Whey… yay or nay

Before I jump into things I thought I’d share my yummy breakfast this morning, oatmeal minus the oats, I’d seen a few versions floating around the web and thought i’d give it a try.

Basically you blend ½ cup almond milk, 2 egg whites, 1 ripe banana, 2 Tbsp ground flaxseed and a pinch of cinnamon. You then heat the mixture up in a pot on the stove for about 5 minutes until it is the right consistency and your good to go. I added blueberries and almond butter to mine this morning and I loved it!

On to the protein powder chat

Protein powders are very popular these days; they are not just for the extreme athletes anymore.

The most common type of protein powders are whey and hydrolyzed whey based but most people, myself included, don’t really know what whey really is. Last class our teacher went on a bit of a tangent about whey protein powders and I thought I’d share.

So what is whey, well it is basically the byproduct from cheese production. That sounds relatively harmless however, in order to isolate the high source of protein, as well as eliminate the fat and lactose, the whey is heated and treated with acids which actually end up damaging the protein. So what is left is an unrecognizable food source to our body, full of whatever antibiotics and hormones were initially added to the dairy. Hydrolyzed whey is just one more step of processing, much more heat and chemical treatments are added leaving the protein even more degraded.

Of course there is some usable, readily available protein left (as well as concentrated hormones and antibiotics left from the dairy), but our body does not necessarily want that kind of protein. Too much protein, especially readily available sources that bypass digestion, can actually be an extreme burden on our liver and kidneys as well as lead to bone calcium loss and increased intestinal ‘bad’ bacteria.

So why do we feel we even need to supplement with protein powders? Can we not just get enough from the foods we consume? Is too much protein dangerous? These are topics for another day 🙂

Here are some ideas if you really feel like you need a little boost of protein.

Make your own whey: take some organic non homogenized yogurt and pour it into some cheesecloth over a bowl and leave in the fridge overnight. In the morning you will see a clear (ish) liquid in the bowl, that is whey, just add to your normal shake for an added kick or shoot it back as you wish.

Another idea is to add beans, a white bean will be much milder in flavor, to your normal smoothie, not only will it give you the protein your looking for but you’ll get a good dose of fibre and a great creamy texture.

Pumpkin pinto bean spice smoothie, submitted to slightly indulgent tuesday:

1/4 cup canned pinto beans, 1/2 cup canned pumpkin, 1/2 frozen banana, 1/4-1/2 cup almond milk, maple syrup to taste, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp ground ginger, pinch of nutmeg, pinch of ground cloves and a pinch of all spice… blend blend blend (add ice for a cooler version)

Tagged: gluten free, recipe, school, smoothie, vegan