Make this Protein Packed Snack
Being optimally fueled and nourished is one of the surest ways to soar steadily through you day, despite the high demands of our modern lifestyles.
What’s the best food for your body? When it comes to nutrition for energy, stamina, and tenacity protein is your foundation. Thankfully you don’t have to waste your money on expensive energy drinks or bars, which are often loaded with sugars and chemicals. It’s easy to make simple snacks you can have on hand anywhere that pack all the power you need. You can find tons of healthy recipes on my website and in my books. One thing you’ll see is that I often incorporate protein powders into many of my recipes—but here again you must be careful! Not all protein powders are created equally.
How do I find the best protein powder? With a ton of available protein powders on the market, picking the right one can be tough. The protein in most powders comes from whey, whey isolate, soy, egg, rice, pea, or hemp protein, or some combination of these proteins. Here’s some general guidelines to finding the best powders available:
- Minimize sugar. Don’t pick a protein powder that has sugar listed as one of the first three ingredients. If you are trying to lose weight, don’t pick protein powders with other sweeteners like dextrin or maltodextrin.
- Avoid intolerance. Skip soy, whey, and branched chain amino acid protein powders. These powders are designed for bulking or building muscle and aren’t as sensitive to super women digestive systems.
- Be kind to your gut. For people with delicate digestive systems—most women—rice, pea, and hemp protein are your best choices. Pure Power protein powder includes a specific blend of pea and hemp together to provide low calories and higher healthy fats while being easy on the digestion.
- Look for Omega-3s and fiber. Pure Power protein powder was specially designed to include flaxseed to boost digestive health, promote weight loss, balance blood sugar, and maintains estrogen dominance.
What’s the big deal about protein? Protein is made up of molecules called amino acids that build, maintain, repair, and replenish all parts of your human body. Protein is found in every cell, tissue, organ, skin, hair, bone, and blood of your body—there are at least 10,000 different proteins that make up the building blocks of YOU. The right amount and type of protein in your diet keeps your metabolism humming, your heart and lungs strong, it boosts your immune system, and keeps your hair and skin looking healthy. Finally, certain proteins known as the essential amino acids can’t be built in your body, they must be obtained from the proteins we eat.
How much protein do I need each day? The answer depends on you, but usually falls somewhere within 50 to 80 grams a day. I encourage you to take this PowerType test to determine your specific needs, but you can get started now by aiming to get 15 to 20 grams of protein at meals, and 7 to 10 grams of protein at snacks. Give the following snack a try:
Easy Energy Ball Recipe with Protein
Ingredients:
½ cup Sunbutter or Almond butter
2 tablespoons organic local honey
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 ½ cups gluten free rolled oats
¼ cup PURE POWER protein powder (I like chocolate the best)
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of coconut or almond milk
¼ cup raisins or mini dark chocolate chips
In a medium bowl, stir together the almond butter and honey. Add the chia seeds, rolled oats, protein powder, cinnamon, vanilla, and raisins or chips. Mix well. Roll into 1 ½ to 2 inch balls. (If desired, use a melon scooper to portion out the dough and form it into about 12 balls. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 45 minutes. Yum!