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
