5 cool treats you can make with protein powder
Here's a quick overview...
- Turn raspberry cheesecake into cookies using just 3 ingredients.
- Eat your coffee - in the form of mocha cheesecake cookies. They are low in carbohydrates and high in caffeine.
- How about banana cookies made with rolled oats, bananas and banana protein powder?
- Prepare a delicious protein cream to pour over all your sweet treats.
- Protein poppers are bite-sized balls - without the honey and dried fruit of their commercial counterparts. Leave out most of the fat and all the sugar and you'll have a better snack.
Beyond the shaker
If your goal is to lose fat or even just stay lean and defined, most people think there are only two options: either avoid dessert completely or eat only tiny, unsatisfying portions of delicious things. That's about as much fun as having to choose between a cavity in your tooth or an ingrown toenail.
But there's another choice: make your own healthy dessert and eat as much as you want (trust me, if desserts are as filling as the following, you won't eat that much). Here are five delicious recipes:
1 - Banana Cookies
A plate full of soft, sweet banana cookies doesn't have to be overloaded with sugar, butter and flour - and the preparation doesn't have to be complicated or time-consuming either. All you need are a few bananas, banana protein powder, rolled oats and a few other ingredients. You don't need a blender or food processor.
Ingredients:
- 4 large bananas
- 4 scoops of protein powder
- 2 cups of rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 dash vanilla extract
- Generous amounts of ginger, cinnamon, cardamom or other spices as desired
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.
- Mash the bananas in a bowl. If you have a potato masher, you can use this, otherwise a fork will also work.
- Add all the other ingredients and mix with your hands.
- Place a sheet of baking paper on a baking tray or spray a baking tray with coconut oil.
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop out the dough so that you have roughly the same size cookies. Using a medium cookie scoop, the dough should make about 20 to 22 cookies.
- Bake the cookies for 18 to 20 minutes depending on your oven and how big your cookies are.
- If in doubt, use a shorter baking time and then check the oven to see if the cookies are done. You can also prick the cookies with a toothpick. If no more dough sticks to it when you pull it out, then your cookies are ready.
Tips: Invest in a cookie scoop. Look for one with a curve that resembles the shape of an ice cream scoop. Using unconventional ingredients means you won't be able to shape the cookies by hand. Use the scoop to ensure a uniform size so that the cookies bake evenly.
Nutritional value: One banana cookie provides about 77 kcal, 5 grams of protein, 12 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of fat.
Note: These figures are for guidance only. They will not be exact due to different cookie sizes, the brands of ingredients used, the optional changes you make to the recipe and minor measurement errors.
2 - Raspberry cheesecake cookies
Cheesecakes usually take quite a long time to prepare. Eating more than one piece is generally frowned upon by body-conscious people. And you're only allowed to eat it on special occasions. That's all nonsense.
So let's simplify the recipe, remove the unnecessary fat, preserve the flavor and bake it in cookie form that can be mixed together in a few minutes. Oh yes, depending on the type of cream cheese you use, you can eat half the cookies in one go without feeling guilty.
Ingredients
- 250 grams of cream cheese (your choice: low-fat, fat-free or full-fat)
- 3 scoops of chocolate or vanilla flavored protein powder (whey protein or a mix of whey protein and casein)
- 1 heaped cup of frozen raspberries or blueberries.
Preparation
1. preheat the oven to 160 degrees.
2. mix the protein powder with the cream cheese. Then add the berries and mix well.
3. place a sheet of baking paper on a baking tray and form 9 cookies with a spoon.
4. bake the cookies for 18 to 20 minutes.
5. if in doubt, use a shorter baking time and then check the oven to see if the cookies are done. If no more dough sticks to the toothpick when you pull it out, the cookies are ready.
Nutritional value: When using fat-free cream cheese, each cookie provides about 59 kcal, 4 grams of carbohydrates and less than 1 gram of fat.
3 - Mocha cheesecake cookies
Need a low-carb sweet treat? This recipe is ideal. And it's loaded with some caffeine.
Ingredients
- 250 grams cream cheese
- 3 measuring spoons of chocolate-flavored protein powder
- One tablespoon of instant coffee
- ¼ cup of water
- ¼ cup of dark chocolate chips (optional)
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.
- Mix the protein powder with the instant coffee and water.
- Add the cream cheese and optionally the chocolate chips and stir the mixture until there are no visible lumps.
- Place a sheet of baking paper on a baking tray and form 9 cookies from the dough.
- Bake the cookies for 18 to 20 minutes.
- If in doubt, use a shorter baking time and then check in the oven to see if the cookies are done by breaking open a cookie - or use the toothpick test.
Nutritional value: When using fat-free cream cheese, each cookie provides about 59 kcal, 4 grams of carbohydrates and less than 1 gram of fat. (Slightly more if you add the chocolate chips)
4 - The best "frosting" ever
Spread this sugar-free frosting on anything you want. Add it to protein cakes, pancakes, cupcakes, brownies or whatever. Dip East in this deliciousness, stick your finger in it or eat it with a spoon.
Ingredients
- 2 scoops of protein powder in any flavor of your choice
- 1/3 cup canned coconut milk
- A generous amount of cinnamon if desired.
Preparation
Mix the ingredients together. Put the mixture in the fridge. Pour over anything you like.
Nutritional value: Half a portion of this delicacy provides around 158 kcal, 21 grams of protein, 5 grams of carbohydrates and 6 grams of fat.
5 - Protein Poppers
When it comes to bite-sized balls, other recipes often use dried fruit, molasses or honey and a lot of nut butter or coconut oil. These ingredients act as the 'glue' that holds the balls together. Of course, these ingredients are not necessarily unhealthy, but they are high in calories - especially when combined. If your Paleo friend prepares a portion of delicious balls that contain dates, honey, coconut oil, macadamia nuts and almond butter, prepare to eat three of them and feel sh...eid afterwards, as these three delicious balls contained around 700 kcal.
I'm not trying to tell you to go on a low calorie diet or count calories. I just want to tell you that you can add volume to what you eat so that it becomes much harder to eat 700 kcal in one sitting. This is the art of "volumizing": choose foods that take up more space in your stomach but don't make you gain weight. You'll feel like you've eaten a ton because you're full, but in reality you've consumed a reasonable amount of calories.
And by replacing all the sugary ingredients with something else, you can eat your fill while avoiding the molasses induced carbohydrate coma.
Ingredients
- 2 scoops of vanilla flavored protein powder
- 1 cup PB2 (powdered defatted peanut butter or low-fat peanut flour)
- 1 cup Splenda (calorie-free sugar substitute powder)
- 1 cup rolled oats
- ½ cup and 3 tablespoons unsweetened cashew or almond milk
- A dash of vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon of salt
- Generous amounts of ginger, cinnamon, cardamom or other spices as desired
- Optional garnish: chopped nuts, coconut flakes, dark chocolate chips
Preparation
- Place the rolled oats and ½ cup of unsweetened cashew or almond milk in a bowl. Mix everything well and then leave the mixture to stand for 5 minutes.
- Place all the other dry ingredients in a food processor and blend: Protein powder, salt, spices.
- Add the oats soaked in milk to the food processor and blend until you have a uniform mixture. It should look like small sandy lumps
- Add the three tablespoons of unsweetened cashew or almond milk and blend again. Run the food processor until a large round lump of dough forms. If there are any leftover dry ingredients at the bottom of the mixing bowl, spread them evenly into the dough.
- Moisten your fingers to prevent the dough from sticking and roll bite-sized balls about 1.2 centimetres in diameter out of the dough.
- Roll the balls in coconut flakes, chopped nuts or chocolate chips. It may be necessary to brush the balls with a little water to make them sticky.
- Put the balls in the fridge and leave to cool.
This quantity makes about 25 balls.
Nutritional value: Without garnish, each ball provides about 45 kcal, 5 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of protein, 1 gram of fat and 1 gram of fiber.
By Dani Shugart | 08/19/15
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/5-cool-things-to-make-with-protein-powder