This post is sponsored by Naked Nutrition but all thoughts and opinions are my own.
When you have a teen vegetarian in the house, you’re always looking for protein hacks. Specifically, how to get more protein in his diet as he ups his strength training game.
But in a strange twist, I find that I actually need more protein in my diet as well. And chances are, you do too. Naked Nutrition offers a ton of great products that you can use to supplement your already healthy diet (because it IS already healthy, right?). I can’t wait to introduce you to the new Naked Cake Protein Pancake Mix and the Clear Naked Whey Lemonade.
But first… a word about protein.
Protein 101
As a nearly post-menopausal woman, I’m in desperate need of a body recomposition. As our estrogen levels drop, we tend to accumulate more fat around our waistlines. And as we age, we lose muscle mass and experience decreased bone density. For all of these reasons, I’m focusing more on strength training, mainly inspired by my son.
My son is almost 16 and as with many boys his age, he’s ready for a full body recomposition as well. That means losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time. If I had his tenacity and willpower at his age, I’d probably be in much better shape now. He inspires me every day!
He’s taught me the importance of increased protein levels which your body uses to build and repair tissues, make enzymes, hormones, and other body chemicals, and as a building block of bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood.
And if you’re looking to improve your diet (let’s be honest – you probably need to), it can help reduce muscle loss, build lean muscle, and curb hunger by filling you up faster.
Win-win-win.
How much protein do you need?
Great question. And you’ll get a different answer depending on where you look. I love this short video on macros (protein + carbs + fat) which suggests 1 gram per pound of ideal body weight. Let me just say that’s a LOT of protein.
Naked Nutrition also offers a protein calculator on their site that gave me a result in the 93-146g range.
My favorite resource right now is this article called The Best Fat Loss Article on the Motherlovin’ Internet. I did some calculations based on my ideal body weight, level of fitness, and level of activity, and came up with a more reasonable number of 81g.
That’s still a lot of protein even if you’re eating eggs and chicken all day long. So you’re probably going to want to supplement with products like Naked Nutrition.
Where should you get your protein?
There are a lot of great natural sources of protein, like:
- Eggs
- Chicken (and other lean meats)
- Cottage cheese
- Green yogurt
- Milk
- Lentils
- Quinoa
But when you’re trying to hit those high protein numbers, you’re going to want to supplement.
My son is actually the one that introduced me to the world of protein powders. And after trying a few highly recommended brands (that smelled awful to me), he talked to us about buying Naked Nutrition for reasons that make mom proud: the whey is sourced from grass-fed dairy cows in the U.S., raised without growth hormones. And the ingredients are completely free of additives and artificial sweeteners.
But I’ve got to be honest. I’m not a protein shake kind of girl so his protein powders never excited me. And that’s why I’m excited to be supplementing in ways other than protein shakes.
Easy Protein Hacks
If you find you’re not getting enough protein through a healthy diet (most people aren’t), you can do one of the easiest protein hacks by simply adding a scoop of protein to things you’re already eating or drinking (in case you didn’t know, Naked Nutrition makes an unflavored protein powder to add to things that don’t need flavor). But there are some fun new protein hacks from Naked Nutrition.
Naked Cake – Protein Pancake Mix
Why not get your protein from pancakes?
With the Naked Cake Protein Pancake Mix, you simply combine four scoops (two servings) and water and cook just like regular pancakes. This can either make a generous serving for two, providing each serving 22g of protein and 200 calories. Or you can stretch it a bit like I did.
I made two servings but cooked them as smaller pancakes that served my family of three. We each ended up with about 15g of protein and only 133 calories for breakfast. That still give you plenty of room for toppings (think peanut butter for more protein and fat, or butter and syrup, because sometimes that’s what you want!).
The ingredients are just as simple as their other products which includes a Protein Blend (made from whey), Cassava Flour, Tigernut Flour, Potato Starch, Coconut Sugar, MCT Oil from Coconut, Baking Powder, Sunflower Lecithin, Sodium Bicarbonate, Natural Flavor, Sea Salt, and Fermented Cane Sugar. See their website or the packaging for full nutritional details.
More importantly – how did those protein pancakes taste?
Like pancakes! I’ll be honest. I did add some butter and syrup but I think I’d prefer either fresh fruit or preserves next time. A hit with the whole family.
Clear Naked Whey Lemonade
Remember when I said I don’t love protein shakes? That means I ended up excluding myself from an easy way of supplementing protein. Until now!
Naked Nutrition also offers Clear Naked Whey – this is a fruit-flavored whey isolate powder that actually turns clear! With your first order, they send you a Naked shaker so you can follow the directions exactly. Don’t stir, SHAKE. After mixing 1 scoop with 10-16 oz. of cold water, shake well and then give it a minute for the foam to settle.
I used 16 oz since I wanted the mildest taste possible (I was scared to “drink protein”). It actually tastes like the lemon in lemon meringue pie. No issues finishing that supplement!
This is a great post-workout recovery drink that doesn’t add a lot of calories (only 80 per serving) and packs in 15g of protein. Note: It’s available in grape, fruit lunch, and lemonade.
Why Naked Nutrition?
As I implied above, I’m an ingredient reader. I look at nutrition labels but I also care about what goes into my body. That’s why we were already a Naked Nutrition family before they reached out to me to try some of their new products.
Their ingredients are simple and pure. And most product have just a handful of ingredients – less of what you don’t need.
In case you’re curious, here are the products we are currently using:
- Naked Whey – Chocolate, Vanilla, and Unflavored
- Naked Creatine – Creatine Monohydrate Powder
- Naked Energy – Pre Workout Supplement
And we’ve even tried the Naked Cookies!
If you or your teens are looking for high quality protein supplements, be sure to read the label. You’ll understand why we chose Naked Nutrition! Have some additional protein hacks for adding more protein to your diet? I’d love to hear them!
This post contains some affiliate links. Your purchase through these links helps to continue to support my blog.
