Tag Archives: advice

Going Healthy, Going Strong

Is Protein Powder Really Worth It?

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Just the other day, I set out on the simple task of finding a new protein powder that wasn’t filled with junk. Before I knew it,  2 hours had passed as I perused the plethora of options for this popular supplement!

This made me ponder whether I should really stress over the different types, flavors, functions, and brands. I recently shared the benefits of protein and making it complete with all 23 amino acids, so it’s obviously an important macronutrient. But, do we really need protein in powder form, and, more importantly, is it even worth it?

You can find protein powders made out of things you’d never expect.  We all know the common whey protein, which is broken into concentrates, isolates, and even goat whey protein. Other popular varieties are soy, egg white, and casein. Some less common, but still good types are rice, hemp, and pea proteins, but did you ever hear of beef protein powder?

Paleo Beef Protein Powder

Beef is an excellent source of protein, but having it in a smoothie seems a little odd. I might try it as long as the ingredients are good, but it’s also one of the most expensive forms. Expensive and very processed! I mean, I can accept processed beef when it’s put through the grinder, but how much has to happen to turn it into a flavored powder?

Can you really see yourself paying a premium to drink beef protein powder that’s Blue Raspberry, Peanut Butter, Cherry Vanilla, Fruit Punch or other some other flavor? MuscleMeds has all of these flavors if your answer is yet, but it’s filled with artificial colors and flavors that I avoid in any product.

MuscleMeds Carnivore_Beef Protein Powder
Carnivores like meat, not blue raspberry powder….

Anyway, back to the question at hand.  Do I really need protein in the form of powder instead of enjoying freshly cooked chicken, beef or fish? There are also many sustainably caught and packaged canned options like tuna, salmon, and sardines I always have around. These are just as quick and the ones with pull tabs require no can opener to lug around wherever you go. My current favorite are canned anchovies in water, and even my 2 year old daughter loves having the “little fishies” with me.

Whole food sources of protein are obviously the better choice since powder, no matter how clean, organic, or super-duper ultra filtered it is, is still highly processed.

There are many healthy plant based protein powders packed full of enzymes, superfoods, cleansing herbs, and they taste good too.  I have tried several and enjoy them in smoothies as well as many recipes. But in retrospect do I really need all of these “extras” in a protein powder? Isn’t that what a good vitamin or, better yet, having a diet rich in whole foods should provide?

I was all about buying this high quality Garden of Life Raw Protein, but then thought about how I like to cook a lot with my powders.  Wouldn’t cooking pretty much make the whole “Raw” aspect obsolete? Then I just paid a premium for higher quality protein and destroyed the premium part. And again, there are plenty of whole food based multivitamins that will give you everything in these superfood protein powders.

Maybe I will break down and buy a raw protein powder just for mixing into drinks or no-bake recipes like these No-Bake Quinoa Almond Protein Cookies as they are great to take along when traveling for a healthy snack option both kids and adults will enjoy.

quinoa almond cookies

I have used many protein powders, both good and bad over the years. Currently, my favorite brands are Legion, BiPro, and Naked Nutrition. If you haven’t tried my healthy Legion Banana Vanilla Protein Pancakes recipe, I highly suggest you do…..fast!

protein pancakes

As you can see, I enjoy protein powder and by no means am I quitting the stuff, but maybe not stressing over the the slew of extra ingredients. Now I when I’m in the market for a good protein powder, I focus on the one thing that matters, the protein!

Setting guidelines before you make a purchase will help save a lot of time and stress when choosing a protein powder. Trust me, I would really appreciate having those 2+ hours back!

Here are the main things I look for in (or not in) a protein powder:

  • No artificial sweeteners…EVER!
  • Non-GMO, preferably organic
  • If whey protein, I typically prefer that it’s sourced from grass-fed cows not treated with antibiotics
  • Very little to no sugar (less than 3g per serving); prefer no sugar and only stevia or unsweetened
  • No added soybean or other oil
  • No nonsense “super pump” marketing/gimmicky ingredients
  • Short, simple list of ingredients; unless it is the raw green food kind

These guidelines for a quality supplement will narrow your options in a good way. Yes, it usually means higher prices, but I’m willing to pay more when it comes to things that go in my family’s body. Plus, as long as you’re not relying on powder as your main source, it should last a while.

What type or types of protein powder do you use?

Do you get caught up searching for the “right” protein powder or anything else?  Too much information makes too much confusion sometimes!

Food, Going Healthy

5 Benefits of Protein + How to Make it Complete

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Protein helps fuel and build us as we grow, then maintains our bodies throughout adulthood.  Many of us only think of protein as something for the big, bodybuilder types, but it’s something we all need.

protein, complete protein, amino acids, healthy, food

Yes, protein powder is good as a supplement, but whole food sources should be our main source of this vital macronutrient. A few of the benefits provided by the macronutrient protein are:

1) IT BUILDS, MAINTAINS AND REPAIRS CELLS: As you grow your body needs protein to construct every single cell including your bones, muscles, skin ,vital organs and your blood vessels.

2) IT IS USED TO PRODUCE IMPORTANT CHEMICALS: Antibodies are built using protein and are a key part of your immune system which helps your body fight disease. Enzymes are also constructed from protein and act as a catalyst for many important reactions in your body including digestion.

3) IT REGULATES IMPORTANT BODILY PROCESSES: Your body’s cells cannot move fluid directly, instead they produce proteins which attract water. These proteins can then be sent out to areas where fluid needs to be absorbed allowing a fluid balance to be maintained throughout the body.

4) IT HELPS YOUR BLOOD CLOT: When your skin gets cut and starts to bleed, your body responds by producing fibrin, a stringy protein that forms clots. Once the fibrin has clotted, your body then produces another protein, collagen, which forms scar tissue and permanently heals the cut.

5) IT CAN ASSIST WITH WEIGHT LOSS: First, it has a greater thermic effect than carbohydrates. This means that by eating protein you burn more calories during digestion and boost your metabolism. Secondly, studies suggest that protein can suppress your appetite by helping you feel satiated longer.

Protein is made up of 23 amino acids, 8 of which that are essential.  The 8 essential amino acids are “essential” because our bodies cannot produce them alone, and therefore needs to acquire them from food sources or supplements.

The 8 essential amino acids are:

– Isoleucine
– Leucine
– Lysine
– Methionine
– Phenylalanine
– Threonine
– Tryptophan
– Valine

The other 15 non-essential amino acids we can produce on our own are:

– Alanine
– Arginine
– Asparagine
– Aspartic Acid
– Cysteine
– Glutamic Acid
– Glutamine
– Glycine
– Histidine
– Ornithine
– Proline
– Selenocysteine
– Serine
– Taurine
– Tyrosine

A complete protein includes all 23 essential and non-essential amino acids.  Incomplete proteins may have a few, but not all of the essential amino acids needed by our bodies.  Animal products like seafood, poultry, beef, dairy, etc. are the most abundant source of complete proteins.

Complete Protein Examples

There are many vegetarian sources such as quinoa, buckwheat, soybeans, etc. that are complete as well. Don’t think you need to avoid incomplete proteins though, they can be paired together to form a complete protein.

Incomplete Protein Examples

Follow these four principles to obtain a complete protein by pairing incomplete protein foods:

1. Combine legumes with grains – a classice example is rice and beans

2. Combine nuts or seeds with legumes or grains
3. Combine animal products with any vegetable product
4. Add a small amount of meat to a meal of vegetables

protein, complete protein, amino acids, healthy, food

Only eating foods that are complete proteins is expensive (especially for those constantly hungry little ones running circles around us!), so the ability to combine food to provide us with all 23 amino acids is, well, essential. A popular dish that’s healthy (usually), tasty, and budget-friendly is rice and beans. This is a staple meal in many cultures and can be made to feed a crowd with little expense.

It’s worth pointing out that incomplete protein sources do not have to be consumed at the same time. In order to reap the benefits of a complete protein, just consume different sources over the course of the day.

A helpful basis to begin combining foods for a complete protein

Try experimenting with different combos to come up with your own complete protein meal.  Get your kids involved by creating columned lists of different complementary foods and have them choose what to eat for lunch or dinner. Healthy fat and carbohydrates also play an extremely important role in giving our body what it needs to thrive, but without protein, we just wouldn’t be complete. 🙂

Do you have any favorite dishes that make up a complete protein meal?

Have you ever thought about the quality of protein you’re eating before?

Going Healthy, Going Strong, Life, Parenting

What Counts as Exercise?

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Many parents, at-home and working alike, succumb to the “I don’t have time” mantra when it comes to exercise, but it’s  an important part of life and is worth making time to do.

You might think exercise is something that requires special equipment or is only done at a gym, but you might already be “exercising” without even knowing it. Exercise falls under several definitions, and one way it is defined is that it’s a regular or repeated use of a faculty or bodily organ. Knowing this, I’m positive we all have a long list of things we do every day that count as “exercise” and we never thought of it as such.

Carrying your kid around the house or grabbing them before they grab the cat’s tail would definitely count. And teaching them to perform different exercises like push-ups or yoga (maybe a combination?) proves beneficial too.

exercise, fitness, kids, toddler, parenting, workout, yoga

 

Chores and daily tasks like going for a walk, mowing the lawn, vacuuming, mopping, doing laundry, and engaging in playtime with your kids are all great ways to fit in exercise and accomplish your laundry list (pun intended) of things you need to get done.

In a nutshell, movement of any form is, in and of itself, exercise. An important thing to remember is to be consistent with your movement and make sure it’s something you enjoy. If your stomach churns just thinking of going for a run, don’t do it, you’ll never stick with it. Ride a bike, walk, swim, row, hike, or……clean house. The point I’m trying to make is, keeping active, however you so choose, helps to make a better you.

As parents, we need to be excellent role models and should let our children see us being active and living a healthy lifestyle so they will hopefully follow suit and WANT to be like mommy and daddy. Note I said “healthy lifestyle”; this means exercise and good nutrition! If you are trying to lose weight, you can workout all you want, but without good nutrition, your results will be minimal at best. Sleep is vital too!

Finishing a great workout session is NOT a pass to go pig out on packaged, processed junk or order takeout without thinking of what you’re actually putting in your mouth. Trust me, I’m guilty of this and know firsthand. Read the ingredients or, better yet, choose food that doesn’t even need a label.

No matter your fitness goal; lose weight, gain strength, maintain current level, etc., we will all benefit from moving more and practicing good nutrition for the quality of life it provides. If you are already a conscious eater and get a good dose of daily movement, good for you, keep it up and hopefully you are inspiring others!

I’m on my feet most of the day and rarely sit down until night (I stand at the counter to use my computer) and move around a lot with Avery. She’s usually really good at “working out” with mommy or daddy and has her own equipment to use too.

She is well aware of my upper/lower body split, but she ends up doing full body every day. Then we keep active by playing or doing anything outdoors, weather permitting. Lately, it’s all about her WOOM 1 Balance Bike. We named it Rocket, just like on Little Einsteins.

playing, daddy, kids, parenting, woom 1, balance bike

Whatever you choose to do, try to do it with your family as much as possible. Kids mimic and idolize parents more than we realize, so being a great role model with ensure they grow up to make better decisions on their own.

 

Do you struggle with motivation or have no issue with exercising or nutrition?

If you have kids, do they join you when exercising?