Here’s a easy, tasty way to power up meals and snacks: substitute protein powder for empty calories.
Certified fitness nutrition specialists Kristin Wood and Corry Matthews make it a sport to update traditional recipes.
“Substituting protein powder for flour is a great way to add protein to carb-based recipes,” Wood says. She also often replaces the sugar with substitutes such as Splenda.
What about flavor? It’s usually improved, says Wood, who with Matthews owns a Max Muscle Sports Nutrition franchise in Manassas, Va. “When people try our protein pancakes, most say ‘wow, these are better than regular pancakes.’ ”
Flavored protein powders give a fresh taste and add nutrients to recipes. Unflavored protein powder helps preserve the original flavor.
Will heating destroy protein powder’s nutritional value? No, Matthews says, who adds amino acids in the powder’s protein stay intact with temperatures below 400 degrees. Lowering temperature may require slightly longer cooking time.
“Generally, it’s best to start out replacing one-quarter cup of flour with one-quarter cup of your favorite flavor of protein powder,” Matthews says. Don’t remove too much flour or the texture might change. For breads or cookies, keep at least half the original amount of flour.
You may need to add baking powder orbaking soda because protein powder does not rise like flour does.
Want to reduce the amount of fat you store and feel satiated longer? A regular meal of pancakes with syrup gets broken down quickly and, within 30 minutes, spikes blood sugar so high that your body will excrete insulin to lower blood sugar levels. “So much insulin is released that the body may store all of the nutrients you’ve just consumed as fat,” Wood says. You’ll also feel hungry again sooner.
“Anytime you add protein to a food high in carbohydrates, the additional nutrition will lengthen the time it takes for your meal to be digested and absorbed into the body,” Matthews says.
She recently patented a recipe for protein cookies — Sweet Fitness Treats — using protein powder and Splenda. “I had been giving them away as gifts to my fitness clients.
“We are driving more now, exercising less and eating more fast food,” adds Matthews, a school health advocate. Cooking with protein powder is an easy way to get more nutrition into the family diet.
