21 Foods to Mix With Protein Powder

Posted March 26, 2024 in Recipes, Supplements 32 Comments »

Need protein powder?

If you are looking for a pure protein powder, check out Optimum Nutrition. Optimum Nutrition protein powder comes in about 20 different flavors, and is available in 1 lb, 2 lb, 5 lb, and 10 lb containers.

Click here to order or learn more about Optimum Nutrition.

Athletes always need more protein. If you aren’t sure how much you need, read about how much protein you should eat. Or maybe you would rather skip straight to protein shake recipes. If not, read on…

Protein Shake

Optimum Nutrition

The problem with most protein powders is that they taste like cardboard. I found a company called Optimum Nutrition that puts out some great inexpensive protein powder. I haven’t bought anything else in several years now. Optimum Nutrition protein powder tastes pretty good, but we can still realize a ton of benefits by learning to mix it with some of the other healthiest foods.

In my 13 years of experience whipping up protein concoctions, I have retained a couple of favorite combinations. Get some protein, get some groceries, and enjoy.

My Top 21 Favorite Foods to Mix with Protein Powder

  1. Milk – Just use milk instead of water for more flavor, more thickness, and more calories. Try goat’s milk for an extra health kick.
  2. Cream – Use instead of milk or water for way more flavor and calories.
  3. Fruit – Blend it up and it’s called a fruit smoothie. Try strawberries and bananas. Add fruit to just about all of these other recipes. Fruit adds vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants so don’t hesitate to add it to anything.
  4. Nuts – Mix or blend with walnuts, almonds, pecans, and sunflower seeds. Adds healthy fats and a nutty aftertaste to everything. You could probably use peanuts too, but honestly, peanuts aren’t that great for you.
  5. All Natural Peanut Butter – Use peanut butter to make Peanut Butter Protein Balls using this recipe. These are so good.
  6. Oatmeal – Make strawberry or chocolate protein oatmeal for a high-fiber breakfast. I have also added 1/4 cup of raw oatmeal to a plain chocolate protein shake.
  7. Cereal – Cereal is generally not too good for you unless you’re eating something like Total or Special K, Grapenuts, or Kashi; and that’s exactly what I’m recommending here. Add a scoop or two of protein powder to your healthy cereal… it’s perfect because it already has milk!
  8. Cottage Cheese – Just use 1/4 cup of protein powder at the most and add a few drops of water if it gets too thick. Read a post all about cottage cheese recipes. Add fruit and nuts as desired.
  9. Pancakes – Everyone who’s been reading this blog for a while knows about protein pancakes. Just add 1/2 a scoop to the mix and a little water to thin it out. Add fruit and nuts as desired.
  10. Ice Cream or Frozen Yogurt – Blend for a weight gainer treat. Add fruit and nuts as desired.
  11. Dessert Mix – For more junk food, mix the protein powder with brownie mix, cookie mix, or any sort of dessert bread or loaf.
  12. Pudding Mix – You can make protein pudding with just about any flavor of pudding or protein. You can choose low-fat pudding or regular. Check out The Hulk Protein Shake for a swell pistachio-flavored snack.
  13. Apple Juice and Caramel Flavoring – Mix it with vanilla protein for a caramel apple dessert. Add fruit and nuts as desired.
  14. Other Juices – You can also use pretty much any other juice or even Gatorade. Try orange juice, cranberry juice, and someone one recommended green Gatorade but I don’t know anything about it.
  15. Yogurt – Particularly low-fat or non-fat yogurt mixed with fruit or vanilla-flavored protein powder. Blend it with fruit for an even thicker fruit smoothie. Add fruit and nuts as desired.
  16. Pasta Sauce – Or any other thick heavily flavored sauce. The catch is that it has to be unflavored protein powder.
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  1. Eggs and Egg Whites – Mix unflavored protein powder into any recipe that is primarily made with eggs. From what I understand, cooking the protein powder somewhat denatures the protein, making it less useful to your body, but it’s better than no protein at all. Fact: nearly all macronutrient enzymes are in some way compromised at heats above 160 degrees C.
  2. Mashed Potatoes – Once again you’ll need to use unflavored protein powder, but it will make you feel so much better about eating your mashed potatoes. Add a splash of milk or cream if the potatoes become too thick.
  3. Sweeteners – Add any type of syrup if you don’t care about carbs, and add any type of artificial sweetener (I prefer Splenda) if you want to avoid sweetening your protein with sugar.
  4. Coffee – The secret is to mix up a scoop of protein with milk, then add the milk concoction to your coffee.
  5. Homemade protein bars.

Let me know if I’ve left anything out. Hopefully, between the post and the comments, we’ll have even more than 21 great foods to mix with protein powder.

Read more: 105 Protein Shake Recipes for Weight Loss, Muscle Gain, and Energy

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32 Responses to “21 Foods to Mix With Protein Powder”

  1. weight Loss Tips|Diet Plans|Health Food…

    […]21 Foods for Athletes to Mix With Protein Powder | Project Swole[…]…

  2. Great article, never knew you could mix
    so many different foods and drinks with Protein Powder.

  3. With the ideas that require cooking – the pancakes, brownies etc. – exposing protein to higher temperatures causes the structure of proteins to change, just like when you cook an egg and the white goes from translucent to opaque. This is quite basic…

    • Yeah we’ve been over this a million times. It’s really not a big deal, the protein is still protein even though it has changed it’s physical appearance. Cooking protein really doesn’t do anything we need to be concerned about.

  4. Great list. I sometimes put in a few greens in my shake. Mostly spinach. Haven’t done it in a while though. Going to try some collard greens and kale next week.

  5. uhm masked potatoes contains starch whichs slows down bloodflow, which leads to low oxygen levels to the musles, which is is bad to take after you work out.

  6. When adding protein powder to most of these things, it usually helps to mix into a paste with a fork and a little water first.

    Also, try hemp protein powder if you haven’t already. Easiest protein to digest and the most nutritious.

  7. Hey steve, im tryng to get my father, who is overweight (15pounds), to try some whey protein shakes. I think he can have one shake a day when he arrives from work at 6pm, cause at that time he gets really hungry and tends to eat junk food, or makes bad food choices. During the rest of the day he eats pretty healthy. He thinks those shakes could make his weight problem worse, i keep telling him they are a healthy choice, plus they help with those food cravings. What s your advice???

    • Fran: I think it’s a good idea, but you have to do it right. Firstly, you need to choose a protein shake that is not filled with carbs and sugars… choose a protein powder instead of a meal replacement. Next, he needs to find a food or beverage that he can mix his protein powder with so that it tastes good, otherwise he won’t continue using them. Finally, if he uses the protein shake he should not still eat junk food… sometimes protein shakes are not that filling. If possible have him blend his protein shake with frozen fruit or add some healthy fat to it, like all natural peanut butter or flax oil (but not too much flax).

  8. I’m confused. You say that peanuts aren’t that good for you then recommend adding peanut butter in the next sentence.

    • Uberhack: peanuts aren’t the great for you compared to some other nuts, but they are better for you than 95% of the rest of the food in the world. If you are dieting hardcore you would probably choose almonds over peanuts, but if you are just out to make protein snacks then by all means mix your protein with peanut butter… especially if you are trying to gain weight.

  9. Have you checked if the combination’s of these ingredients is not harmful or even a side effects. We need to be sure on whatever we take so we will not suffer the consequences.

  10. 42 Foods You Can Mix With Oatmeal | Build Muscle and Lose Fat - Articles on Conditioning, Weightlifting, Powerlifting, Strongman, Diet, Nutrition, Martial Arts :: Project Swole | Hooksett, NH 03106 says:

    […] See also: 21 foods you can mix with protein powder […]

  11. Cool list. You did not mention Flax meal. I add frozen mixed berries and flax meal which creates a completely balanced shake with protein, carbs, fiber and healthy fat!!!

  12. I think pumpkin and sweet potato will really work.

    ================

    Liza

    A Canadian company, Naturally Nova Scotia, makes supplements from foods instead of synthetics. The have vitamin C from fruit, herbal tinctures, green drinks, vitamin D3, and others.

    Supplements from Foods

  13. Everybody needs protein and nutrition to sustain our strength to do our daily activities. Our key supplements come from the food we eat. It is also a positive guidance to get healthy body by mental and physically.
    _______________________________________________
    Edwin
    A Canadian company, Naturally Nova Scotia, makes supplements from foods instead of synthetics. The have vitamin C from fruit, herbal tinctures, green drinks, vitamin D3, and others.

    Supplements from Foods

  14. […] increased protein: BodyBuilding.com – pancakes, ice cream, etc Honey Oatmeal Chocolate Protein Bars 21 Foods for Athletes to Mix With Protein Powder Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Make Money Online Working From Home Business – […]

  15. Grab a meal replacement drink, cereal bar or energy bar. Check the label to be sure the product contains at least 6 grams of protein, and is low in sugar and fat.

  16. Hey you have a sweet site going here and I just love the design. How’d you get the add to digg, stumble, newsvine, etc at the end of each post with images? What code did you use? Did you get the code from feedburner or somewhere else? Your help is appreciated.

    -taylor

  17. I believe I recall Kashi giving me severe gas at one point as well. Thanks for digging up that nasty old memory. ha!

  18. Be careful with the Kashi.

    I had two servings a few days ago and had so much gas that I think I single handedly warmed the atmosphere by at least a full degree. It was insane. And no I don’t have a gluten intolerance.. it’s just the Kashi..

  19. I recommend Biotest Metabolic Drive Super Protein Shake for a low calorie protein powder, Biotest Metabolic Drive for a complete meal replacer, and Biotest Grow! Premium Quality Whey for 5 lbs of plain old protein powder. Other than Biotest, I would have to recommend Optimum Nutrition.

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