Diet and Nutrition, Recipes
3 Easy Breakfast Recipes Using Protein Powder
Protein powder can be a great addition to your nutrition plan, especially at breakfast. Adding protein powder to your breakfast can curb your appetite during the day and help build muscle mass. But what to make with protein powder?
If you’ve never used protein powder in your meals before, it can be intimidating to know what to do with it. How many times have you looked at aspirational ingredients in your refrigerator or pantry (like that kale you thought you were *totally* going to make kale chips with), then became overwhelmed at the prep work and told yourself, “Ehh… I’ll make it tomorrow”?
But do you?
Don’t let recipe anxiety prevent you from starting your diet changes today. There are are a wealth of breakfast recipes online that incorporate protein powder — pancakes, shakes, muffins, protein bars, oatmeal, etc — but below are 3 of our favorite to get your started:
Raspberry Almond Butter Protein Powder Smoothie
SERVINGS: 1
CALORIES PER SERVING: 308
Ingredients
1 c. unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 c. frozen red raspberries
3-4 ice cubes
1 scoop OYO Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
1 tablespoon almond butter
DIRECTIONS
Add almond milk and protein powder to blender and quickly pulse for 2-3 seconds. Add all other ingredients and blend until smooth.
Make-Ahead Chocolate Cherry Protein Pancakes
The great thing about these pancakes is that you can make the batter and cherry sauce the night before, so all you have to do in the morning is pour your batter onto a hot griddle or non-stick pan and in mere minutes, you’ll have a delightful, guilt-free and gourmet-tasting breakfast!
SERVINGS: 6
CALORIES PER SERVING (w/sauce): 381
Ingredients
BATTER
2 large eggs
1/4 c. apple sauce
1 1/2 c. unsweetened almond milk
1 c. flour (or gluten-free flour blend)
1 c. quick-cook oats
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt (optional)
2 scoops OYO Chocolate Whey Protein Powder
1/2 c. sugar-free chocolate chips
CHERRY SAUCE
2 c. frozen sweet or tart cherries
1 1/4 c. water + 1/4 c. water reserved
2 tbsp corn starch
1/2 c. honey (or if you really want to save on calories, opt for a zero-calorie sweetener and simply add to taste)
DIRECTIONS
CHERRY SAUCE
Bring cherries, honey and 1 1/4 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan at medium-high heat. Stir often. Combine 1/4 cup water and cornstarch in a small bowl, stirring until smooth and fold into the boiling cherry mixture. Turn temperature down to medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened to the consistency of a pancake syrup (about 1 minute). If sauce becomes too think, add 1 tbsp of water at a time until desired thickness is acheived. Immediately remove from heat.
BATTER
In a large bowl, mix flour, oats, baking powder, salt, and OYO Whey Protein Powder. In a small bowl, mix eggs, apple sauce and almond milk. Incorporate liquid into the large bowl with the dry ingredients until just combined (but do NOT over-mix! There may be a few lumps — this is ok). Gently fold the chocolate chips into the batter.
At this point, you can either cover the batter and sauce with a lid or plastic wrap and store overnight in the refrigerator, or you can make your pancakes straight away.
Spray your pan or griddle with a non-stick cooking spray, then pre-heat to medium heat. Use a 1/2 c. scoop to ladle batter onto griddle. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
These pancakes taste great by themselves if you want to save a few calories, or you can serve them with the cherry sauce.
Buttermilk Blueberry Protein Muffins
Another great breakfast item that you can bake ahead, these blueberry protein muffins can be made with chocolate or vanilla protein powder — your preference!
SERVINGS: 12
CALORIES PER SERVING (w/sauce): 118
Ingredients
1 c. quick-cook oats
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 scoops OYO Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
1/4 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. applesauce
1 c. buttermilk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c. blueberries (fresh or frozen and thawed for one hour)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin tins using canola cooking spray or line with paper muffin cups (use paper cups at your own risk — I find they inevitably stick to every muffin).
In a large bowl, combine oats, whole wheat flour, protein powder, baking powder, baking soda and brown sugar. Stir in buttermilk, applesauce, egg and mix well. Distribute batter evenly into 12 prepared muffin tins.
Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. Muffins are done when a toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out clean. Allow muffins to stand and cool for 15 minutes before removing from tins.