Not everyone is a fan of smoothies and shakes, even though they’re a great way to get an extra boost of protein throughout the day, If you fall into this group, no need to pass on the protein powder! You can still enjoy the convenience and benefits by adding a scoop to different drinks and foods. Here are 15 ideas to help you use up that entire tub.
How to Use Protein Powder
Breakfast options
1. Coffee. Add a tablespoon of any flavor protein powder to a mug of coffee. Here’s a trick: Pour a small amount of coffee into the cup, then whisk in the protein powder to combine. Add remainder of coffee.
2. Oatmeal. Sprinkle about ½ scoop powder over prepared oats, or use in preparing overnight oats. Add ground flax or chia seeds and walnuts to increase protein amounts.
3. Cereal. Sprinkle protein powder over a bowl of protein-packed dry cereal (vanilla flavor works best).
4. Pancakes or waffles. Use 1 scoop in your favorite pancake or waffle mix. Experiment with different flavored powders – the options are endless (banana, blueberry, chocolate, peanut butter, etc.).
5. Yogurt. Stir a couple tablespoons of protein powder into plain Greek yogurt with added fresh fruits and nuts and/or seeds.
Lunch and dinner options
6. Soup. Stir in 1 tablespoon of unflavored protein into a favorite cream-based soup. The trick is to add your protein at the end of cooking when soup stops simmering.
7. Eggs. Breakfast for lunch or dinner is always fun! Add a sprinkle of unflavored protein powder into scrambled eggs.
8. Pasta. Add a pea-based protein powder to homemade or jarred pasta sauce and serve over protein-packed bean pasta.
9. Salad dressing. Whisk unflavored pea protein powder into a homemade salad dressing made with extra virgin olive oil and vinegar (or lemon juice), salt and pepper. Toss in some roasted chickpeas and walnuts to boost protein even more.
10. Chili. Cold months call for chili! Add a scoop of protein at the end of cooking. Make it a true protein-packed meal using ground turkey and cannellini beans and serving over a high-protein grain such as quinoa.
Snack options
11. Chia pudding. Sprinkle a tablespoon of vanilla protein powder into your favorite chia seed pudding recipe. (Here’s the one I use: Whisk together 1-1/2 cups coconut milk or cashew milk with ½ cup chia seeds, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1 to 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey. Cover and refrigerate for 6+ hours.)
12. Cookies or brownies. Simply add protein powder to your cookie batter or brownie batter for a protein-packed sweet treat. You may have to play around a bit with the measurements, or make these chocolate chip protein cookies from the VitaVibes blog!).
13. Fruit. Lightly sprinkle vanilla, chocolate or strawberry protein powder over a bowl of fresh fruit.
14. Energy bites or balls. Combine wholesome ingredients such as oats, peanut butter, seeds, nuts and dried fruit, and add protein powder! Here’s a no-bake energy bites recipe from the VitaVibes blog that you can try.
15. Cookie dough. Who doesn’t love cookie dough? Make a vegan batch, stir in a scoop of protein powder and grab a spoon! You can also try this protein cookie dough recipe from the VitaVibes blog.
