Good morning beautiful people, I hope you’re all doing really well!

I’m often asked about protein powders, whether they’re healthy, when to use them, if they’re necessary, which one to choose and so on.

There are A LOT of options out there and there are a lot of pros and cons to consuming protein powders regularly.

While no one actually NEEDS protein powders, as we can all get sufficient protein from food, I do understand the convenience factor and that some days, having a square meal three times a day, with sufficient protein and nutrients, is not always possible.

There are literally thousands of options out there – from whey to soy to hemp and pea and many many more. Different powders from different brands can contain a ton of different ingredients and weeding out the bad from the good can be really difficult. There are good options out there, and if you’re interested, I’m happy to do a blog post with some of my favourite store bought varieties.

However, it’s SO EASY to make your own, that I thought I’d share a recipe for a mixed seed protein powder here for you all to be able to make a batch at home!

I often make a 5 seed blend – you could use as many as you like, feel free to omit the ones you don’t have or add anything you like here.

I use:

Pumpkin seeds – High in protein (a 28g serving contains approx 7g of protein), full of fibre, Vitamin K, magnesium, manganese, calcium, iron, copper and phosphorus.

Sunflower seeds – high in protein (a 28g serving contains approx 5g of protein), rich in polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats (healthy fats), high in many vitamins and minerals and antioxidants.

Flax seeds / Linseeds – high in healthy fats, good source of lignans (a very powerful antioxidant which is protective against many forms of cancer), contain high quality protein.

Chia Seeds – High in Omega-3 fatty acids (good fats), great source of protein (a 28g serving contains approx 6 g of protein), rich in fibre, antioxidants, iron and calcium.

Hemp Seeds – Rich in heart healthy fats and essential fatty acids, high in fibre, very high in protein (25% of calories from hemp seeds come from protein), contain high amounts of Vitamin E (particularly good for skin health), magnesium (may help reduce symptoms of PMS and menopause), phosphorus, calcium, iron and zinc.

Method:

Simple blend your seeds one by one in a food processor, blender or spice / coffee grinder. I use 1/2 cup of each to make this mix. However, keep in mind that this is best kept in the fridge and used with a month.

Do not over do it with the blending. Otherwise the oils will start to release from the seeds and they will quickly turn into seed butters. (Which are absolutely delicious but not the goal here)

So if you’re not sure how often you’re going to use it, try making a smaller batch to avoid waste. Once ground, seeds like flax and hemp start slowly losing their health benefits so make sure to keep this in the fridge and try to use it within 4 weeks.

I also often add some Vanilla powder and this time I also added some peanut butter powder (which is organic peanut butter – just peanuts – dehydrated and with a lot of the fat removed). You can find it in any health shop.

You can add any powdered flavor component you like – just make sure it’s in powder form. Do not add any oil or any form of liquid to this or it will go bad really quickly – I learned this the hard way!

Use it in smoothies, on top of yoghurt and fruit, in your oats or anything you fancy 🙂

I hope you’ve found this informative and helpful. I love adding this to my daily meals. It helps keep me really full and satisfied without overeating and and makes an ideal post-workout addition!

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Thank you for taking the time to be here and read this ❤

Until my next post, be well xXx