Pulsin Pea Protein Isolate

Although I am well on board the protein trend, this is the first protein powder I’ve bought. I am definitely not someone who is a stereotypical bodybuilder and primarily protein for me is about nutrition and overall holistic wellbeing rather than about big arms and a restrictive diet full of shakes and bars. I’ve always been put off protein powders a little bit as they seem so scientific and therefore not real food. However, I recently purchased this bag of pea protein from Pulsin who also make bars I like as well the Beond bars I’ve reviewed previously.

This is literally essentially just a bag of pea protein isolate, which essentially is a pea flour/ dust but it terms out peas actually quite a lot of protein. This powder is 82% protein with just 0.8% carbs and per 10g spoonful you get 8.2g protein – about the same as an egg.

It’s a completely natural, additive free protein source that is suitable for vegan and is free from soya, dairy, gluten and is non gm. There isn’t a freefrom box it doesn’t tick! It’s also a source of amino acids and vitamins A, B6 and C. Pouring it out it’s a bright green colour and you can kind of smell a trace of peas with a very floury texture.

The brand suggests it can be used in smoothies, porridge and juices so I went and used it a Nutribullet. I kept it quite simple and used a big heaped teaspoon of the powder along with a handful of blueberries, half a banana and a little almond milk  and water and whizzed it up.

The great thing about a Nutribullet is how thoroughly it blends everything so the pea protein got completely lost in the smoothie and therefore wasn’t noticeable with all the sweetness of the fruit but added a good dollop of protein to my drink. Although the powder is apparently unflavoured, I have noticed it does have a quite savoury pea tone, which means depending on what else you put in your smoothie, you might get a background taste of it as it isn’t neutral.

However, so long as you don’t try and put too much powder in and add in lots of flavour, this isn’t usually a problem and it’s a great way to add protein to your smoothies in a natural, plant based way. I’m sure there’s lots of other things I could do with it like adding it into soups (imagine it would work very well here) or even adding to pasta sauces to balance out a quite carb heavy meal with some protein.

The bag is also well designed and resealable and the perfect size at 250g vs those hulking big sport protein powders that you have to shove your hand in to get a scoop and then ends up getting dust everywhere.

I can imagine this would be a very useful product for vegetarians or those struggling to get enough protein.

Bought at: Wholefoods Market

Nutrition per 10g: 35 calories, 8.2g protein, 0.2g fat, 0g sat fat, 0g sugars, 0.38g salt

Score: 7 /10