Five of my favourite protein powders

Protein powders have evolved so much in terms of flavour, texture and taste. A few years ago it was hard to find more than 3 flavours, but now companies have produced an array of protein products that cater to veggies, vegans and people with a real sweet tooth (aka me). They also happen to be the best post workout supplement.

The flavours have been developed to offer a large range of tastes, so you aren’t just stuck with vanilla or chocolate, plus the marketing has evolved to be more inclusive of everyone – although let’s not mention Protein World’s Beach Body fuck up.

In general, more ‘normal’ people are using protein powders to boost their health and wellbeing whether they attend the gym or not, for example some people use it to supplement their diet if they don’t eat a lot of meat, while others will use it to increase muscle.

I’m not going to lecture you about the importance of protein in your diet, but I can point you towards this blog post about the best food to eat post-exercise which has some info about why we need protein. Unless you are doing HIIT training every day or lifting ridiculously heavy weights, you probably don’t need THAT much protein powder. By having 4 shakes a day, you could just be facilitating an expensive bathroom habit *ahem*

However, the great thing about protein powders is that they go straight into your system, so your body absorbs the protein much faster than it would do consuming a large meal. This is not to say its a meal replacement, but it just works a bit faster if you really want it to.

Personally, I use protein powders on a daily basis. A scoop in my porridge in the morning helps to make my breakfast more balanced, so its a blend of carbohydrates and protein, which keeps me fuller for longer.

Anyway, here are my favourite protein powders IN ORDER!

Bio-Synergy 

The Active Woman Diet Whey protein in strawberry is so delicious! Apparently this blend has been specially formulated for women and includes:

“All-Natural Green Tea extracts to Activate to put a little more bounce in your step and to give your metabolism an extra push. Green Tea has been shown to aid with digestion and improve metabolic fat burning. With Vitamin D, B5, B6, calcium, zinc, and folic acid – these vitamins play vital roles in efficient energy metabolism, and also help safeguard bones and sensitive muscle tissues. BCAAs (or Branched-Chain Amino Acids) provide a powerful source of energy during workouts, and help active muscles perform, recover, and rebuild. BCAAs play an important role in fuelling hungry muscles and making sure they get the nutrition they need to become toned and sleek.”

With all this in mind, I think Bio-synergy includes the most vitamins and includes BCAAs which puts it in the best spot in my opinion. Plus it tastes like strawberry ice cream!

Bodybuilding Warehouse 

Don’t let the name fool you, this is an amazing protein powder for everyone. It doesn’t have a grainy texture to it which makes it the easiest to drink with water or to add to food. Banana and strawberry (both in diet whey) and they don’t disappoint.

MyProtein

MyProtein whey powder in Vanilla was the first protein powder I ever tried. I like this protein because it’s sweet but not sickly and it doesn’t turn weird when you microwave it unlike others which can go spongey. The MyProtein range has expanded a lot and there are loads of new flavours which I haven’t tried yet, including banoffee pie, salted caramel and Victoria sponge cake, as well as many others.

Since then, MyProtein have sent me some samples of their new Active Woman range, including protein cookies, protein crisps and a pre-workout tea. I have to be honest and say I really wasn’t a fan of the protein crisps, I thought they tasted like cardboard, although the cookies were really good. Obviously not as good as real cookies, as they did still have a protein taste to them, but if you were cutting and wanted to have a low calorie high-protein snack, then I could definitely see the appeal – white chocolate and raspberry was the best flavour.

Multi-power 

I have two flavours of multi-power at home, a vanilla and a mango and banana. I was kindly sent them to participate in a bake off challenge with the brand earlier this year, you can read my post here. I didn’t win the challenge, but I couldn’t complain because I had some great protein to play around with.

I was excited to try the mango and banana flavour, but unfortunately it didn’t live up to my expectations. I can’t put my finger on the exact taste, but it is nothing like banana or mango! On the other hand, the vanilla is really nice and, even though I use it every day, I still have so much left so it’s definitely great value for money. One final point though, I’ve noticed you have to microwave this protein for less time than the others, otherwise it explodes everywhere if you add it to porridge.

Optimum nutrition whey protein

I’m one of those people that LOVES real chocolate, but hates anything chocolate flavoured. No mousses, no chocolate biscuits. no chocolate cake. So most chocolate protein flavours are a no-go for me, until I tried optimum nutrition! This is a great chocolate powder which tastes just like proper chocolate milk in a shake.

So there you have it, I would definitely recommend these protein powders. Just remember that you don’t have to drink them as a shake if you don’t love the taste, just add a scoop into porridge in the morning and you’re set to go. You can also bake with these powders, or use them to create cold desserts.

Do you use protein powders to supplement your diet? Let me know!