While you, as an adult, know that protein is an essential part of your nutrition program and will do what it takes to meet your requirements, your kids may not quite understand this concept. To them, food is fun, and if it doesn't taste good, it isn't going to go down.
You've maybe experienced this when trying to feed children their vegetables at dinner, and if you have fussy children, chances are they're going to turn their noses up at many protein sources as well.
Getting your children on a good whey protein powder is a safe and simple method of boosting their protein intake to make sure they meet their needs. Unfortunately, most of the foods kids snack on aren't high in protein at all. In fact, they're very high in processed carbohydrates which is half the reason so many are facing childhood weight problems in the modern age.
By creating more balance in their diet and tilting the scales toward a higher protein intake, you'll not only help to better fuel their physical activities, but also promote a leaner body composition.
How to Get Your Kids to Like Whey Protein
1. Bake It Into Muffins
Some kids will go for protein shakes, but others will prefer something more familiar. Muffins are typically a big hit among kids and, when prepared using moderate portion sizes and whole grains (oatmeal, oat bran, and whole-wheat flour), can be an extremely healthy snack for them to take to school.
Typically, muffins are on the low side of protein however, so a scoop or two of protein powder will fix that in a hurry. The protein powder blends very nicely with the other dry ingredients and will bake up perfectly.
Be aware that you may want to add a bit higher volume of wet ingredients to the mixture if you're adding protein powder, or else swap a portion of the flour called for and use protein powder instead.
2. Mix It With Their Favorite Jell-O or Pudding
A quick snack for after school that most kids tend to go for is Jell-O or pudding. Now that there are sugar-free varieties of both of these, it's easy to control the nutrition content, which will go a long ways toward helping your kids avoid excess fat gain.
Protein powder sneaks right into both of these very easily (choose a fruit-flavored protein powder such as Syntrax Nectar if using Jell-O and a chocolate or vanilla flavor protein if using pudding mix) and you will boost the protein content considerably.
Even better, if you prepare the pudding mix with milk, you'll add a few more grams of protein as well as a shot of calcium, which is another thing some kids struggle to get in.
3. Make Fun Fruit Smoothies
When you get your kids involved with the cooking process, everything just seems to taste better to them. They'll really get excited to eat it if they helped create it. Use this principle and have them come up with their own fruit smoothies.
Offer a wide selection of fresh or frozen fruit to choose from, as well as some low-sugar yogurt, real fruit juice, or milk. Allow them to pick and choose what they like, then place one scoop of whey protein in at the end. With all the other ingredients in there, they likely won't even notice the protein powder.
4. Mix It With Chocolate Milk
Chocolate milk is slightly higher in total sugar content, but if your kids drink it after they've been active, this is perfectly fine since the carbohydrates will get used by their just-worked muscles.
Since this beverage has a strong taste itself, blend half a scoop of chocolate whey protein in with one cup of chocolate milk, and it will hide the taste well. Experiment with both chocolate and vanilla flavors of protein powder to figure out which your kids prefer.
5. Stir It Into Oatmeal
Getting your kids off the sugary cereals they love so much at breakfast time is going to be one challenge that you face on a regular basis. It's far better for them, in terms of nutrition, to choose a whole-grain cold cereal or even better yet, oatmeal.
Just don't let them get hooked on the sugar-filled packets of oatmeal you can purchase pre-made. Instead, get them introduced to regular oats as soon as possible so they will get used to that taste. To help improve the overall taste of the oats so they will enjoy it more, consider stirring in half a scoop of their favorite flavor of protein powder after it's finished cooking. Cook with milk instead of water so even more flavor is added to help it go down easier.
Once it's prepared and the protein powder is mixed in, consider a few other flavor additions such as cinnamon, sugar-free maple syrup, fresh blueberries, raspberries, or a sliced banana.
If your kids like the choco-peanut butter banana combo, prepare the oatmeal and stir in half a scoop of chocolate whey protein along with one tablespoon of peanut butter, then slice a banana over the top. This will contain a perfect balance of carbohydrates, proteins, and healthy fats.
6. Mix It Into A Fruit Dip
Finally, if you have kids who love having fruit as a snack, this is a perfect opportunity to boost their protein intake.
Mix up a fruit-flavored, protein-packed dip by combining half a cup of light whipped topping with half a cup of fruit-flavored yogurt and a tablespoon or two of their favorite fruit-flavored juice.
Once this is all blended together, stir in half to one scoop of protein powder in a flavor to match until well mixed.
Wrapping UpSneaking more protein into your child's diet doesn't have to be a challenge if you keep a few simple strategies in mind and are willing to get a little creative.
As your kids reach the teenage years, you'll find they may even want to start taking whey protein regularly if they're already showing an interest in weightlifting and building lean muscle mass.
Discover More About Whey Protein
- 50 great protein shake recipes kids and adults will both love.
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