I'll be honest with you...I don't use protein powder. I'd rather throw some black beans in my smoothies, or peanut butter, or tofu. All fantastic sources of protein. I find protein powder to be too expensive, too artificial, and if it's vegan (which can be hard to come by) it can be grainy or chalky. So, you can imagine my hesitation when Sunwarrior contacted me about participating in their smoothie challenge.
However, protein powder has it's place in life and Sunwarrior is one of the very best. Todd actually uses it quite frequently. For someone that needs an instant meal and doesn't have much culinary experience (or desire to be in the kitchen), it can be a wonderful thing indeed.
This weekend, Todd ran up the mountain I grew up on and where he proposed. I was under the weather so I stayed home with Bailey. Bailey can't do this mountain. The last time Todd brought him, he had to carry him back down...literally. It's exceptionally steep and very unforgiving, though for some reason it's been bestowed the unfortunate and ironic name "Lazy Mountain". A joke, no doubt. I knew when he came back he would need a recovery drink and this Malted Chocolate Shake was just the thing. I had to put it in the fridge to keep myself from drinking all of it! Recipe development...almost as strenuous as running up a mountain...
I confess I was really pleasantly surprised by the Sunwarrior products. I have tasted a few other vegan protein powders in the past couple years and I was less than impressed. Even the fermented barley powders and liquid light were really not bad! The immune shield liquid, however, was straight-up horrible. Though I'm pretty sure it's not the point to taste delicious. I really like that their products are free of GMOs, dairy, gluten and anything artificial. They also weren't gritty like other the powders I've tried.
Growing up, my grandmother used to make me malted chocolate shakes. Alas, the instant chocolate malt powder isn't cruelty-free, so I decided to make my own! This is a protein packed shake thanks to a little help from Sunwarrior and nothing is better than a little nostalgia from time to time.
“Animals are my friends...and I don’t eat my friends.”
Malted Chocolate Shake
Growing up, my grandmother used to make me malted chocolate shakes. Alas, the instant chocolate malt powder isn't cruelty-free, so I decided to make my own! This is a protein packed shake thanks to a little help from Sunwarrior.
Yield: 1 shake
Ingredients
- 1 cup soymilk
- 1/2 frozen banana, chopped
- 1 package (21 g) Sun Warrior Classic Protein Powder Chocolate
- 1-2 tbsp barley malt sweetener (I used powder, but syrup would work)
- 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tbsp ground flax seed
- pinch of salt
Cooking Directions
- Combine everything in a blender, and blend for a minute or two until completely smooth. Serve cold.
Dutch Word of The Day
Mountain --> berg (bearh)
Good Deed of The Day
I'm so glad this case is being presented in front of Congress. How totally messed up are we? Studying depression and trauma inflicted upon baby monkeys being separated from their mothers so we can better understand these illnesses in humans. If humans and these monkeys are close enough related that it makes sense we could implement this study...doesn't that prove that it's totally barbaric and horrifically cruel that these studies are being carried out? If it's not ethical to do this to humans, it shouldn't be to do it to moneys either...or any other sentient beings. Makes me sick inside.
