There is a lot of controversy around protein and I have read a great deal on it. I'm not going to go over all of it but in regards to protein powders specifically, I am going to state my opinion plain and simple. Whey protein is much, much better than casein, and plant protein is the very best.
I have been reading some research by Dr. Mark Hyman lately and he suggests drinking protein shakes to help level out blood sugar. I looked at his recipe in his book, "The Blood Sugar Solution," and it looks alright. But my invention is SOOO good and loaded with PLANT PROTEIN instead of cheap processed animal derived whey!
If you don't like mocha flavor just leave out the coffee granules, double the cocoa powder and just add vanilla coconut bliss ice cream. You're going to love this recipe either way :)
Banana Mocha Protein Shake
Serves 2 people
1 1/2 Cups unsweetened Soy or Almond Milk
1 Banana (frozen is fine)
1/2 tsp instant coffee granules (optional)
1 tsp. Raw Cocoa Powder
1 Granny Smith Green Apple (any apple variety)
1 packet Stevia powder
1/2 cup cold water
2 Scoops Vegan SunWarrior Vanilla Protein Powder
Blend the above ingredients until very smooth.
Now add:
1/4 Cup Coconut Bliss Cappuccino or Vanilla ice cream (totally optional!)
1 Cup Ice
Blend for a few more seconds.
Delicious!
Each glass should have about 22 grams of protein!!
You can add any superfoods you want such as ground flax, chia or hemp seeds!
One night I was out with my sister, Elizabeth, we were making a meal for one of her really good guy friends. We made venetian apricot chicken and asparagus for him and he loved it. Afterwords, he and I started talking about food and fitness. He was a fitness guru and he looked totally ripped. He told me that people need to learn how to eat for fuel.
I spent a long time contemplating this concept. I know that I struggle with wanting every meal to taste delicious or I don't want to eat it. He told me that he will make healthy components such as brown rice, quinoa and beans over the weekend and put them in little containers for the entire week in the fridge. He would also have pre-washed fruit and veggies ready to go.
I love the idea of cooked and raw prepared components ready for you when you are hungry! Prepare for your moment of weakness!
I am trying to incorporate this into my life by eating for fuel most of the time, and eating for pleasure when the calories are truly worth eating (such as a special night out etc.). This is my idea of flexitarian. It is unreal to expect yourself to be perfect. You NEED flexibility. Eating for fuel at least 80 percent of the time is the key. And..... Plant Fuel Rocks!
If you don't believe that exchanging whey out for a PLANT protein powder is a good choice, just look at what flexitarian fitness model Wendy Lucus eats in a typical day:
Meal 1: 1 Whole organic egg and 3 organic Egg Whites, and 1/4 cup Oatmeal with Water.
Meal 2: Sun Warrior Raw Vegan Brown Rice Protein Shake, Apple and 5 almonds
Meal 3: Tofu or chicken, Spinach salad, and brown rice
Meal 4: Cottage Cheese and Brown Rice mixed with hot sauce
Meal 5: Broccoli, Yam, Avocado and maybe some wild Fish
Flexitarian Fitness Model, Wendy Lucus
(pictured above)
When asked what her take on carbohydrates is, she said, "Carbohydrates are the bodies main source of fuel… They are very important. Fruit, vegetables, oats, brown rice, and yams, are all great sources of clean energy for our bodies.
Wendy says,"Find what works for you. I’ve learned that I can’t digest dairy very well or meat, so I stick to veggies, beans, nuts, fish, oats, brown rice, fruits and occasional chicken/turkey. I believe eating whole foods is very important. Processed foods and sugar will kill you!" (I had to bold that because I love it so much!).
Wendy says a combination of lifting weights 2-3 days per week, walking daily, and doing yoga and Pilates 2-4 days per week works best for her. Exercise is crucial!
Her favorite quote? “Wisdom is to the soul what health is to the body”.
Amen, Sista!
Here is another Flexitarian Hero! Christy Seguin. Christy disolved a tumer from her body with raw living foods and became the 2009 NPC National Champion all while eating a 100% VEGAN diet! She originally went raw to cure a tumor and it dissolved through lifestyle changes.
Christy is no longer 100 percent vegan but says, "I eat a primarily raw diet, and I try to be as vegan as possible, although I don’t like to label myself! I do eat fish, especially sushi and sashimi, and eggs, usually raw." Christy was a raw vegan for over two years, during which she became an award winning fitness champion.
"We do not suffer from a lack of drugs and surgery! If we have a headache, we are not suffering from a lack of acetominiphin or aspirin. If we have cancer, we are not suffering from a lack of chemotherapy! These are unnatural, damaging things. No, we suffer from a lack of nutrients that our body needs to repair itself. Our soils are depleted, our foods are processed beyond recognition and filled with horrible chemicals, our food is genetically modified and sprayed with all types of harmful chemical pesticides and fertilizers, and the organization that is supposed to protect us is funded by drug company money. We are in a fight for our lives."
Any ailment we have, whether it be a headache or cancer, is a SYMPTOM of the underlying problem—damage from oxidation and aging of the organs and internal systems of the body. When the damage is greater than the body can repair, then these symptoms appear. The key is controlling the damage. How do we do that? By eating fresh, whole, unprocessed foods that provide the body the building materials it needs to repair the damage.
Did you know that each of your one trillion cells is attacked approximately 10,000 times daily by free radicals? Think of the massive amount of antioxidants we need each day just to keep up! The FDA recommended daily allowances are such a joke! We need huge amounts of protective antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, essential fatty acids, and amino acids to combat the damage.
Simply put, the nutrients in food work together in a synergistic way that is completely destroyed when one nutrient is taken out of context. For example, Vitamin C pills will never achieve the effect of eating a whole food that has all the supporting nutrients that enable Vitamin C to work properly. It is the synergy of all the nutrients, many of which are just now even being discovered, that is the key to proper nutrition. Everyone wants to ‘isolate’ each substance so they can patent it and make money from it. But when the nutrient is removed from its natural environment, all the synergy is lost.
The key is living foods, full of nutrients and teeming with synergistic energy that comes directly from our precious sun, air, soil and water. By consuming these foods in their whole, unprocessed state, you are actually consuming powerful energy directly from the earth and that energy will fuel you to heights of vibrant health that you have never known before!" Source: www.defiant-health.com
Christy is no longer 100 percent vegan but says, "I eat a primarily raw diet, and I try to be as vegan as possible, although I don’t like to label myself! I do eat fish, especially sushi and sashimi, and eggs, usually raw." Christy was a raw vegan for over two years, during which she became an award winning fitness champion.
Here is a quote from her website that really resonates with me:
"We do not suffer from a lack of drugs and surgery! If we have a headache, we are not suffering from a lack of acetominiphin or aspirin. If we have cancer, we are not suffering from a lack of chemotherapy! These are unnatural, damaging things. No, we suffer from a lack of nutrients that our body needs to repair itself. Our soils are depleted, our foods are processed beyond recognition and filled with horrible chemicals, our food is genetically modified and sprayed with all types of harmful chemical pesticides and fertilizers, and the organization that is supposed to protect us is funded by drug company money. We are in a fight for our lives."
Any ailment we have, whether it be a headache or cancer, is a SYMPTOM of the underlying problem—damage from oxidation and aging of the organs and internal systems of the body. When the damage is greater than the body can repair, then these symptoms appear. The key is controlling the damage. How do we do that? By eating fresh, whole, unprocessed foods that provide the body the building materials it needs to repair the damage.
Did you know that each of your one trillion cells is attacked approximately 10,000 times daily by free radicals? Think of the massive amount of antioxidants we need each day just to keep up! The FDA recommended daily allowances are such a joke! We need huge amounts of protective antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, essential fatty acids, and amino acids to combat the damage.
Simply put, the nutrients in food work together in a synergistic way that is completely destroyed when one nutrient is taken out of context. For example, Vitamin C pills will never achieve the effect of eating a whole food that has all the supporting nutrients that enable Vitamin C to work properly. It is the synergy of all the nutrients, many of which are just now even being discovered, that is the key to proper nutrition. Everyone wants to ‘isolate’ each substance so they can patent it and make money from it. But when the nutrient is removed from its natural environment, all the synergy is lost.
The key is living foods, full of nutrients and teeming with synergistic energy that comes directly from our precious sun, air, soil and water. By consuming these foods in their whole, unprocessed state, you are actually consuming powerful energy directly from the earth and that energy will fuel you to heights of vibrant health that you have never known before!" Source: www.defiant-health.com
High Raw, Flexitarian Fitness Expert
Christy Seguin, NPC Figure Champion
(pictured above, left)
Christy Seguin, NPC Figure Champion
(pictured above, left)
Click on this link to watch Christy Seguin review Sunwarrior Protein Powder or just watch it here!
Here are some videos & links to some protein shakes that Christy Seguin makes before her competitions:
Apple Pie Green Smoothie (This is my personal favorite recipe of Christy's!).
Christy has a fantastic article on vegan protein sources on her blog:
I love that Christy states again and again that you CAN GET ENOUGH PROTIEN FROM a clean green smoothie alone. You don't have to have fancy protein powders at all! According to Eat To Live by Joel Furhman, M.D, there is more protein per calorie in brocolli and many other greens than in STEAK!! I like this video where Sergei Boutenko and Briana Lescher demonstrate how easy it is to make diverse, delicious green smoothies!
15 Green Smoothies in 3 minutes!
Hello Aimee, it's a very good article on plant protein. And it's good that you have lots of flavour in it
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