You can of course add protein to mylkshakes and smoothies by adding natural protein like beans, lentils or nut butters. But if you like to use vegan protein powders (for vegan, athletes or recovering from illness or injury), here are some better brands in sustainable packaging.
Protein powders are not substitutes for a healthy diet. Do not use for breastfeeding/nursing. Treat protein powders as supplements (take care not to go over recommended nutrient limits, if combining). Store in a dry cool place, away from children and pets.
Alpha Foods offers tubs of quality vegan protein powder, made from a combined blend of germinated seeds and pulses with superfoods and creamy coconut milk. Mix 1 heaped scoop with at least 200ml of water or plant milk. Choose from coconut, vanilla or chocolate flavours.
The same company’s Vegan Muscle is for recreational and professional athletes, with added creatine and BCAAs (branch chain amino acids).
BodyMe offers organic vegan protein powders sold in kraft paper packages with inner foil, and no plastic scoop (measurements instead are given for teaspoons or tablespoons). Super-digestable, this contains the perfect ratio of 3 plant proteins with all 9 essential amino acids, plus raw cacao, coconut and turmeric.
My Vegan Plant Protein Superblend is sold in easy-to-recycle pouches, made with upcycled barley and rice (choose from caramel, iced coffee or chocolate). Containing all 9 essential amino acids, this uses grains from the brewing industry that would go to waste. Sweetened with sucralose, mix 1 scoop with 300ml of cold water, shake and wait for 15 seconds for foam to settle.
Bulk offers pea protein and brown rice protein powders, along with a Mass Gainer (for weight gain) with pea, brown rice and pumpkin protein, with flaxseed and quinoa flours. Complete Food Shake is ideal when you have no appetite to get your protein, fibre and vitamins in one drink. Most pouches are home compostable.
Neat Nutrition offers a high-protein powder, sourced from homegrown crops in the British countryside. Enjoy a punchy 26g of protein per serving in vanilla or chocolate. This company was founded by two men who used to compete on the British swimming team.
Pulsin offers a range of vegan protein powders (all bar 2 which contain whey are vegan). Made with faba bean, pea and pumpkin seeds, these offer amino acids with nothing artificial. Choose from:
why choose vegan protein powders?
Nearly all brands of protein powder use whey, casein and eggs (likely none from free-range farms) which can cause gastric stress and allergies in many people (a few brands even use salmon sludge from leftover bones and organs).
Also choose brands with sustainable ingredients for vegan protein powders. As whey is naturally yellow, a few companies even use food-grade bleaching agents, which change the way that powders are processed by the body.
a book of high-protein vegan meals
High Protein Vegan is a book of over 100 tasty and healthy high-protein meals for every time of day. Learn how to effortlessly boost the protein content of any meal, with full nutritional breakdowns and meal planners, to help fuel your body.
Before cooking, read up on food safety for people & pets (many human foods are unsafe around animal friends).
Rose Wyles is a fully qualified plant-based nutritionist with diplomas in vegan nutrition, raw nutrition and child nutrition vegans and vegetarians. She has transformed the lives of countless people through her expertise and has extensive knowledge of nutrition science and culinary skills. She has become a trusted source of information for those looking to improve their health, lose weight and embrace a more sustainable way of eating.
Growing up with a mother in Kent who ran an allotment for 25 years, she ate healthy foods. But as a young adult, she soon began eating junk food and she developed kidney stones, obesity and urinary tract infections, along with spots, and lethargy. Something had to change so she changed her life around. She offers lots of affordable meal plans on her website including for weight loss, weaning, raw, gut restore, low-fodmap, low-histamine, and detox.
