We eat chocolate for breakfast now.
Finding ways to incorporate protein into your breakfast can be difficult, especially if you don't have the energy or time to cook in the morning. Eggs are great, but they only go so far in the protein department before you start to feel like Gaston.
When my brother was staying with us over the holidays, he had a very large, conspicuous tub of protein powder that lived on our counter. I always envied people that could drink protein powder on the daily and not get bored or grossed out by the taste or texture. I can handle protein shakes, just not daily. I wondered if there were other ways to incorporate this ubiquitous, questionable powder. What even is it anyway?
Well, I never researched what it is, but something about the way it's referred to as whey makes me believe that it's a bi-product of cheese production. Then I suppose it is dehydrated and fortified with vitamins, minerals, and flavors to make it into something you can turn into a milkshake. These are all guesses!
Well, I found a solution! It's equally a solution that you probably won't eat on the daily, but it's certainly more delicious.
I present to you: High Protein Malted Chia Pudding!
It might seem a bit odd to consider this a recipe since chia pudding is so simple, but my mason jar technique is what makes it special. Whey protein is notorious for being, um, clumpy. They even sell these crazy bottles with wire balls in them to help break up the clumps, but they never work in my experience.
My technique is much simpler: fill all the powders and chia seeds in a mason jar, shake it like a Polaroid picture, add milk, then shake again to make Outkast extra proud.
I'm not entirely sure why this works, but my guess would be the same reason you whisk dry ingredients in a baked good before adding the wet ingredients: even distribution makes for even hydration, and in the case of this pudding the chia seeds prevent large clumps of whey protein from forming. Plus, the chia seeds help create the pudding texture while having lots of extra benefits, such as fiber, antioxidants, omega-3s, and hair growth.
(Okay, that last one was a cheeky joke because, yes, these are the same chia seeds.)
But how does it taste? It tastes pretty much just like chocolate pudding! The extra teaspoon of cocoa powder makes it chocolate-yer, and the malted milk powder brings some depth. You could obviously omit the malted milk powder or make other variations such as adding vanilla or almond extract. I would not recommend adding any sweeteners though; the first time I made this I added honey and it was a bit too sweet for my taste. If your whey protein already tastes decent as a milkshake, then there's no need for sweetener in the pudding.
Oh, I must warn you: these servings are rather large, perhaps even too large for a typical person to have during breakfast. I usually eat about half of one jar for breakfast, then save the other half in the fridge for when I get a dessert craving later in the day, which is most days.
With ch-ch-ch-chia and ch-ch-ch-chocolate,
~c.j.
HIGH PROTEIN MALTED CHIA PUDDING
PREP TIME: 5 minutes
INACTIVE COOK TIME: 4+ hours (for chilling)
YIELD: 1-2 servings
INGREDIENTS
2 scoops (70 g) chocolate protein whey powder, such as Muscle Milk
1 tbsp malted milk powder
1 tsp cocoa powder
1/4 c. chia seeds
1 c. milk (we use either skim or fat free, but this works with any milk or milk substitute)
your favorite toppings, such as berries, greek yogurt, whipped cream, nuts, nut butter, granola, flaxseed, etc.
DIRECTIONS
In a 16 oz mason jar, combine protein powder, malted milk powder, cocoa powder, and chia seeds. Seal the lid tight, and shake vigorously to incorporate. Unscrew the lid, add the milk (it should fill just to the brim), screw the lid back on tight, and shake vigorously to incorporate. If you did it right, your mixture should be below the brim now, and you should have no clumps of un-hydrated powder! If you can see dry spots on the sides of the jar, use a spoon to scrape off from the inside and incorporate. Let sit in the fridge for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, until chia seeds and milk have congealed to a pudding-like texture. Remove from the fridge and serve with your favorite toppings.
Alt method: No jars or not into shaking? Make this in a mixing bowl. Simply whisk all of the powders and chia seeds in a bowl, then slowly whisk in milk to avoid clumpage. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate the same amount of time.
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