I made a mistake with my last purchase of protein powder. I bought one I'd never tried before that was on special and it's horrible! Well, in smoothies, it's horrible. You could use the sweetest strawberries, the yellowest pineapple and the ripest mango but the presence of this powder makes it all taste like chalk and cardboard! Ugh! Hence I am trying to use it up in other ways!
Normally I wouldn't resort to being such a masochist but 1) there is no "not satisfied with this product? Please call 123-456 for a full refund" on the tin, which, note to self, I will look for next time and, in any case, 2) I have mislaid the receipt.
So I'm trying to use it up and surprisingly, it seems to be ok in baked goods! I saw Angela's protein energy bar recipe and thought it would be worth a try. I had no crispy rice cereal, so I put in some of my favourite Dorset Cereals full of fibre muesli. It's proven to be a bit of a winner! Lots of coconut, nuts and fudgy raisins and dates lifted this to the next level, especially after being in the freezer. I put in lots of cinnamon and mixed spice too, to help mask the yucky protein powder flavour! Also instead of a seed butter, I used up the last of my Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter. So this ended up being a very chocolatey protein slice, probably more appropriate as a pre/post run snack than a substitute breakfast! But it will always do in an emergency, like this morning ;)
I refer you to Angela's excellent original recipe, but this is what I did:
Protein power slice
Based on Oh She Glows Last Minute Protein Energy Bars
You will need:
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup muesli (or other cereal - something like Curiously Cinnamon would be very nice!)
1/2 cup of your favourite protein powder (or one you desperately want to use up, like me!)
2 heaped teaspoons cinnamon and/or mixed spice (I did this to hide the taste of the protein powder!)
1/2 cup peanut butter, almond butter or other nut or seed butter of your choice
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
Dash of vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 x 100g bar 85% dark chocolate (I use Green and Blacks)
Sesame seeds, to scatter on top
Method:
Mix the oats, muesli, protein powder and cinnamon/spice together.
Heat the nut/seed butter, maple syrup and vanilla in a saucepan over low heat until combined.
Mix in to the oat mixture. It will be absorbed pretty quickly. Add water if you need more liquid.
Spread into a large baking tray lined with baking paper.
Melt the dark chocolate and spread a thin layer on top. Scatter with sesame seeds.
Place in the freezer for 30 minutes or until hard. Cut into bars and store in the fridge or freezer (I've been keeping mine in the freezer).
Yum!
I recommend serving it straight from the freezer, it gets a bit soft if left for too long.
I don't know if I'm going to be able to get through the whole tin of powder in this way.....am I being too much of a martyr, do you think?! Is it better to just chuck it out and cut my losses?!
I won't be so much of a cheapskate next time and just get the Solgar one :)
Do you use a protein powder? Any disaster stories to share?
Haha, this made me laugh!
ReplyDeleteMy boyfriend and I usually use a Musashi Low Carb protein powder which is really nice.
One day recently, my boyfriend came home from the supermarket with a natural whey protein - all proud of himself because it was so much cheaper than our normal powder. Unfortunately, the taste and texture are a lot like eating sawdust (horrible!).
We have found that by mixing a little bit at a time (about an eighth of the container)with our Musashi powder we are managing to use it up without really suffering too much. Maybe you should try that too! :)
I am working my way through two horrid protein powders at the moment. I tried to branch out from soy with brown rice and pea proteins, total fail!
ReplyDeleteOh girls, I sympathise! And you don't want to throw it out either, because they aren't cheap :P
ReplyDeleteKate, I like your idea of mixing some of the less pleasant powder with a nicer one to use it up!
OMG they look sooooooo good! x x
ReplyDelete