When you’re on a fitness mission trying to cram in your required protein and eat a more balanced diet protein powder is a popular go-to after a workout. But while you may simply view protein powder as a drink or substance you can mix with fruit and blend into a smoothie, it can be used for more. With its flour like consistency, protein powder can be used to help make anything from pancakes, muffins, cupcakes, even doughnuts and more! A delicious protein filled sub for the shake.
The general rule when baking with protein is that 1/3 of the flour in a recipe can be exchanged with protein powder, and if you have flavoured protein powder it can provide an added flavour hint to your baking which is especially good when making cupcakes. If you wanted to be extra when it comes to baking healthy, you could even swap your flour for oat flour, nut flour or coconut flour.
However, when using oat flour you need to remember to add a rising material as the oats don’t have gluten. For every ¼ cup of oat flour you use add 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda and baking powder, the same process can be done with almond or cashew flour but for every 1/2 cup. Nut flours are great to use when baking cookies, cakes and bread.
Coconut flour is a tasty low carbohydrate flour that can replace white or wheat flour at a 3:1 ratio- for example, for every cup of flour you could use 1/3 of a cup of coconut flour. We wouldn’t recommend replacing all the flour with coconut flour as using solely coconut flour can give a bitter taste, but it really depends on your taste. When cooking with coconut flour you will need to reduce cooking temperatures by 25 degrees.
Mixing your flours with protein powders means the mix tends to be tougher and heavier when mixing with other ingredients, so fold your ingredients just until incorporated and mix thoroughly but try to make sure you get the air into your mixture still. Be sure to line your baking tray with coconut oil as protein baked goods tend to stick to the base. Whey protein powders can act strange with heat, so it is best to bake them 25 degrees lower than the standard recipe temperature, and always make sure that you preheat your oven.
Another simple way to add protein to your diet is to mix a scoop of protein into food such as porridge and flapjack, as it doesn’t tend to drastically change the texture but simply boosts its protein. Adding a flavoured protein scoop however, can add a nice touch of flavour and even improve the taste. Even sprinkling a scoop of flavoured protein throughout your cereal can flavour your milk and make your cereal taste even nicer.