Recently I have been working with more clients regarding their nutrition. Most of them are generally good at accepting a little more protein in their diet as a way to promote recovery, and build muscle. Also this added protein can help to increase their satisfaction between meals allowing them to consume fewer calories in total which helps with losing body fat. However one of the most difficult meals for my clients to get more protein is breakfast. Most are stuck on higher carbohydrate, calorie choices such as bagels, muffins, cereals, or other convenient foods. This can be a tough for them to switch to higher protein foods in the morning such as eggs, Greek yogurt, or leftovers from the last night’s dinner. A similar switch for many people is from cereal to oatmeal. Oatmeal is a slower digesting carb which will not spike blood sugar in quite the same way as many other morning staples. However oatmeal does not have a very high amount protein in a typical serving. With this in mind I would like present some strategies for creating super nutritious protein oatmeal.
Nut Butters
It goes without saying that plain oatmeal can be bland in taste. However many people like to add fresh berries, and other fruits to their oatmeal to spice up the taste a little bit. Well if we have learned anything from PB&J sandwiches the taste of nut butters goes great with fruit and berries. Adding a table spoon of nut butter can add up to 3g of extra protein to your oatmeal with a ton of flavor. Whats more is many companies have started making high protein peanut and nut butters such as P28. P28 has up to 14g of protein in 2 table spoons.
Protein Powder
This next tip is a bodybuilding favorite. Adding some good old fashion protein powder to your oatmeal not only adds a ton of flavor but also can add a ton of protein. With the typical scoop of protein adding approximately 25g of protein it does not take much to begin to fortify that bowl of oatmeal with the muscle building nutrient. My personal favorite is combining tip 1 of peanut butter and some chocolate protein.
Protein Overnight Oats
Overnight oats have quickly become something that I am using more and more in my own meal preparation. Basically what you do is take a mason jar and fill it with all of the things you would normally put in a bowl of oatmeal. Some high protein favorites are milk, protein powder, chia seeds, or hemp hearts. Seal the jar up tight and leave in the fridge overnight. In the morning the oatmeal will have sucked up all of the liquid leaving you with a delicious morning treat. For more recipes I have linked some of my favorite high protein overnight oat concoctions [HERE].
Greek Yogurt or Cottage Cheese
Finally this is an oldy but a goodie of a tip. Adding cottage cheese or greek yogurt to your oatmeal after cooking can be a great way to get some extra protein in there. In university I would take dry oatmeal and mix it in with yogurt for a tasty snack on the go. I had this nearly every morning during my football seasons and it kept me going into the heart of the season.
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