Here’s a great way to make a milkshake healthier: Use frozen yogurt and real peanut butter. The classic milkshake is really high in calories because of the premium ice cream and chocolate syrup. No one loves ice cream more than I do, but in combination with pure chocolate syrup, it is lethal from a sugar and calorie point of view. Frozen yogurt lowers the calories and using real peanut butter is an inspired touch, adding healthy fat, some protein, and a ton of flavor without breaking the calorie bank. (And with lots less sugar than the “classic” version.) The added nuts and protein powder will not only lower the glycemic impact (the impact on your blood sugar) but will also beef up the protein and keep you satisfied much longer.
Ingredients
8 small high-quality, all-natural chocolate cookie snaps (such as MI-DEL)
1 pint vanilla frozen yogurt
2 scoops unsweetened, indentured vanilla whey protein powder, softened
3 tablespoons (48 g) natural peanut butter, no added sugar
3/4 cup (175 ml) milk (cow’s milk, unsweetened vanilla soy or almond)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Crush the cookies into small pieces in a resealable bag with a rolling pin or in a food processor. Add the crushed cookies, frozen yogurt, protein powder, peanut butter, milk, and vanilla to a high-powered blender and blend until mostly smooth.
Loaded with fiber and rich in antioxidants, this sublimely tasty muesli is nutrient rich, crunchy, and flavorful. It will satisfy your appetite and keep your system working like a well-oiled machine for hours. Enjoy this dish as part of a nourishing breakfast or filling snack.
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup rye flakes
1 cup dried dates, chopped
1 cup raisins
1 cup almonds, chopped roughly
½ cup walnuts, chopped roughly
½ cup pecans, chopped roughly
½ cup shredded coconut
½ cup sunflower seeds
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 cups apple cider
1 banana
1 ½ cups blueberries
In a large bowl, combine the oats through the cinnamon. Mix well. Place the mixture in an airtight, sealable container and stir in the apple cider. Cover, refrigerate overnight, and serve in the morning with chopped banana and blueberries.
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Note: Nuts and seeds provide protein, essential fatty acids, and several antioxidant vitamins and minerals.
From time to time, I stumble upon a product I didn’t expect to like but actually do—which is exactly what happened with Garden of Life’s Raw Meal.
It’s no secret that I’ve never been a huge fan of Garden of Life, but I’ll be the first to admit that the reason for that has little to do with their product.
No, my prejudice came from the fact that the founder of Garden of Life and I were in a class together many years ago and, frankly, I just didn’t much like the guy. So there, I admit it, my prejudice about the company was very colored by an insignificant incident 15 years ago, but then again, who ever said prejudices were smart?
So I’m browsing through the catalogues of the various companies, and I see this product by Garden of Life—Raw Meal—and the description sounds so fascinating that I decide to order it.
Which I did.
Well, let me just be honest and say this: It’s great.
I mean, seriously great. Like it’s my go-to meal replacement these days. And let me tell you why:
First of all, it tastes great. (I’ll tell you how I personally prepare it at the end of this newsletter.)
Second of all, it has 17 grams of protein in a half serving, 34 grams in a complete serving. (More about this “serving” business in a minute.)
Third of all, a full serving has a remarkable 10 grams of fiber, and even a half serving has 5 grams, more than 95% of the crummy cereals we’re told to eat for their “high fiber” content.. (but don’t get me started).
Full Serving vs. Half Serving
Here’s the deal with the “full serving” and “half serving”. You can use this powder as a meal replacement (full serving) in which case you use two scoops and it provides 310 calories; or you can use it as a mini-meal or snack, in which case you use one scoop and it provides 155 calories. If you use it as a meal replacement, you can throw in all kinds of goodies like berries, raw oats, raw milk, almond milk, Forti-Flax, even a handful of nuts if you like, essentially designing your own meal with as many (or as few) calories as you like.
You can even add a scoop of protein powder, like Designs for Health Whey Cool, to up the protein content a bit. And you can do the same for the fiber by adding in a small scoop of Paleo-Fiber. It’s like adding options to the base model of a car. You can add them on—but you don’t have to!
Raw Meal provides twenty essential vitamins and minerals, in many cases 100% of the RDA (pitiful as that number is). In addition, there’s a RAW probiotic and enzyme blend, with about 3 billion CFU of lactobaccilus acidophilus and digestive enzymes. The protein is completely derived from plant sources.
It’s “Green” Too!
I was also pleased to find that this company really cares about the planet, and seems to have a true commitment to sustainability. They use only certified organic plant protein from sprouted grains and legumes, and they use only recyclable packaging, vegetable inks, sustainably farmed papers and 100% certified renewable wind energy credits to run their operations. Gotta give ‘em props for that.
How I Enjoy Raw Meal
All this probably wouldn’t matter so much if the product didn’t taste great, but it does. Seriously, folks.
Here’s the way I personally like it. Try this and tell me if it’s not the greatest thing ever. (A warning note, though. I make things in the kitchen entirely by feel, so please forgive me if this doesn’t exactly follow recipe protocol. Experiment with it and I promise you’ll find a mix you love!)
Take a glass of raw, whole milk and put it in a blender. (Raw milk is still legal in a couple of states. If you can’t get raw, whole milk, use almond milk. I usually use about 7/8 raw whole milk and then top it off with a dollop of almond milk anyway, just for flavor.)
If it comes out too thick—or looks like it will—add more almond milk, or even some ice cubes to thin it out a bit. But don’t thin it out too much. When it’s just right it’s creamily delicious, with a nutty, crunchy texture.
And let me know if you don’t love Raw Meal as much as I do!
According to a new study from the US Department of Agriculture’s Human Nutrition Research Center, whey protein powder offers an advantage over soy protein powder if you’re trying to drop a few pounds.
Researchers randomly assigned 90 adults- all overweight or obese- to one of three groups. All three groups consumed their normal diet of approximately 2200 calories, but the first group added a protein drink made with whey, the second group added a protein drink made with soy, and the third group added a drink made with carbohydrates.
All three drinks had the same number of calories (200) and all had the same number of grams (52 grams of protein for the first two groups, 52 grams of carbs for the third group.)
At the start of the study, no significant differences existed among the three groups. The average weight of the men was 218 pounds, while the average weight of the women was 190.
At the end of the 23 week study, those drinking the carbohydrate shake had actually gained about 2 pounds, most of it fat. Those drinking the soy protein shake stayed the same.
But those drinking the whey protein drink actually lost a little bit of weight and body fat (about 2 pounds worth!) And while both other groups saw essentially no change in their waist size, the whey protein group actually lost about an inch around their middles!
Interesting, those in the whey protein group actually had significantly lower blood levels of an appetite-stimulating hormone called ghrelin than those in the carb group or the soy group. “(Grehlin) is a hormone that helps regulate food intake”, said David J. Baer, PhD, research physiologist and lead author on the study. “So the higher concentration (of grehlin), the more hungry someone feels. The lower the concentration, the fuller someone feels.”
Interestingly, though no subjects knew which drink they had been assigned, and were not told to change their basic 2200 calorie diet in any specific way, those drinking the whey protein shake on a daily basis wound up gradually consuming less carbohydrates during the course of the study, even though they were eating the same number of total calories per day.
This reduction in carbohydrate intake may have been a contributing factor in their weight loss.
Apparently something about the whey protein powder seemed to make them crave less carbohydrates (a very nice “side” effect!)
For years, bodybuilders, fitness buffs and people just generally into healthy living have debated the relative merits of different types of protein powder.
For the average person, choosing a protein powder can be confusing. There’s rice protein, casein (milk protein), whey protein and soy protein, just for starters. Some are digested more slowly, some are available to the body much more quickly (whey, for example).
But studies testing one against the other for muscle growth are few and far between.
In the current study, 48 older men were assigned to ingest 20g (one typical serving) of either whey, casein, or casein hydrolysate (a faster acting form of casein). The researchers then used a number of sophisticated measurements to asses both digestion and absorption; they also calculated how effectively new muscle was created.
“Whey protein stimulates… muscle protein accretion (growth) more effectively than do casein and casein hydrolysate in older men”, the researchers concluded.
Scientists believe that a particular amino acid- leucine- may be partly responsible for the positive effect on muscle growth. Leucine has been identified as the main nutritional “signal” responsible for stimulating muscle growth, and whey has a considerably higher leucine content than other protein powders.
Other studies have demonstrated the positive effects of whey protein powder on both appetite control and on the immune system.
Though this particular study was done on older men, there’s no reason to assume that the positive effect on muscle growth would not apply to other populations as well, such as women and younger men.
