Updated: October, 2020
Purchasing supplements can be an overwhelming process, whether it’s protein powder, fish oil, or an every-day multi vitamin. There are so many brands available, all with varying formulas, claims and reviews. It’s difficult to know what you should be purchasing and incorporating into your daily routine.
Over the past five years, I have been asked countless times what which plant-based protein powder I recommend. I have tried a number of brands, always hunting for the best taste, consistency, nutritional profile and ingredient list. Although I like to get the majority of my protein through whole foods, this can be challenge particularly in the morning, or if you're on the-go. This is when turning to a powdered protein supplement can be helpful. When comparing protein ingredients, it's often easier to find a higher quality whey than it is plant-based brand. So, if you're not choosing plant-based protein for any ethical or digestive reasons, take some time to explore whey based and use these guidelines:
If you keep this guideline list handy when shopping for a whey, even if you tick of 85% of the boxes, you likely have a decent quality brand in your hands.
Looking for FRESH breakfast ideas? Try my Quinoa Breakfast Bowl. With a complete amino acid profile, endless topping possibilities and all the warm comfort of a bowl of oatmeal, you'll be excited to switch up your breakfast routine!
Now onto the plant-based protein powders. Before I get into specific brands (because, depending on where you are located, different protein powders will be available to you), there are some guidelines you can use to help you shop for these as well, many the same as above:
Again, you might not be able to tick all of these boxes, so just be sure to take a glance at the ingredient list before purchasing and make sure you're buying a decent brand, even if it's not perfect. We want to support supplement companies that truly have our health in mind--not brands that are trying to make a product on the cheap to maximize margins. The problem with many plant-based proteins is that they can be grainy, chalky, and lacking in the flavour department. That said, over the years I have seen many brands step up their game as they work to stay competitive in the market. Here, I will review four brands of plant-based protein powders and, hopefully, take some of the guess work out for you when purchasing. The four brands I am going to review are: Vega Sport Performance Protein (vanilla) Garden of Life Raw Protein (chocolate) Lean Fit Naturals Complete Green Protein (vanilla bean) Tropeaka Protein (Vanilla) When you're looking at the nutrition profile of a protein powder, you want to look first at the balance between proteins, fat and carbs. If you're planning on using it as a meal replacement on its own, you may want a more even balance between macronutrients. If you want to incorporate a protein powder into a smoothie, look for a solid dose of protein (around the 20g mark per serving) and lower carbs and fats. You can easily add whole foods into a smoothie to make a complete meal. If you follow a keto lifestyle, you may be ok with high protein and fat but low carb. Reflect on what you want from a powder and go from there.
Vega Sport Performance Protein (vanilla)
Vega Sport boasts an impressive 30g of protein per scoop, which you don't see that often in a vegan brand. With only 3g of carbs and fat each, the macronutrient breakdown is solid. If that's where your interest ends, this this a great choice for you.
If we dive into the ingredient list, we see a mix of conventional and organic protein sources. Non-organic pea protein isn't ideal, as it can be a heavily sprayed crop. That said, the sweetener is stevia, which is a pretty good choice. Like most protein powders, it does contain natural flvours (another word for artificial flavours), but it's the last ingredient listed, telling us the content is low compared to other ingredients used. In terms of taste, I found it good with a smooth texture. Final thoughts: Although I appreciate the accessibility, 100% organic proteins sources would be best. Garden of Life Raw Protein (chocolate)
Garden of Life is another popular plant-based protein brand, and this is for a couple of reasons. The nutrition is good, with 22g of protein per serving, 5g of carbs and 2.5g of fat. But the real star of the show is their ingredient list. All protein sources are organic, including organic sprouted rice powder, sprouted meaning there is more nutritional benefits. Like Vega, it's sweetened with stevia and contains natural flavours.
You may find the texture not quite as satisfying as other brands, but if we're talking ingredients, these are best in class. Final thoughts: Texture not perfect, but super high quality production for such an accessible brand. LeanFit Completegreen Organic Protein (vanilla) LeanFit is a Canadian company based in Vancouver. Their plant-based (and whey) protein can be found at Costco, which a lot of people love. The price is right too. But how do the nutritionals compare to other brands? LeanFit provides 21g of protein, 7g of carbs and 0g of fat. Like Garden of Life, LeanFit Completegreen organic uses a full organic plant-based protein blend. It's sweetened with stevia, but uses natural flavours, a mix of organic and conventional. Final thoughts: the taste and texture are decent. Like most, it includes natural flavours, but in terms of price point and nutritionals, it's a solid choice for the average consumer. Tropeaka Lean Protein (vanilla)
Tropeaka is an Australian company with a North American warehouse. So, although you'll have to order online, it's pretty easy to get your hands on this brand. The ingredient list includes some unique items that I haven't seen in many other brands, like macca powder, MCT oil and monkfruit. But I'm so torn because the protein combo is not organic! And, as mentioned, could mean the product would score high in pesticides. That said, if you're really interested in diving into this, I'd research the farming differences in Australia vs. those in North America. My guess is we'd see some differences there, potentially making organic less of an issue.
Final Thoughts: The flavour, texture and macro breakdown is on-point. With 16g of protein, 4g of carbs and 2.5g of fat in a 2Tbsp serving, Tropeaka is one you may want to keep in your pantry for its unique ingredient list and related benefits.
With so many protein companies on the market today, it's a confusing world out there for the consumer. Hopefully the checklist provided above, as well as a peek into the nutrition and taste profile of a few brands, will help guide you when making your next plant-based protein purchase.
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The world of nutrition is a complicated one. Head to the Health and Wellbeing section at your local Chapters and you’ll see what I mean. There are literally walls of books telling us what to eat, what not to eat, how to cook it, and when to eat it. This would all be well and good… except that they all seem to contradict each other in varying ways. So how are we expected to make it through this life with a healthy approach if the so-called professionals can’t even agree?
I pride myself in being able to read nutrition advice with an objective eye. I gather what I have learned from past resources and make my own judgments on what is truth and what is fad. Are all of my ideas surrounding health accurate? Probably not. Nutritional information is so vast, how could I possible know it all? But, I don’t feel too bad about it, considering that even world-class scientists haven’t got it all figured out yet. It is an ever-growing body of knowledge. That’s part of what I love about the industry. Things never get old. However, as confident as I am in my own journey, if I’m not careful, I too can find myself feeling muddled by over exposure to information. I start to give in to the confidently worded, persuasive writing offered up by some health guru, meditating on a beach in California. I begin to question what I know to be true or effective. Although questioning your awareness and constantly building upon what you already know is an important part of learning, it isn’t always necessary, depending on your information source. 3/19/2015 0 Comments Protein: The What, Why and HowProtein. It’s difficult to consult any piece of nutrition literature without reading about the importance of it. Well, there’s a reason for that: protein is really important.
What is it? When speaking in terms of food, protein is one of the three macronutrients that we consume through our diet (its two counterparts being carbohydrates and fats). If you’re looking for a more scientific explanation, proteins in the human body are made up of complex chemical compounds called amino acids. There are two categories of amino acids in the body: essential and non-essential. Our bodies are unable to make essential amino acids, and therefore, we need to consume them through our diet. Protein plays many important roles within the body, but let’s talk about it from a nutrition standpoint (otherwise, we could be here all day). Why is it important? Most women I talk to have similar goals when it comes to changing their bodies: they want to lose fat and look ‘fit.’ It is important to realize that looking fit tends to come from building or maintaining lean muscle mass. There’s a stereotype often associated with the so-called ‘gym rats’. You know the picture I’m talking about: the one with a 250lb body builder drinking a watery chocolate drink from his shaker bottle. As much as this visual may make you roll your eyes a bit, there’s something to be said about it. When we complete a hard workout, we put our muscles through the ringer and tear them down. In order to prevent a loss of lean muscle (that lovely material that gives us the nice toned look), it’s important to feed them with protein so they are able to repair and rebuild themselves. The idea of writing a blog is, I admit, a daunting one. The first hurdle, in my opinion, is getting over the narcissistic nature of it all. “I think this” and “I believe that,” and “here’s what I ate today,” and “aren’t these workout leggings cute? And they don’t even fall down when I squat!” Who am I to say that my opinion matters or that anyone cares to hear it? The second hurdle: embracing authenticity and accepting vulnerability. Before even sourcing a web host for this blog of mine, I made a promise to myself: I would only acknowledge the desire to begin this project if I remained genuine throughout and vowed to be myself from beginning to end. With that, of course, comes the very real fear that you will be putting yourself out there for the world to see (and judge). Well, that is, if anyone gives a crap about what you have to say. However, after weighing the pros and cons of these worries, ultimately, the opportunity to embrace my passion that writing a blog presented was too enticing to pass up. So here I am, world: a self-proclaimed fitness and nutrition nut, ready to share my love of healthy living with the general public. Judge away. My name is Lindsay. I live in downtown Toronto with my amazing fiancé (whom I’m sure you will hear more about later). I am an elementary school teacher by day, but fill much of my free time in the gym and by educating myself on health and nutrition. I often treat myself as my own guinea pig (Tim Ferriss styles, minus 1000). I enjoy testing various nutritional theories on myself, and watching my body respond (sometimes positively, sometimes not so much... and sometimes not at all). I am a Precision Nutrition Certified Nutrition Coach, and am looking forward to sharing my experiences of that journey throughout. I have been active my entire life. I spent the majority of my childhood and adolescence in various arenas across the province as a competitive figure skater. The level of commitment required to be successful at such a sport, along with an inherent competitiveness (surely passed on by my dad), helped me to become the person I am today. After graduating university, I was thrust into an unknown world where skates were not required. My figure skating career had come to an end, and I was ok with that, but… now what? With so much free time, I needed a new hobby. I began to think very hard about what I enjoyed so much about the skating world and where my interests lay. Ultimately, it was the desire to be better. I always wanted to improve, no matter where I stood in the sport. That quality, I realized, was easily transferred into anything I decided to do in life. Although I had been working out in the gym for years, I didn’t truly understand what I was doing, or how to improve my performance (minus the odd tip I took from reading a Women’s Health magazine). I knew that staying active was important to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and that I valued healthy living and the benefits it provided, but beyond that, I kept it quite simple. Fast-forward six years, and I am on a personal health and fitness journey that I tackle with intension. I am hungry for knowledge, and always strive to be better than I was yesterday. Do I always succeed in this mission? Hell no. There are days when I go to bed thinking, “Well, I didn’t make it to the gym today,” or, “I told myself I would go for a run…” or, the ever-so-familiar, “I probably shouldn’t have eaten that.” But if I have learned anything over the past few years, it’s this: every day is a new day. If we let ourselves dwell on the things we have done or left undone, we will never find the ability to move forward. Make goals, create an action plan, and set out each day to achieve those goals. We will never be perfect, but we can always be better.
Now, I would like to preface this blog by stating that I am, by no means, an expert on anything. How’s that for a selling feature? My passion is, and will always be, to be a student of my craft. I love to learn and to apply these lessons to my own life. My friends and family know about this hobby of mine, and thus, often come to me for advice or with questions. I love to share what I have learned along the way. If I can help others adopt a healthy lifestyle, then I will. That is the primary goal of Eat. Move. Live. Sometimes I don’t have the answer, but I will always look for it from someone who does. This often sends me to one of the many health and fitness professionals that I follow and look to for knowledge and growth on a regular basis. I know that, throughout this project, I will be referring to many of them. There are some seriously skilled people out there in the world of healthy living, and I am excited to expose you to a handful of them. It is this community of talented professionals that help drive my desire to be the best me. They inspire me daily. When I was completing my Master’s degree in Education, my very first professor provided me with feedback on an assignment that stuck: she told me that I needed to control my writing. Point taken. Therefore, I am going to wrap it up for today. I am excited to be on this creative journey and to share what I know/think I know/want to know about nutrition, fitness, and healthy living. Come along for the ride. Lindsay |
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