If you are a fitness enthusiast or a weight-watcher, then, you’ll undoubtedly love the new viral trend that is brewing all over the internet. It's known as “proffee”, an elegant combo of cold brew coffee and protein. In this article, we will delve into proffee and know its basics, benefits, and most importantly a quick and simple recipe (with all possible variations) for you all to try out.
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Try Protein Coffee - Risk FreeWhat is Proffee?
Proffee is nothing extraordinary but a simple blend of your beloved coffeeand favorite protein (either powder or pre-prepared shake). But, why there is so much hype for anything such simple? The first and foremost reason is its divine taste, second, it’s super easy to make and third it can be extremely nutritious.
From weight loss, increasing energy levels and gaining muscle,advantages are many. But are these health claims valid? Let’s have a reality check and understand everything you need to know.
Is Proffee Really Healthy ?
Proffee is a healthy spin on your store-bought lattes and shakes (which are loaded with calories and sugars). Besides, it is a quick and delicious way to get protein and caffeine together. Now, let’s analyze the two core ingredients of proffee individually to understand the health benefits and limitations:
Benefits of Protein
Protein is an essential macronutrient required for the proper functioning of the body. Therefore, adding it to different food products is a norm, be it protein oats, cookies, bars, or other products. Now the recent iteration is protein added to the coffee to make Proffee. One serving of proffee can give you approx 10-30 grams of protein depending on the type and quantity of protein used. Some benefits of protein below:
- A morning dose of protein promotes muscle growth.
- Protein also speeds up your metabolism to burn more calories.
- It helps you to feel full, prevents overeating, and reduces cravings.
- Promotes muscle recovery, growth, and strength in people who exercise
Limitations: Very high protein intake (more than usual or recommended) can cause digestive issues, therefore caution is required. Moreover, people with medical conditions such as kidney or liver disorders need to keep their protein intake in check.
Benefits of Caffeine (coffee)
Caffeine in moderation is good, it is a rich source of antioxidants and some vitamins and minerals such as B vitamins, magnesium, and potassium. In general, one serving of proffee contains roughly 100-200 mg of caffeine based on the type of coffee you use. A few other benefits of caffeine:
- Caffeine is a stimulant that helps to improve focus, mood, and alertness.
- Caffeine along with protein in proffee is a great pre-workout option as it improves energy levels and physical performance during exercise.
- Coffee consumption can reduce the risk of certain diseases such as diabetes, cancer, depression, and neurological disorders
Limitations: High caffeine intake may cause some side effects such as anxiety, restlessness, insomnia, nausea, dehydration, high heart rate, and high blood pressure.. Moreover, people with high blood pressure or caffeine sensitivity, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers should also be careful about their caffeine intake.
Therefore, knowing your caffeine limit (try Awesome Caffeine Calculator) is a great way to avoid over-indulgence. Next, we’ll discuss how proffee can support weight loss.
Does Proffee help in losing Weight?
Weight loss is the most desired aspect of proffee. There is some evidence that protein and caffeine may support weight loss in some people and proffee contains both.
Protein especially in the breakfast or at each meal for that matter helps to regulate appetite hormones. Therefore protein intake makes you feel full for longer, prevents overeating, and reduces unhealthy cravings in between meals. As a result, it helps in weight loss.
Furthermore, protein has thermogenic effects. It simply means it needs more calories during digestion and metabolism than other nutrients. Burning more calories results in faster fat loss. Similarly, caffeine also boosts metabolic rate, thereby the combination in the form of proffee promotes weight loss.
However, proffee is not a magic concoction that alone can help someone to lose weight. The truth is effective weight loss depends on many other factors including a healthy diet, regular exercise, adequate sleep, stress management, etc. On the whole, your overall lifestyle matters.
Should You drink Proffee before or after a workout?
Taking proffee before or after your exercise or as a snack entirely depends on you. Try taking it at different times to figure out when it suits you the best.
- An ideal pre-workout fuel: If you take proffee 20-30 minutes before your workout, the caffeine present in proffee gives you the boost of energy you need to kick-start your workout. Along with protein, it will improve athletic performance during exercise.
- Great post-workout recovery drink - On the contrary, if you consume protein after your workout it can enhance recovery, reduce fatigue, and promote muscle gain.
- Quick breakfast and snack partner - Proffee can also be a wonderful choice to complement your breakfast on busy mornings and a quick pick-me-up to energize your sluggish evenings.
In short, proffee is worth trying, how and when you can choose. In upcoming sections, we will dig deeper into the materials you need, healthy alternatives, the recipe, and its variations.
Easy Recipe to Make Proffee at Home
There are plenty of proffee recipes available online. There is no right or wrong way to make the perfect proffee. It entirely depends on the way you like it. So try experimenting with a few different versions, and you’ll figure out which ones you like the most!
Ingredients
- Coffee
- Protein shake or powder
- Milk (Ideally, plant based milk)
- Ice cubes
- Add-ons - optional
Tools or Equipment
- Espresso maker or coffee maker (for cold brew)
- Shaker or blender
- Whisker or frother
- A tall serving glass or a big cup
Ingredient Choices - Healthy vs. Unhealthy
1. Protein preference: In protein, plant-based proteins such as pea, soy, hemp, and rice protein are some of the preferable (containing all the essential amino acids) options. Natural, unsweetened, unflavoured protein with minimum additives works best to enjoy the flavor of coffee. Plant proteins digest slowly, therefore helping with avoiding overeating if your goal is weight loss and calorie restriction. However, one can experiment and choose the flavored protein options that blend well with the taste of coffee such as chocolate, caramel, banana, vanilla, hazelnut, etc. Just be mindful of the sugars and calories these flavored protein options contain.
Avoid: Powder with artificial sweeteners, additives, flavorings, high calories, and sugar should be avoided.
2 Coffee preference: You can have regular coffee of your choice. Brewing options you can choose from are cold brew, French press, espresso, drip, pour-over, or instant coffee.
Avoid: Steer clear from store-bought coffee or lattes, coffee syrups (caramel, brown sugar, etc.), and flavored coffee creamers as they are full of simple sugars and unnecessary calories and are not a suitable choice for people who are overweight or have diabetes.
3. Milk preference: You can add or skip milk as per your preference. If adding milk, then add low-fat or skim milk as it has less fat and calories. If you can’t digest regular milk (have lactose intolerance) or want to try different options then soy, almond, and oat milk are great alternatives.
Avoid: High-fat (saturated) or full-cream milk should be avoided especially if you’re overweight or have high cholesterol.
4. Sweetener preference: Most protein powders are already sweetened with sugar substitutes, therefore there is no need to add any sweetener. However, if you are using unsweetened options then try natural and plant-based sweeteners such as monk fruit or cane sugar.
Avoid - Regular use of artificial sweeteners should be avoided. Also, stay away from sweeteners with high calories (especially if losing weight or have diabetes) such as sugar, brown sugar, honey, caramel, agave, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrates, and maple syrup.
5. Flavoring Preference: Prefer low or no-calorie flavors if required such as cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, vanilla essence, cocoa powder, and peppermint extract as examples.
Avoid: Any high-fat, cream, or sugar-based flavoring agent
Instructions
To prepare your proffee the first step is to brew your coffee, whether you like cold brew (6-36 hours steeping as per your preference) or espresso (one or two shots), or any other, choice is yours. After that, prepare your protein shake in a shaker either with cold water or milk (or both) and blend it until it becomes clump-free and frothy. Now the steps are quite simple:
- Pour prepared coffee into a serving glass and add a few cubes of ice.
- Now add the prepared protein shake to the serving glass.
- Add sweetener or natural flavoring of your choice (if required).
- Mix them all and your proffee is ready to be enjoyed.
7 Different Variations of Proffee
There are a lot of ways to make proffee. Some people prefer it cold and some like it hot. Some use all the raw ingredients and prefer to make it from scratch and some use all pre-made ingredients and just mix them up. Whereas, some love to add different add-ons, and some like the natural taste. It depends on your preference and creativity. So, just to help you out, we are discussing all the possible variations (common and unique both) of proffee available.
- V 1: Some people prefer adding a scoop of their favorite protein powder to pre-prepared cold coffee and ice.
- V 2: Some people do the other way around means they add coffee (after making it the way they like) to pre-made protein shakes.
- V 3: Another option is you take pre-made cold coffee and protein shakes, then pour them into a glass (with ice) one by one.
- V 4 Proffee Frappe: You can also prepare it by blending everything - protein powder, coffee, and milk into a blender until becomes frothy. Now pour it into a serving glass and top it up with ice cubes.
- V 5 Hot Proffee: Yes, that is true. You can make it hot. First, take freshly brewed hot coffee, prepare your protein shake then make it as lukewarm as possible.Then pour the coffee into the protein shake and stir/mix to prevent clumps.
- V 6 Proffee Smoothie:Take a blender put in your usual proffee ingredients then add banana, nut butter, pre-soaked chia seeds, and cocoa powder and blend everything. Adjust the consistency with milk or water and pour it into a serving glass.
- V 7 Awesome Proffee: This one is the easiest, yummiest, and most healthiest of all. This is an ultimate blend of plant-based protein (pea and rice), ashwagandha, and premium quality Organic Fairtrade Mexican coffee in powder form. All you need to do is take your shaker, add one cup of your favorite milk and a scoop of Awesome Coffee, and shake. Your awesome proffee is ready instantly, top it with ice cubes for that delicious iced coffee taste!
Key Takeaways
So, the bottom line is that Protein Coffee has many benefits. It entirely depends on you, your goals, and how you’d like to make it.
Whether you need a quick pre or post-workout boost, a portable and easy snack, or just a comfort food (yet super healthy) to satisfy your sweet tooth choice is entirely yours. Make sure not to go overboard.
Finally, if you like the concept try it out yourself and let us know in the comments which version of proffee you like the most. Be creative and feel free to experiment!
