How And Why I Use Protein Powder

Using Protein powder in my recipes is an easy way to meet the protein needs of my body. It helps me build and maintain muscle, heal injuries and keeps my bones strong. It might even prevent cognitive decline. Using it in my recipes instead of drinking shakes gives me variety and enjoyment every day. If you’d like to learn more about how and why, this article is for you.

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Since my „photo studio “(a small corner of my kitchen) PC, which allows me to shoot overhead pictures of my recipes and process without precariously balancing on a ladder, decided to show me the dreaded bluescreen of death last week, and I’m now waiting for a new one to be delivered, I figured I’d share a few bits and pieces that might interest you.

Today it’s all about how I use protein powder and why I use it the way I do.

What will I cover?

• Why do we need protein?
• How much protein do we need?
• But don’t we get enough in our diet?
• Ok, I probably don’t get enough. Now what?
• Not all protein powders are created equal. I will tell you which one I enjoy and why.
• How much protein per meal?
• Are there other ways to use protein powder than drinking shakes?
• What do I do differently in my recipes?
• FAQ

my experiences as woman over 40

Apparently I’m weird. Ok, yes, that’s nothing new if you know me.
But here is the thing: I really don’t like drinking protein shakes. Weird, right? See!
Are you the same?
We can be weird together so. 🙂
I mean look, I’m in Ireland and it feels nearly always like winter here. So, the very last thing I want is a cold shake!

Yet, I need more protein because at over 40 I’m at risk of losing muscle and bone mass. That sounds rather scary to me, especially with a history of arthritis and having taken steroids for it for over 10 years. Thankfully I was able to stop taking them after my weight loss and finding supplements that eliminate the need for them, but I’m sure damage was done to my bones.

Let me share my finds of going down the rabbit hole of weight loss, aging, using an app to track what I’m eating and learning about my body’s needs.

Why do we need protein?

I think at this point we all know that protein is one of the most important building blocks for muscles and organs. That’s why body builders are including a lot in their diet and tend to be pretty strict about it. (If you are reading this and are one of the people who know the “why” but are looking for the “how” to make it taste better, feel free to jump straight to “What do I do differently?”.)

But did you know it can help you feel fuller for longer? And that it helps your body to repair injuries faster and fight infections? Lowers your blood pressure, helps maintain weight loss, increases fat burning and is good for your bones? Yep. All of that and more.
There are even a few studies that have even found links between higher protein intake and a lower risk of cognitive decline.

Not sure about you, but I’d rather keep especially my brain intact as long as I possibly can. I mean, sure, a little more muscle would be nice, but brain function? An absolute necessity!

Rheumatoid Arthritis and Wound Healing

Here is another thing I noticed since I have arthritis: Any wounds I might have are healing just very very slowly. And I didn’t really realize it until recently, when I got a blister on my index finger from creating my own background for photos with joint compound and some paint, following a video from Joanie on “The Bite Shot”. I didn’t even notice getting it until the day after. Wasn’t worried either, because, well…blisters happen.

A few days later, the skin came off. Still not worried. But 2 weeks later, I’m still putting on new plasters 4 times a day (working in the kitchen and with my horse, I have to replace them a lot!) and one night, when I thought just leaving it open should be fine, I woke up from a sharp pain and the wound bleeding like crazy. Jumping up to run into the bathroom plus the pain had me so dizzy I nearly fainted. And trust me, I don’t faint easily!

That was the pointed when I started worrying. The next morning I googled, as I figured one of my arthritis drugs might have something to do with it. And yes, it might (studies are still not entirely conclusive, but pointing in the direction), but what I mainly found is, that rheumatoid arthritis can slow down healing. Ugh!
And that’s with me constantly banging my hands or feet on stuff because I’m trying to do lots of things at once!

The Solution? Protein Of course.

The same article that told me about the side effect (as if I needed more of those!) gave me some solutions. One of them, unsurprisingly, was to increase my protein intake. Of course! Building block and all that!

And all the above is why I started looking for new ways to use protein powder. But let me rewind for a moment.

How much protein do we need?

I mean, why on earth would I even need protein powder? Shouldn’t my diet have enough of it?
Yeah, that’s what I thought too. Until I started reading about the topic when I was on my weight loss journey a few years ago.

What I learned was, that, on average, we are supposed to eat about 1g of protein per kg of bodyweight. This is wildly simplified and falls into roughly the middle of general recommendations that go from 0.36g to nearly 2g per kg of bodyweight.
If you’d like to calculate your personal needs, here is a helpful tool to do so. But overall it comes down to age (older adults need more protein to maintain muscle mass and bones), your personal goals (do you want to build muscle or maintain muscle?) and the protein content of your current diet.

But don’t we get enough in our diet?

Since I started tracking my macros via MyFitnessPal, to get at least a rough sense for how much I’m eating and burning, I quickly noticed that my protein intake is very consistently too low. I probably shouldn’t have been surprised, considering I’m not eating much meat and am generally not the biggest fan of pulses, but I didn’t realise it’s that low.

Apparently the average American is getting plenty of protein, but who on earth is average? And what if we are not American? What if you, like me, try to eat less meat (because planet, animal lovers, climate, trying to be a decent human and all that)? Maybe on top of that pulses are just not your favourite food?
Yeah, I get you. I really do.

If you have similar eating habits, or simply want to prevent age related muscle loss, adding protein powder to your diet might be a good idea.
The bad news is: Just taking protein alone won’t build muscle. You’ll still have to exercise. Bummer, I know! If anyone ever develops a powder that eliminates the need to exercise I’m absolutely in!

Though I’m slowly coming around to eating more legumes. And finding more ways to include protein in my lunch/dinner, like in my Broccoli and Cauliflower on Whipped Tofu with Smoked Chili Dressing.

But it’s still not enough to cover my needs as a woman over now 50.
Geez, where did the last few years go?

Ok, I probably don’t get enough. Now what?

Anyway, I wasn’t about to take the risk of my bones (let alone my brain!) getting brittle, so I decided something needs to be done. Gimme protein powder!

Vegan, surely?

Dutifully I did a ton of googling and reading and, thinking vegan is the way to go because I do after all try to eat less animal products and I’m lactose intolerant, ordered my first batch.
Excitedly I opened the box and mixed my first shake. I mean, it smelled horrible, but clearly mixed with almond milk, it had to be ok, right? After all, lots of people said they loved it.

Was I in for a surprise! And not a nice one at that. A big sip later, I nearly sputtered it all over my counter. What on earth? Who would drink chalk? And why even? And what was that bitter and disgusting aftertaste? Yikes!
I mean, pea protein shake wasn’t supposed to taste like dried, ground peas? Or was it?

Right. It had to be just that one brand for sure. So off to the next health food shop I went, in search for better options. Half a fortune and multiple bags of miserable trials later, I had to give up. How does anyone manage to drink this stuff? I surely could not. It also made me really queasy for hours after.

Sorry vegan protein powders, you really have to do better to convince me! If anyone comes up with an enjoyable one, please let me know!

Or Rather Whey?

But before giving up entirely on the salvation those shakes are supposed to be, I figured I give whey protein one chance. I can’t be a full on vegan clearly.

Turning to the rather popular “Gold Standard Whey” in Chocolate, my belief in humanity (or rather protein shake consumers) was nearly restored. This was decent. Pretty ok.
Was I so enthusiastic that I wanted to drink this every day though? Most certainly not!

What protein powder did I end up using and why?

Personally I’m using MyProtein Whey because it dissolves into a creamy, custard like texture when mixed with about 1/2 the recommended fluid. There is no graininess whatsoever and it works fabulous in baking and desserts. A friend described it as “tasting like really good custard or melted vanilla ice cream”.

Note: This is neither affiliated nor sponsored. Just the powder I found to taste best after trying a fair few. If you never found one you actually enjoy, give this one a try.
These days I mostly use Vanilla, as it is the most versatile in recipes. But if anyone from MyProtein is reading this: Pretty please bring back Jelly Belly Buttered Popcorn? That stuff was just the bees knees in terms of flavor.

The above mentioned Gold Standard Whey is also pretty good. I love the chocolate version in particular.

How much protein per meal?

For a long time, common wisdom held that your body could only effectively utilize 20-30g of protein per meal, with anything more being wasteful or even potentially harmful. However, it’s important to note that the ‘harmful’ effects were observed in studies of individuals with pre-existing kidney diseases and do not apply to healthy individuals. (As always, for personalized advice, consult your GP.)

A randomized study by Antonio et al. found no negative effects of a high-protein diet over a one-year period.
While earlier studies, such as one by Witard et al., observed diminishing returns on body protein synthesis over a 4-hour period when exceeding certain doses, recent research offers a more nuanced perspective.

A groundbreaking 2023 study by Jorn Trommelen and colleagues challenged this long-held belief. By examining the body over a 12-hour period instead of just 4, they found no such diminishing returns. Their findings suggest that muscle protein synthesis can be significantly increased by consuming higher amounts of protein, which in turn supports the body’s natural ability to repair and heal.

I feel the increased protein intake also helped with my hair, as I was losing it due to the rather extensive weight loss. Clearly my body felt it should get rid of anything that isn’t strictly necessary. I would have voted for more of the fat, but hey…
Thankfully it grew fully back a few months later. And I think the protein (part of which was in form of collagen powder) contributed.
But then, we certainly need more studies, as my experience is just anecdotal.

Are there other ways to use protein powder?

So, what to do with that stuff, to get a reasonable portion into myself?
Google would help I thought and hopefully spit out tons of super yummy protein recipes. Hmm, yeah. About that.

Protein Pancakes were my first adventure. I honestly can’t remember the recipe back then (it’s years ago), but they came out dry and artificial tasting. Same for brownies, overnight oats (not as dry obviously, but still rather lumpy and just…not good!), porridge (Dear god! Why all those lumps? Just stir it in they said! Did anyone try that stuff?) and various other “treats”.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of good recipes these days, but when I was searching back in time, I barely found any I enjoyed.

I also wanted my pancakes with sourdough, but that’s a whole different story for another day and yes, I know I’m peculiar. *shrugs*
Check out my Sourdough Protein Pancakes with Whole Wheat on how I achieved that particular goal.

So what does a woman with a sweet tooth and a very clear picture of how she wants her food to taste do? Yup, create recipes herself.

What do I do differently in my recipes?

Dosage

I suppose, since I’m not a body builder, but simply want a reasonable amount of protein in my food, ideally in form of sweet treats, I don’t have to push the amount of the powder I include to the absolute limits. Which means I go for replacing about ¼ of flour in baked goods and rarely exceed 1 scoop of powder per portion of whatever I’m making.

I found this serves both the flavor, in that you won’t have some strange aftertaste, but rather something that supports the already lovely flavor of whatever dessert I think up. It also replaces part of the carbs (sugar and/or flour most of the time) with the much needed protein. Win/win in my book.
And in creamy recipes it adds even more luscious texture, often eliminating the need for using cream, which is fabulous new for those of us trying to lose or maintain weight.

Creamy Recipes

For anything creamy I will always pre-mix my protein. My Protein Chocolate Mousse Pie is a good example for that method. As noted above: No cream anywhere to be seen in this pie. Yet it is as creamy as you could ever want it to be.

Cooked Recipes

For rice pudding and porridge in particular, like in my Apricot Almond Protein Oats, I first boil the oats in 2/3 of the liquid (usually unsweetened almond milk), then, once that is absorbed mostly, I stir in soy milk mixed with the protein powder and just very gently heat it, without boiling, until it reaches just the right point of creamy. No lumps, just a lovely custard-like consistency.

I never boil it for anything I’d like to stay creamy, as it can coagulate and get rather weird and lumpy if it goes over boiling point.

Baked Recipes

For baked goods I mix the protein powder with the liquid ingredients. Since we want a structure change, it’s of course fine to bake it. You usually won’t even notice it’s there (if you do in my recipes, I either didn’t do my job well and would love to hear about it, or you are using a different powder which I haven’t tried).

A great example of baked goods with protein is my Lemon Poppy Sourdough Zucchini Bread with Protein. Snack sized mini loaf option included.

I wrote a whole post on why I use sourdough with added protein and how it benefits you here.

FAQ

Now I’d love to hear from you in the comments

After this monologue (informed by lots of questions I got over the years after losing all that weight), do you have any questions left?
If so, please comment!
And even if you just learned something you didn’t know, I’d love to hear from you.

And for those of you who are curious about recipes I created, here are some of my favourites:

Protein Rice Pudding 4 Ways

Banoffee Protein Mousse Pie

Strawberry Protein Mousse Pie

Buttermilk Sourdough Waffles with Protein

Protein Creme Brulee Two Ways

Tiramisu Protein Oats Two Ways