity one, etc).

Ingredients for the cake

2 large cooked sweet potatoes (265g)
3/4 cup of whey protein powder (I used Cellucor's Cinnamon Swirl Whey)
3/4 cup of liquid egg whites
2 tbsp of coconut flour

Ingredients for the Icing

1 pack of quark or greek yog (300g)
3/4 cup of whey (again, I used Cellucor's Cinnamon Swirl Whey because it's cuuuhrayzeh!)

Directions

Blend all the cake ingredients and bake in three small bread tins (I used silicone ones at 160 C (320 F) for about 25 minutes or until when stabbed with a knife, your knife came out clean.

Let the cakes then cool and then, in a bowl, mix your icing ingredients together.

Once the cake has cooled, add the icing on top (plus some chopped almonds or some walnuts) and cut the whole thing diagonally.

Finally, just add one of the diagonal halves on top of the other and BOOM: done - you have a slice of cake :-D

Macros

Per slice (out of the three you get from the mix above): 342kcals, 47g protein, 27g carbs, 2g fat!

Notes

I used these silicone bread loaf moulds. Anything like them would work. They're awesome for making little breads, little cakes, and proper cake slices like this one!

The batter for the sweet potato cake is EXTREMELY good. If you're 'into batters', you might just eat it all so be careful not to (because it's a cake you're after here!)

Be careful not to overbake the cake. Just keep an eye on it and take it out as soon as it's cooked. You can even undercook it a bit for extra moistness.

For the icing, you can use casein instead of whey. If you do though, you'll want to use less because casein absorbs more liquid (or in this case dairy) than whey does!

Add some nuts to the sweet potato cake for extra texture and flavor. I didn't because I like to keep my postworkout cakes low in fat but if you plan on having the cake whenever or if you don't care about your fat grams postworkout, add some nuts.

PS: I'm still getting lots of emails from people asking where to get a copy of my cookbook. The answer is amazon.co.uk. It ships all over the world from there. Here's the link to it. AND THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO'S GOTTEN A COPY! The hashtag #proteinpow on Instagram is filling up with so much cookbook goodness :-D

A PEANUT BUTTER (PROTEIN) LOVER'S HEAVEN: Peanut Butter & Marshmallow Protein Muffins with Protein Peanut Butter Cups Baked Inside

2013-05-29T12:59:00.000+01:00

This might be one of the best things I've ever made with protein powder.

I took my first bite and I swear I died a little. The world around me faded. The birds stopped singing. My kitchen disappeared. All I saw was this muffin and all I tasted was peanut butter... chocolate... and vanilla. My heart almost exploded.

What sort of wizardry IS this!? I don't know what to say. I just don't know... what to say. Let me give the mic to someone else, OK? Because this introduction is going nowhere :-/

"How would I describe it? It's... ridiculous. The whole concept! It's... audacious. The result is spectacular... SUPREME! It's a peanut butter lover's DELIGHT. I mean, putting a Protein Reece's Peanut Butter Cup inside a Protein Peanut Butter Muffin! Best idea EVERRRR!!!!"

Hmmm... that's not helping much either! We're just inundating you with an an ocean of hyperbole! So let me give you the recipe and let the muffins do all the talking ;-)

Ingredients

3 Protein Peanut Butter Cups (see Note 1 below)
1/2 cup of Peanut Butter & Marshmallow Whey Protein Powder (see Note 2 below)
1 cup of egg whites
2 tbsp of buckwheat flour
1/4 cup of coconut flour

Directions: Blend everything together (except for the PB cup). Once blended, pour a bit of the mix into 3 muffin cases and top with a PB cup. I used these high-protein sugar-free ones from Quest (you can get there here in the UK).

Note that I used silicone muffin cases. I did this to ensure nothing would stick (here's a link to the ones I use in the UK and here's a link for the ones I use in the US, in case you want to get some). Add the PB cup on top and then fill up the muffin case with the remaining batter. Bake at 160 C (320 F) for about 15 minutes or until when stabbed with a knife your knife comes out relatively clean. Let them cool before removing from the muffin cases to ensure the chocolate from your PB cup doesn't stick to the sides.

That, my dear protein babies, is IT.

The result is ridiculous. Hard to describe really! Just... spectacular, out of this world. If you like peanut butter and chocolate, well... you're in for an out-of-body-experience! Fwaaaa.....

Macros per muffin (out of the three you get from the ingredients above): 295kcals, 11.7g carbs (out of which 6.4 is just fiber!), 36.8g protein and 11.7g fat (5.6g saturdated). AND ONLY 2.8G OF SUGARS!

Note 1: If you don't have or want to get Quest's Peanut Butter Cups, I suggest you make your own! They're INCREDIBLY easy to make. This is what you do: 1. melt some dark chocolate, 2. pour the chocolate in a muffin cup and stick it in the freezer for 30 minutes so it sets, 3. top the chocolate with peanut butter or, to make it high in protein, a combo of PB and your whey protein powder of choice, 4. top the PB et al with the rest of the melted chocolate, 5. transfer to the freezer for 30 minutes and... presto! Homemade PB cups! Here's a recipe I created a while back for Protein Filled Chocolate Cups; here's another one. Just follow what I did there but use PB in the center :-)

Note 2: If you don't have Cellucor's Peanut Butter & Marshmallow Whey Protein Powder, you can use a vanilla, toffee, peanut butter or cinnamon flavored whey. Cellucor's PB & M whey is MADNESS though. You can get it here if you're in the UK and here if you're in the US. I tried it for the first time this morning and. HEY.... ZEUS. A Peanut Butter DREAM COME TRUE.

The London Protein Pow Cooking Workshop

2013-05-28T15:09:00.000+01:00

I'm unbelievably excited to announce that a date - and place - for the next Protein Pow Cooking Workshop has now been set. It'll be a half-day course sponsored by Bulk Powders and will take place on the 23rd of June from 12 to 6pm at Food at 52, one of London's most exclusive cooking locations! The day will begin with us enjoying some delicious coffee in the lounge area before embarking on a protein cooking journey unlike any other you've ever experienced! A complimentary Protein Pow apron will also be provided to you on the day, to gear you up to face the kitchen like a bona fide POW superhero ;-) The day will unfold as follows:

12:00 Greeting & Tea/Coffee :-)
13:00 Introducing the Ingredients - going over their nutritional profiles, their role in our diet, how to cook with them, and how to best experiment!
14:00 BARS: We make our Own Protein Bars (to later wrap and take home)
15:00 BAKING: We make Protein Bread, Cakes and Muffins (to later eat and also take home!)
16:00 PIZZA: We make Protein Pizzas (to enjoy fresh out of the oven!)
17:00 We sit to enjoy the fruits of our labor and break our (protein) bread together, like one big happy family!
18:00 We part ways :-(

Throughout the day, we will go over all there is to know to become a protein cooking giant and transform versions of your own favorite foods into high-protein, sugar-free, healthy, and nutrition-packed meals and snacks!

One thing I can promise you: the way you approach protein powders and baking will be forever transformed ;-)

All protein powders and related ingredients will be provided on the day by Bulk Powders - the workshop's sponsor and one of my go-to resources for cooking ingredients. We'll master the whey proteins, casein proteins, hemp proteins, pea proteins, egg white proteins, and all kinds of delicious 'flours' and nut butters (i.a. cashew and pistachio nut butters), etc. We will also be using lots of delicious fresh fruits and vegetables - to fill our cakes and top our pizzas!

What can you expect from the day? To leave well-nourished and empowered to become your own protein-cooking master! And defeat any and all challenges that the kitchen throws at you ;-)

The workshop is limited to 20 spaces and ARE NOW COMPLETELY SOLD OUT! If you'd like to get on a list to find out about future workshops, please email me at proteinpowdr@gmail.com with the heading 'WORKSHOPS'. Similarly, email me if you'd like to host one of my Protein Pow workshop and/or sponsor one! The next workshop will take place in New Mexico (USA) in July and after that I'm looking to run another one in either London or Brighton.

Cinnamon Sugar Protein Donuts - Sugar-Free, Gluten-Free, and Magical!

2013-05-27T16:49:00.001+01:00

It's been years since I've had a cinnamon sugar donut. I had no idea. I just bit into these donuts and FWAAAAAA, I remembered being ten again! Memories are just so weird. They're weird because they hide behind pillars sometimes and years can go by without you seeing them. You THINK you remember all there is to remember - as long as you sit back, close your eyes, and carefully retrace your steps. But no. There are things that only certain contexts bring to life; memories that only smells evoke, that particular feelings stir up, that specific situations awaken. We're such complicated creatures! And our memories are far from straight-forward records of our pasts. They're not laid our in roads or even tangled up in labyrinths. They're more chaotic than that, more shapeless, and far far far from being tangible! Has it ever happened to you, for example, that you smell a certain flower and suddenly you're transported back to a specific place? Or that you hear a piece of music and then find yourself knocked out by the strength of being with someone special? Or that you drive down a road you haven't driven down in years and suddenly you're flooded by memories you didn't even know you held? I'm talking about this because when I bit into these donuts I felt like I was a kid again. I bit into it, closed my eyes, and I swear I went back in time to the 1990s. To "oh, mom! Can you get me one of those donuts!!" to the taste and subtle crunch of granulated sugar against a soft, moist, and perfectly cakey donut. I had totally forgotten about these donuts featuring in my childhood. I had... until I took my first bite and then the gates of nostalgia burst open and so many happy memories came pouring in :-D So here's the recipe for you too so that if you haven't had sugar cinnamon donuts in a while you can join me in remembering the last time you did :-)

Ingredients

1/4 cup of vanilla whey (I used ON)
3 tbsps of cottage cheese (optional but nice)
1/4 cup of vanilla pea protein powder (see note 1 below for substitutions)
1 cup of liquid egg whites
1/4 cup of coconut flour
1/2 cup of milk (I used cartoned coconut milk but any will do)
1 tsp of baking soda
4 tbsp of date syrup (see note 2 below for substitutions)
1/8 cup of granualted Stevia (see note 3)
1/8 cup of cinnamon

Directions

Blend the protein powders with the egg whites, cottage cheese, milk, coconut flour, and baking soda. Pour the batter in a donut tray (I used this one but if you don't have one, you can always just bake them in muffin cases) and bake at 170 C (322 F) for about 20 minutes or until, when stabbed with a utensil, the utensil comes out clean. Watch out not to overbake them because if you too they'll be a bit dry. OK, once baked, let them cook, remove them from the donut tray, and squeeze some date syrup on top of each donut (I used 2g of syrup per donut but if you want them wetter you can use more).

Finally, sprinkle them - or downright besiege them - with the granulated stevia and cinnamon!

Press and roll the donuts onto the stevia and cinnamon so that they stick to the donut :-)

That's it: done!!!!!!!!! The result is these soft and cakey donuts that are beyond spectacular; beyond surreal! Absolute wizardry... fwaaa... you've simply GOT to try them!!!

Notes

1. You can sub the pea protein powder for vanilla rice protein powder (like this one) or casein. If you use casein though, add a whole egg to the batter to prevent the donuts from drying out.

2. If you'd like to sub the date syrup by, say, a carb-free syrup, you can use Walden Farms pancake syrup. It won't be AS sticky as the date syrup but it'll work. Something else you can sub the date syrup with is agave syrup or good old fashioned honey!

3. I used Truvia granulated stevia. It's eerie how much like sugar it is, texture wise. If you don't want to use it you can always just top your donuts with chopped nuts, nut butter, Walden Farms calorie-free caramel or just some melted dark chocolate to make them more like these ones :-)

Macros

Per donut (out of the eight you get from the mix above): 105.2kcals, 10g protein, 6.8g carbs (out of which 2.3g is fiber), and 3.55g fat :-D

PS: Click here to access more of my protein donut recipes and click here to get a copy of my cookbook!

PSPS: Don't forget to sign up to the Protein Pow Newsletter. The next one will be out in a couple of weeks and will feature exciting protein recipes along with discount codes for some of my favorite UK, US, Australian, and Canadian protein powders. Sign up here!

Protein Pumpkin Pie Cups

2013-05-25T20:37:00.003+01:00

Every time I ask people on facebook what their favorite protein powder is, several people say Trutein. And they don't just say Trutein, they say 'TRUTEIN!!!!!!!' and then go on and on about how Trutein is amaaaazing and 'Anna, you've GOT to try it!' It's not only via facebook that people rave about Trutein to me though, I also get emails from people urging me to try it. So I've been curious about it for a while now, yeah, really curious. But I hadn't tried it because I thought it wasn't sold in the UK. I thought it was one of those powders you can only get in the US so I was going to wait till I am in the US this summer (yeah, baby!) to get it. But then I found out that Predator Nutrition actually stock it here in England! So I got a tub. Actually, I got two. Can you blame me? After all that peer-pressure? I succumbed.

It's a very creamy powder, and the flavor, at least the Pumpkin Pie flavor, is really strong. It has a really powerful nutmegness to it, a lot of vanilla, and a pretty decent amount of cinnamon. I tried the powder with a bit of water and noticed it mixes quite nicely and tastes like (drumroll) pumpkin pie! So I made these Protein Pies to munch post-workout :-)

Result? Ten out of ten if you love pumpkin pie and christmas-flavored stuff. I'd say eleven out of ten but I kind of hate when people scrap logic for extra effect, like when they say 'I gave X 110% percent?' that's just ridiculous.

Below is the recipe to make these mini pies layered like I did. You can always just make the filling and ditch the bottom layer though - the end product will be equally delish.

Ingredients for the base

2 tbsp of oat flour
1 tbsp of Sunwarrior Warrior Blend (can sub this for casein, pea protein, or rice protein pow)
3 tbsp of milk

Ingredients for the filling

3/4 cup of pumpkin puree
1/4 cup of Pumpkin Pie flavored Trutein
1/2 cup of egg whites

Directions

Blend the bottom layer ingredients together and press the batter inside four muffin cases. Then, blend all the filling ingredients together and top the bottom layer with that.

Bake the whole thing at 160 (320 F) until the pies cook on top but are slight a bit wet in the center. You don't want to overbake them, the point is to keep them pie-like in texture so as soon as the top cooks and they looks done, remove them from the oven and let them cool.

Macros

Per mini pie (out of four): 99kcals, 12g protein, 12g carbs (out of which 9g is fiber!), 2g fat.

PS: Click here for more of my Protein Pumpkin Pie recipes! And if you're feeling holiday-ish, there's always my Christmas ebook which contains another pumpkin pie! I promise a lot more will come though, now that I have this Pumpkin Pie powder, all kinds of Protein magic will unfold before your (and my) eyes :-D

Protein Fluff: A Recipe and a Video of Steve Cook Trying it for the First Time!

2013-05-25T11:58:00.002+01:00

Whenever people tell me they've never made protein fluff before I get REALLY excited. There's just nothing like protein fluff! Whenever I describe it, I'm like a rabbit on speed, jumping up and down in the sheer delight that comes from knowing that soon their protein lives will change... forevah. This is exactly what happened yesterday at the Protein Pow workshop with Steve Cook (click here to see all the pics). With our bowls and our protein all ready, I gathered the guys around the table. "We're going to make Protein Fluff! You guys know how protein fluff is made, right?" I got nothing, not a word. "Wait, none of you have ever made fluff before!?" I couldn't believe it. No one! Not even Steve! Not ever! Well... fwaaaa. "Let me try it describe it. It's like... a cold marshmallowy heaven-cloud! It's like... fluffed up protein magic! It's like fluffy airy protein-ice-cream-deliciousness!" I went on and on, possessed by the Protein Gods as they looked at me amused and curious as to what could POSSIBLE be THAT good. But then they got to try it and find out! And oh la la, the madness spread :-D Watch the video at the bottom to watch Steve and everyone else's reaction to trying fluff for the first time!

Ingredients

2.5 scoops of vanilla whey protein (we used Optimum Nutrition)
2 cups of frozen berries (we used a mixture)
1/4ish of milk

Directions

First, blend everything together until you get a smooth sort of ice cream texture. Then, arm yourself with an electric whisker (note: unless you're Flash Gordon, you can't whisk it by hand) and whisk for 3-4 minutes until you start to see mad gainz in the mixture - the color will get lighter (you can kind of tell if you compare the two pics to the left here) as the fluff gathers air under its wings and turns into protein fluff proper. That's it! You're done. Grab a spoon then and dig in ;-)

Macros per one ENTIRE salad's bowl worth of fluff: 442kcals, 64g protein, 33g carbs, 6g fat and 8g fiber!

PS: Here's a step-by-step video I put together of how to make Protein Fluff!

PSPS: Click here to access all of my protein fluff recipes so far and here to read my article on Protein Fluff at bodybuilding.com!

Protein Pancakes For Men

2013-05-22T19:41:00.001+01:00

These pancakes are for men only. They're designed to broaden men's shoulders, widen their chest, expand their lats, thicken their legs, work on that six (going-on-eight) pack, and create a chiseled drop-dead-gorgeous man-physique that women swoon over. They also build both upper and lower body strength. You may be wondering how this is possible, they are just pancakes after all. Well, let me tell you their secret: they contain regular whey protein powder. That's right. The kind of stuff that, if ladies eat, will turn them into Hulkian versions of themselves. Ladies, if you're reading this, please substitute the whey protein in the recipe for a women-only powder. You want to work on toning, sculpting, and muscle elongation after all - you don't want to wake up one day with man arms and look in the mirror to find a heavyweight man staring back! So stay away from regular whey and look for the pink 'women-only' tubs of protein. Oh, what's that? Women-only protein powders are a lot more expensive, you say? Well, of course they are! They're special. They're made just for you!

Ingredients

1 cup of egg whites
1/2 cup of vanilla whey protein powder (substitute for women-only whey if you're a woman)
2 tbsp of cottage cheese (optional but nice for extra moisture)
1/4 cup of buckwheat flakes (or plain rolled oats)
2 tbsp of coconut flour
1 tsp of baking powder

Directions

Blend all ingredients together and panfry on a nonstick pan. Cook them, flip them, plate them, and that's it: your man-protein pancakes are now ready to be demolished by your man-jaws.

Macros per entire stack (made up of ten smallish pancakes): 563.8kcals, 34.7g carbs (out of which 12.2g is fiber!), 75.7g protein and 10.5g fat.

But OK, OK, let's rewind a little.

You may be thinking my introduction to the recipe sounds ridiculous. I hope you do in fact! But let me tell you: this is the line of reasoning that supports the marketing and sale of women-only protein powders. They're out there and I keep seeing them, ignoring them, then seeing them again and getting outraged. It's actually not easy for me to write this without resorting to a tirade of abuse against marketers but... hey, let me try, OK?

Most women-only protein powders come in pink tubs and promise a 'toned and sculpted' physique. They often also feature the word 'diet' as if all women were (or should be) dieting. They outrage me tremendously because they're jam-packed with misinformation for an audience that's already misinformed. They add kindling to an already high-enough fire of BS! (which you can read as either broscience or bullsh**.) I get really passionate when I discuss this, apologies if you find it all a bit over the top - "I'm just here for pancakes, what the hell!"

I think it's time we take a stance.

Someone in the industry once told me that women-only protein powders are a good thing because they're a 'gateway' for women to try protein powders proper. She said that they provide a 'safe' environment for women to dabble into the world of protein powders. She said that after buying women-only protein powders, women feel free to buy regular protein powders.

Well... I disagree with this because most of them don't. Most women who buy women-only powders continue to buy women-only powders because they buy into a campaign that tells them to do so by feeding them a lie. A lie that they, in turn, internalize: the idea that regular gender-neutral protein powders (or even those with beefy-men on the label) are not suitable for women.

Take for example 'Sally' - a personal trainer and ambassador to a brand of women-only protein powders, let's call the brand BS (I've anonymized her name and the name of the brand for the sake of decency).

As a testimonial for the brand, she wrote: "I struggle to find female-friendly protein powders... I like using BS protein powders because I know they won't make me bulky... I don't want to turn into the Hulk! So BS is perfect for me!" Or 'Mary', who writes, "BS protein powder is perfect for toning, sculpting, and getting rid of stubborn fat!"

What can one say really? The whole thing is absurd. As absurd as protein pancakes for men, as absurd as the idea that protein powders de facto GIVE people a muscular and/or lean physique. They don't. You know what does? Weight training, an intelligently-designed diet, heaps of patience, lots of perseverance, the willingness and openness to sometimes fail, motivation, focus, self-discipline, determination and DRIVE.

So join me in the fight against women-only protein powders, will ya? Because it's time we educate instead of remain indifferent to the growth of women-only powders which feature the exact same stuff as regular powders (and sometimes of inferior quality!) yet come packaged in pink and cost four times as much. And while we fight against this, hey! let's keep on lifting heavy stuff at the gym, cooking our protein (in this way fighting against this other piece of nonsense), and enjoying our protein pancakes - no matter what our gender may be ;-)

Almond & Dark Chocolate Protein Bars - a Recipe Video

2013-05-21T21:20:00.000+01:00

Last Saturday, at Body Pow, I gave a talk on Protein Bars. It was called Mastering the Art of Homemade Protein Bars and was as all about inspiring people to think outside the shake and become their own protein bar making wizards ;-) I designed the talk to follow my Protein Bar Ebook: it started by me going over the basics and then went into experimenting with ingredient variations. I talked a bit about strategies to deal with protein-cooking adversity and highlighted the importance of FEARLESSNESS and HEART when experimenting in the kitchen (here's a picture of me going on about this on stage!) To finish the presentation with a BOOM, I then ended it all by showing a recipe video that I thought you guys might like to watch too! Here it is:

Ingredients

¼ cup of vanilla whey (I used this one by Kinetica, it's one of my fav!)

3 tbsps. coconut flour

½ cup of almond milk

2 tbsp. almond flour

2 tbsp. cocoa powder

½ bar of chocolate

Directions

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl (except for the dark chocolate) until you get a moldable batter you can mold into bars. I shaped them first into balls and then flattened them to form little bars but you can keep them as balls or make larger bars. Up to you. What you do next is just dip them into the melted dark chocolate! I use my hands because the chocolate is never burning hot BUT if it for some reason is or if you just don't want to get your hand/s dirty, use a spoon. I show you both ways in the video :-)

One of the Best Protein Bundt Cakes Ever Made

2013-05-21T08:53:00.002+01:00

"Do you want to try some of the protein cake I made?" Mitch unassumingly asked Will and I on the first day of the Body Power Expo. Moreish like we are, we immediately said yes. So Mitch reached into his backpack, got out his tupperaware, and opened it to reveal what we'd agreed to munch. Here's a picture of the precise moment this happened. Our eyes widened when we saw it; it looked amazing! So I quickly dug in there and grabbed the biggest piece (yes, I'm one of those people, sorry grandma! I haven't changed) and then I swear the world around me just faded as I tasted one of the best protein bundt cakes in the galaxy. It was unbelievable! Sticky at the bottom - almost syrupy, buttery in texture and flavor, and just... perfect. Between us, we ate the whole cake that day (I probably ate most of it since the pieces I was taking were the biggest but.... hey). Anyways, after the expo was over, I messaged Mitch to ask him if he'd like to guest-post his recipe on here because I wanted you all to see it! And he said yes :-)))) It's a ludicrous protein cake so, guys, please do follow the recipe! Because you will LOVE it. And speaking of follow, here's Mitch's facebook page which I suggest you suscribe to as well because it's full of awesome recipes and fitness barabooom! OK, OK, enough from me. Mitch, mic over to ya buddy!

A few weeks ago I arrived back to England after six months of living in Asia. It was a fantastic experience and opened my eyes up to a whole host of cuisines and recipes!

However, my accommodation didn't have an oven and so I wasn't able to bake the whole time I was away :-( This was one of the strangest things I've experienced, especially when I am used to baking almost every day.

Upon my return, I had been daydreaming about a whole bunch of ideas of things I wanted to make, combinations of flavours and ingredients. I started right away making protein muffins, brownies, cheesecakes and even the ability to have protein fluff again using my electric whisk was pure bliss! Towards the end of the week last week though, I was running out of ingredients. But I still wanted to make something to have as my post-workout meal... yes, meal.

I had some leftover sweet potato in the fridge that I had baked the night before, and a few other ingredients dotted about. I threw them together in an awesome Bundt pan that I found hidden away in my cupboard and as it was cooking. I could tell by the smell that I was onto a winner!

What I would like to present to you now, is the simplest, tastiest, moistest and probably most enjoyable protein cake I have made to date. I was so pleased with it that after it had been demolished (on the same day), I decided to bake a second one to bring with me to the Body Power Expo! The response was great and when everyone heard how simple it was to make, they all wanted the recipe! So here it is:

Ingredients:
2 x 36g Scoops Vanilla PNI Pure Protein Whey
1 x Large Banana (120g)
240g - Cooked Sweet Potato
1 x Whole Egg
1 x Egg White
2tsp Cinnamon
1tsp Gluten Free Baking Powder
4tsp Splenda (or sweetener as desired...taste batter and adjust to preference)

Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Combine ingredients together in a food processor until you have a smooth yet fairly thick batter. Transfer into a greased Bundt tin or cake pan and cook for 20-25 mins! And Voila, thats it!

Macros (1 out of 8 slices) = 85kcals, 8.2g Protein, 10g Carbs, 1.7g Fat!

Toffee Hemp Protein Mini Bars

2013-05-20T18:17:00.002+01:00

The day before we left for Body Power, I was sent two bags of protein powder from a new company called Sativa Shakes. Theirs are hemp-based protein powders and I got sent two flavors: one was Kiwi and Lime and the other one was Toffee. I tried the Kiwi and Lime first and (surprise surprise) I hated it. I hated it because it tasted of sweet lime and I PASSIONATELY hate lime (and lemon) flavored foods. So, with my taste buds positively scandalized, I put down my bowl to try the other flavor: the toffee. Now, the way I try new protein powders is by mixing 1/2 a scoop of powder + a tiny bit of water, enough to form a sort of paste (I do this because I find this acquaints me best with the flavor and texture of the powders). So I opened the bag, grabbed 1/2 scoop of toffee flavored hemp, put in a bowl, added some water, took out a spoon, and... WHOA! Toffee! Toffee-flavored hemp! Who would have thought!? Because, if you've tried hemp protein powder, you'll know that it's pretty 'grassy' on its own and hard to flavor. But this one got it just right. It's still 'hempy' in flavor, don't get me wrong, but for a sweetened hemp protein powder, it's lovely! And perfect for protein bars :-)

What I did was this: I mixed the toffee hemp with some (cartoned) coconut milk, coconut flour, and a bit of cocoa until I formed a thick batter I was able to shape with my hands. I then shaped the mix up into tiny protein bars and dunked them in dark chocolate. I also added some freeze-dried strawberries on top. The end product reminded me of the protein bars I featured on fitocracy, you know, these ones? In that they were really rich and soft and sweet and yummo :-D

Let me give you the recipe though and please note that, if you don't have hemp, you can substitute it for pea protein powder, brown rice protein powder or casein!

Ingredients

1/2 cup of toffee flavored hemp
3/4 cup of coconut flour
1/2 cup of coconut milk
2 tbsp of cocoa powder

Directions: Blend it all together, form into little bars (or big bars or truffles) and dunk in dark chocolate. I melted some 90% dark chocolate in a bain marie (a glass bowl on top of a pot of boiling water) but anything above 70% would work nicely.

I then just transfered them to the freezer for 40 minutes and BOOOOM! Done :-D

We ended up munching them the first day of Body Power and they went down a treat, especially alongside some coffee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Macros per mini bar (out of the TWENTY we got from the mix above): 45.9kcals, 2.7g protein, 1.94g carbs (out of which 1.5g is fiber!, and 2.5g fat :-)

PS: Next I will upload my recipe for the Rum and Vanilla Protein Truffles we made and ate at Body Power!!! I made those using 'rum essence' - an interesting little invention created by... Uncle Roy, of course.

Body Power 2013

2013-05-20T13:16:00.000+01:00

What an amazing weekend at Body Power 2013! Click here to check out all the pics and here to get a copy of the cookbook in case you couldn't get to the expo and haven't gotten one yet! It was an epic weekend for meeting great people, chatting protein, eating protein, and selling hundreds of books! I'll be posting the recipes for the Protein Bars and Truffles we ate during the expo (you'll see them in the pcis) later on today and Mitch's Crazy Protein Cake after! So stay tuned because nom nom nommmm:-D

Upside Down Vanilla Custard Protein Muffins with Dark Chocolate

2013-05-16T22:57:00.000+01:00

Like I wrote yesterday, I'll be at the BodyPower expo this weekend - giving cooking presentations and selling my cookbook all weekend (at my own stand, stand HE13!) I'm really pumped and I hope to meet a lot of you guys :-) But I know a lot of people won't be able to make it :-( so I thought to leave everyone a little present here while I'm gone this weekend: a recipe video for one of the coolest - and yummiest - upside down protein muffins I've made in a long time!

They're intense. And they're really easy to make! All you need are five pretty basic ingredients: eggs, whey, almonds, almond milk (or regular milk), dark chocolate and BOOOOM! You're set.

The video below walks you through the whole process :-)

They're really custard-like in flavor, soft, and cakey at the same time! They go amazingly well with the dark chocolate and dipped in coffee!? Oy oy oy, MAMA MIA!

AND if you bake them in little tart pie cases (like these ones here) and THEN turn them upside down, you'll end up with a little cake like the one pictured to the left here! Amazing, no? And they taste surreal...

Anyways, I'll be back on here on monday with lots of Body Power pics and stories!

Until then, I leave you with the video. I hope you like it!!!!

Vegan Protein Brownies Dipped in Coffee

2013-05-15T10:39:00.004+01:00

This weekend is the Body Power Expo (note the POW logo here). If you plan on being there do stop by the Protein Pow stand - stand HE13 - and say hi. I'll be there with Will, Mitch, and Ben selling my cookbook! I'm also going to be presenting at 'The Academy' stage on Saturday and Sunday so come by there too if you want to learn the ins and outs of protein powder cooking ;-) But OK. Let me tell you about these brownies:

These brownies are a nutritional powerhouse. They're high in antioxidants, magnesium, omega 3, potassium, betanine, vitamin C, vitamin A, carotenes, fiber and prrrrrrrotein! They're also gluten-free vegan, and absolutely delicious - especially dipped in coffee, AAAA!!!!!!!!

Ingredients

4 small cooked beets (250g)
3 tbsp of coconut flour (36g)
1 cup of chocolate hemp protein powder (154g)
1 can of pumpkin puree (420g)
1/2 cup of cocoa powder (58g)
1/2 tbsp of toffee flavdrops (or stevia)

Directions

Blend everything together.
Taste the batter. Do you want it sweeter? Add more stevia or flavdrops. Do you want it more chocolatey? Add more cocoa. Is it absolutely spot-on? Try not to eat it all. Bake in a brownie pan for about 45 minutes to an hour or until your knife comes out clean. Bake at 160 C (320 F).

Variations

If you don't have hemp but want to make them anyways, use chocolate pea protein powder or a yummy chocolate rice protein powder like this one. If you don't have pea or rice and don't mind de-veganizing the brownies, try using casein along with one or two egg whites.

If you want to subtitute the pumpkin, use cooked sweet potatoes and, for the coconut flour, use a combo of ground almonds and oatflour.

For these and more notes on substitutions, don't forget to bookmark my Ingredient Substitution Chart and my Protein Powder Substitution Chart!

Macros per brownie (out of the six you get from the mix above):

192kcals, 15.2g carbs (out of which 11g is fiber!), 16.6g protein and 6.6g fat!

Vanilla & Orange Whey Protein Pancakes kaPOW!

2013-05-14T12:59:00.000+01:00

When I was little, we would most summers by the sea and I used to wake up every day to a giant glass of freshly-squeezed OJ. I'd open my eyes and see my mom or dad holding it and I'd immediately spring up, grab it from their hands, and down it in a matter of seconds, ending always with an absurdly loud "AAAAAAAAHHHHH." I could never stomach - even now I can't - pasteurized orange juice though. You know, stuff like Minute Maid or Tropicana? To me, those orange juices or, rather 'beverages,' taste nothing like actual OJ. And orange-flavored drinks - drinks that entirely do away with any pretence of actual oranges? Yaaack! Not impressed... So what do I do when I get sent a bag of orange-flavored whey protein powder? Option 1) I dropkick it into the bowels of the trash... Option 2) I cook with it. I chose option 2 and let me tell you what happened:

I chose to cook with it because I love adding orange essence, orange rind, orange peel, and using whole oranges in food (see for example the Almond and Whole Orange Protein Pancakes in my cookbook!) That's because oranges go extremely well with creamy, cinnamon-packed, and vanillay foods :-)

The orange flavor adds a unique accent to sweet dishes that helps bring out a whole symphony of nommage. See for example My Grandma's Proteinized Rice Pudding or my Casein Protein Pudding or my Almond & Vanilla Protein Blondies!

It's magical what a bit of orange flavoring does to food. So, I figured, let's try orange-flavored whey alongside vanilla whey, what's the worst that can happen?

Ingredients

1/4 cup of orange flavored whey (this stuff!)
1/4 cup of vanilla flavored whey (this stuff)
1 cup of almond milk
3/4 cup of gluten-free rolled oats
1/8 cup of vanilla pea protein powder
2 egg whites

Directions

Blend everything together using a food processor, standing blender, or handheld blender. Once the batter's nice and smooth, heat up a big nonstick pan or a bunch of little ones like the ones I used. Grease the pan or pans with coconut oil, butter, PAM, or a calorie-free spray.

It's important that you get the pan HOT and THEN pour the batter on it. Don't start with a lukewarm pan because if you do, the chance of your pancakes sticking goes up.

OK. As soon as you spoon the batter on the pan, lower the heat down to medium. The way you know when a pancake is ready to flip is by looking at whether bubbles have started to form on the pancake's surface (see the second picture to the left here). As soon as they do... BAM! Flip.

I got seven little pancakes out of the mix above and they were stupendous! Great texture and the flavor, the FLAVOR!!!!!!!!!!!! It was amazing! The orange was actually pretty subtle but most certainly there, complimenting the vanilla beautifully :-D

Now, if you don't have orange flavored whey and don't feel like getting some, you can still make these pancakes by adding some orange rind to the batter or, like I did in the cookbook, by using the boiled orange method ;-)

Macros per one whole stack of pancakes:

584kcals, 57g carbs (out of which 10g is fiber), 66g protein, and 10g fat!

Note: To lower the carbs, sub the oats with ground almonds and a bit of coconut flour!

PS: I drenched the pancakes in a couple of tablespoons of actual honey and they were delish! I shared them with dad and we both loved them :-) If you don't want to use honey though, you can add some fruit, nut butter, or just calorie-free pancake syrup like Walden Farm's!

Verdict on the orange flavored whey: AWESOME!!! Who knew?

Dark Chocolate Covered Protein Donuts

2013-05-12T17:59:00.003+01:00

Have you made my latest Protein Donut recipe? Because if you haven't, oy oy oy, you've got to give it a shot! It's really easy to make and donuts are fab - nutty, moist, and against the dark chocolate on top? Well.... FWAAAAA!!!!

I used a silicone donut tray to make them (this one) but, if you don't have one, don't sweat it. You can divide the batter inside muffin cases and either a) dig a hole in the center once they're cooked or b) forget about the whole donut thing and go for more of a danish look.

You could even inject them with a casein + greek yogurt filling to bump up the protein... to infinity and beyond!

Another thing you can do, if you don't want to use dark chocolate, is roll the donuts (or danishes) on some cinnamon and granulated stevia! Or on grated coconut :-)

Click here to read the whole article and get the recipe!

And click here to get a copy of my cookbook and make more donuts! I have a couple of protein donut recipes in there that you can eat as 'cereal' and ensure you start your day with a BOOM, BAAM, kaPOW!

PS: Here are more Protein Donut recipes :-)