Protein Supps pt. 2: Something for the Veggies

In the last post on the blog, I talked about (and rated) four of the most popular protein supplements out there. In doing that, my hope was that those of you looking to increase your protein intake would find a supplement you are looking for. For those of you that didn’t, this post is meant for you. Vegetarians and vegans especially, I want to help you find something to fill out that protein column in your diet.

Ethical and other concerns aside, my biggest problem with the vegan and vegetarian diet is the lack of sources of quality protein and the reliance on high carbohydrate ingredients (beans, rice, etc) to make up the difference. Say what you will about animal cruelty, but if you think protein quality is the same when comparing brown rice and ground beef, you need to smoke a little less hash and read up on your biochem.

Simply put, all proteins are not created equal. Animal sources contain different amino acid profiles than those present in grain and grown sources, differing in both amino variety as well as quantity. The aminos present in these animal products are often the ones pointed to for their muscle building benefits, namely glutamine and tryptophan. As touched upon earlier, it can be difficult to get significant amounts of these aminos (and therefore more “complete” protein) in vegan/vegetarian diets, even those that are heavily reliant on meat substitutes.

I strongly recommend supplementation for those of you out there who consume animal free diets, especially if your goals fall in line with trying to lose fat or gain muscle. Not to beat a dead horse (especially since the vegans might not like that too much), but one of the biggest changes a person can make to their diet to elicit weight loss is a simple adjustment to their macronutrient profile. Consume a gram of protein per pound of LEAN (subtract the lbs. of fat from your total weight) body mass, use the same number for grams of carbs and fill out the remainder of your calorie allowance with fat grams and you should be good to go and on the way to reaching your goals. Easy Peasy. This becomes tougher when your source of protein has about double the amount of carbs (in beans, for example) or fat (almonds and other nuts).

Vega One is a great product with a decent macronutrient profile that should help those of you who are meat and dairy free

 

It can be difficult for an individual like myself or larger to reach that protein goal without any meat or dairy, so here is where the need for supplementation becomes apparent. Anything over the basic RDA for protein (as suggested by the USDA… and I’m honestly not keen on taking recommendations from a group that has been taking money from factory farms for decades, but I digress) would require a supplement to be completely honest.

That said, I should preface by saying I collect no money from Vega or any other supplementation company but for those who choose not to include animal products in their lives, I believe Vega offers a just-shy-of-ideal product that can help them reach their goals. My only gripe is the price, but sometimes there is a price we pay for not compromising our ideologies, no? Vega is a company with a good track record and a strong presence in the industry, so they certainly get the TTT stamp of approval, provided you’ve got the cash in your pocket!

Happy Monday,

Tank Top Tony

Tank Top Recipe of the Week Returns! Coconut Crusted Bacon Tenders

I love chicken. I feel as if I could wax poetic about all of my favorite ways to eat chicken a la Bubba from Forrest Gump. One of my favorites, however is fried chicken. Everyone knows how delicious fried chicken is so I wanted to bring back the old recipe column with a bit lower carb and arguably healthier take on fried chicken that won’t have you missing Popeye’s, KFC, or any of those other fast food joints.

Falling more in line with the Paleo style of eating (which I enjoy because of the emphasis on healthier fats, lean meat, and high GI carbohydrates), These coconut crusted chicken tenders from FastPaleo.com will definitely hit the spot and are sure to feature well in any setting, whether it be a dinner party snack, entree, or high protein post workout meal.

What you’ll need:

• 6-8 Large Organic Chicken Tender
• 6-8 Bacon Slices
• 4 Tbsp. Coconut Oil
• ½ cup shredded coconut
• 2 Tbsp. coconut flour
• salt and pepper
• paprika
• garlic powder
• 2 Tbsp. parsley
• One large Ziploc freezer bag

Begin prepping your coconut “breading” by mixing together the shredded coconut and coconut flour. Add in your paprika, salt and pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Take the entire mixture and place it in your Ziploc bag. Nexzt, take a slice of bacon per tender and wrap it around the chicken (skewers or toothpicks come in handy here). Begin to heat up your coconut oil in a skillet large enough to accommodate all of your tenders (heat on low). As your skillet warms, you can take each tender individually and toss it in your breading mix bag, making sure to thoroughly coat the tender. Once all tenders are coated and your skillet is nice and hot, carefully place each tender in the pan to be fried. Once your bacon cooks to your liking and the chicken begins to whiten on the bottom, flip each tender and cook the other side until crispy.

Once all of your tenders are cooked thoroughly (chicken should be white inside and juices should run clear), transport them to a plate covered with a few paper towels to help absorb any excess grease or fat. Wait for the tenders to cool, and enjoy!

Protein: Should You and Which Brand?

Of all the questions I receive from clients, friends and family, many of them tend to revolve around the subject of supplements. I’ll begin by saying that my honest-to-goodness stance is this: the only necessary supplement is protein. One could argue the benefits of other legal supplements — and I’ll talk a bit about pre-workouts, thermogenics, post-workouts and more in a future article — but today the focus will be on a few of the top protein supplements on the market. I think higher protein intake (with a concurrent decrease in carbohydrate and fat intake) is the single best cure for the Western diet, as outlined in a previous TTT post.

Today, I’ll be focusing on brands I’m familiar with as well as my thoughts on protein supplements in general. To help, I’ve decided to create a out-of-five rating system of sorts across four categories:

• Cost: Simply put, what is the cost per pound?
• Taste: Does it taste like concrete or the next best thing to an ice cream shake?
• Ease of Mixing: Does it mix easily in water or milk or does it remain clumpy?
• Grams per serving/Value: What’s the nutrient profile? Is the supplement full of carb fillers (maltodextrins, to name one)? Or are you getting what you pay for, namely protein?

1. 100% Whey Gold Standard (Optimum Nutrition) – This stuff is called Gold Standard for a reason. It is a tried and true mainstay in the weight training and bodybuilding communities, has garnered heaps of positive reviews and is without a doubt the product I’ve gone back and purchased the most through the years. While average across all four categories, I feel this is one of those things where it’s good to be pretty solid in four ways instead of being stellar in two but piss poor in the other two. It averages $11.60/lb, the taste is good in a variety of flavors and there are little to know fillers. You’re paying for and getting pretty much nothing but protein, the stuff that your six pack and tricep related dreams are made of.

• Flavor  

• Cost  

• Mix  

• Grams  

• Muscle Milk (Cytosport) – Muscle Milk is a delicious product that costs only $8.60/lb but unfortunately provides just 16g of protein per serving. To put it in perspective, at 64 servings per 5lb bottle, you’re getting 32g over just 2.5lbs while you’re getting 24g in every serving of an Optimum Nutrition 5lb bottle. This is in part due to the infusion of fat (specifically Medium Chain Triglycerides, believed to not be as easily stored as fat) into Muscle Milk that accompanied it’s rise to popularity. One could argue that this is filler since you’re looking for protein, and I couldn’t really provide a solid argument against that hypothetical. That said, Muscle Milk tastes great, is relatively cheap but leaves something to be desired in the Grams and Mix department.

• Flavor  

• Cost  

• Mix  

• Grams  

• Isopure (Nature’s Best) –  To get down to the facts right away, if protein is what you’re looking for and don’t mind paying for that and only that, Isopure is the way to go. It fits wonderfully in shakes with other foods (think adding berries, chocolate, etc) because by itself it tastes like dusty cardboard. Unless you were gutting down pre-MuscleTech shakes with the rest of us in the late 90s, this stuff will be unequivocal in it’s blandness. However, each serving averages around 50-60g of solid protein and mixes well even in water. Don’t hesitate to go for this option if you’ve got the coin as well as a box of strawberries or juice to sweeten it up a bit.

• Flavor  

• Cost  

• Mix  

• Grams  

• Syntha-6 (BSN) – Finally, we have Syntha-6. This stuff tastes like liquefied candy, even when mixed with water. The cost is on par with the other popular brands (and significantly less than Isopure) and mixes just as well as any of the others. Due to this, you are getting quite a bit of sweetness (sugar and other carbs) to go with your protein. If that’s no problem for you and you have the calories to spare, I say this is the way to go. If you’re cutting or trying to get a bit stricter in your intake, I’d say it’s best to lean a bit closer to Isopure or Optimum.

  • Flavor   

  • Cost  

  • Mix  

  • Grams 

This is by no means a conclusive list, but rather a quick window into the world of protein supplements. I should state that I pay for my protein just like everybody else and I’m not sponsored by any of these brands. Simply speaking from the heart on what I prefer as well as the merits and negatives of each brand. I hope this has been helpful. Stay tuned over the next week or two as I talk about other (non whey) brands of protein for our dairy free, vegetarian and vegan friends as well as another great recipe and more talk about supplements in general.

Have a great day,

– Tank Top