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Blog by Mel

As we all know, it is essential to get enough protein into your body, not only for building muscle, but also for repairing cells and muscle as well as making enzymes, hormones and other body chemicals.

How much should you get?

It all depends on your level of activity and your goals.

The official Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) – by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies in the United States  – which is the minimum amount you need to be healthy, is 0.6 grams per pound of body weight per day—46 grams for an average woman. That equals as little as 10% of daily calories.

If you work out, maybe even lift heavy, you are going to need more, maybe even up to 1 gram per pound of your (goal) bodyweight. To really determine your macro needs, it is best to meet with a certified nutritionist.

But how do you get that much protein into your body, especially if you’re vegan/vegetarian?!

Plant based proteins! Beans (pinto, kidney etc ) actually have a really good amount of protein. White beans have the most protein, with about 17.42 grams in 1 cup.

But really, I cannot eat beans for breakfast, I usually have oatmeal or cereal with almond milk.

Most of the time that is not enough for my daily needs – if I have a big workout planned for example or know the rest of my meals that day are going to be pizza and lettuce for example….

So what do I do? I “cheat” – well of course I don’t really cheat. I just use protein powder.

I personally went away from the whey proteins, but that is just my digestive system telling me to stay away from it. (Protein fart..ya know…)

I have been using Profi protein powder, as it is a complete vegan protein which means it contains all of the essential amino acids in proper proportions to allow for normal growth and tissue maintenance within the body. There are nine essential amino acids. These include: histidine, tryptophan, phenylalanine, isoleucine, threonine, valine, methionine, lysine & leucine.

But let’s come to my little tricks to add some extra protein to my breakfast:

I mix half a scoop of chocolate protein powder into my SKYR. That leaves me with bout 30/31 grams of protein – plus it really tastes great, I feel like I am eating chocolate pudding! Top it with some berries, granola, nuts…anything you want.

Feeling like cereal for breakfast? Mix some protein powder in your milk!! (Again…try chocolate…)

Prefer peanut butter on toast? You can even mix protein powder into your coffee! (Flavoured or unflavoured…you might need to add a little bit of extra liquid for consistency)

And I almost forgot about mixing protein powder into your oatmeal. Just mix one or half a scoop with the oatmeal before you add water (add a little more than you usually do) and mix, mix, mix. Maybe add some peanut butter and fruits…. delicious!!

So here you have 4 little cheats that can help you reach your daily protein goals without giving up a sweet breakfast….

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