Collagen Waffle Recipe

February 8, 2019 By Hollie in Breakfast, Recipe, vital proteins Tags: breakfast, brunch, collagen, fitness, health, nutrition, vital proteins, waffle 23 Comments

As most readers know, I’ve been a Vital Proteins Ambassador for just over a year now. Last month, I posted about the results I’ve seen in my own personal life. I’ve also posted about my hair, skin, and nails as well.

There are some days that I’m lazy and don’t want to cook a fancy meal for dinner. Maybe I’m cooking for one, maybe I’m exhausted from work, or maybe I just want breakfast for dinner.

What the case is, I’ve found an easy way to sneak collagen into waffles. I haven’t tried adding collagen in a waffle for breakfast. I think it would be fine but I’ve had good luck with having the same waffle and peanut butter for years before running (or anything), so why change now.

If you’re looking for an easy waffle recipe and to get collagen to try this. I’m not foodie, but I’ve been to enough diners to know I like a crisper versus soggy waffle.

Collagen Waffle Recipe:

1 cup flour
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder
2 scoops Unflavored Collagen Peptides

Directions:

Preheat waffle iron.
Add egg and milk in bowl and mix together.
Then add flour, oil, sugar, baking powder, and collagen powder.
Spray waffle iron with cooking spray and pour mix.

How easy is that? I topped mine with syrup, but there are so many options from peanut butter to yogurt, to fruit.

One of my goals in 2019 is trying to add it to various baked goods and breakfast items.

Questions for you:

What is your favorite breakfast?

Have you tried collagen into any recipes?

One Year with Collagen

January 16, 2019 By Hollie in vital proteins Tags: collagen, fitness, health, nutrition, wellness, workouts 24 Comments

I can’t believe it’s been a year since it began taking Vital Proteins and Collagen. I’ve had success with collagen with many different activities including recovery from running, as well as in personal life with my hair, nails, and skin.

I started taking collagen initially for my hair and skin, but after taking Collagen Whey after workouts, I noticed I was recovering faster and running better too. It’s not the only reason, but I do believe it’s one of the reasons I stayed healthy through 2018.

I like to see people’s before and after posts, but admittedly, I haven’t done many (or maybe any?) myself. I thought to start 2019, I would share the major reasons I take collagen and the success I’ve had.

I’m a Vital Proteins ambassador. In exchange for a post or two per month, I do get to try the newest products. I’m not paid to promote them, and all thoughts are my own.

Here are the Major Reasons I Take Collagen:

Better Skin:

I’ve never had great skin. In high school, I suffered from cystic acne, and I’ve had flare-ups through my adult life too. There was a period in my early 20s; I wouldn’t go out in public with a full face of cover-up or concealer. I wash m face frequently, but it never seemed to be enough (even with derm prescriptions).
After taking collagen for about a year now, I’ve noticed my sin is much more “glowy.” I’m not saying Collagen cleared up my acne, but my skin doesn’t look as rough as it once did.

It’s been a small change, and it’s not like I went from rough teenager skin to supermodel, but my skin has improved more this year than ever. I still have minor breakouts but nothing compared to a few years ago.

Nail and Hair Growth:

I never started taking collagen because of nails, but my nails grow like talons. I’ve never had long nails before (between swimming and just not liking long nails) but I’ve found my nails growing faster and longer than ever.

Same with hair growth! My hair hasn’t been this long in years, and many people have mentioned my hair length. I’ve always wanted to grow my hair longer, but patience is not a virtue I have.

Joint Health:

Running is hard on your joints, and my goal is to make running lifelong. Collagen helps to preserve your joints. How? Collagen helps maintain the integrity of your cartilage, which is tissue that helps to protect joints.

Recovery from Workouts:

I’m adamant about having a serving after every run: whether it’s an easy run, hard, or even race. I’ve found the extra protein helps me recover faster and feel less fatigued. I normally make a smoothie or even hot cocoa (this week has been cold) within 30 minutes of a workout.

This is just my personal experience with Vital Proteins. While I am a Vital Proteins Ambassador, I’m not being paid to tell you about it. It’s clear to me the positive results I’ve had, and I’m looking forward to using more products in 2019 and possibly experimenting with more recipes.

Questions for you:
Have you tried Vital Proteins?
What is something you had success in the last year?

Matcha Collagen Latte

December 19, 2018 By Hollie in vital proteins Tags: collagen, food, health, matcha, vital proteins, wellness 19 Comments

I know Matcha has been the trendy thing in the fitness world, but until recently, I hadn’t tried it. I’m not a huge tea fan…I do like tea to keep me warm, but given a choice between coffee and tea, I will always choose coffee.

What is Matcha?

Before recently I only knew matcha as a green drink. Matcha is finely ground green tea leaves. It’s loaded with antioxidants, that help fight free radicals in the body. What I didn’t realize is that it’s naturally caffeinated, so it’s best not to drink it with coffee.

I decided to try the newer Matcha Collagen. The matcha collagen has the benefits of collagen peptides as well as matcha green tea. Double whammy. I’ve written about it several times, but collagen peptides help to promote healthy hair, skin, nails, joints, and gut.

I decided to be simple and make it to a post-run beverage.

Matcha Collagen Latte:

½ cup of hot water
½ cup almond milk
1 scoop Matcha Collagen

Stir and drink. Like drinking hot cocoa, it’s easy and I’m able to warm up quickly post run. Plus, it has plenty of protein, so my muscles recover faster after a hard run.

I know I’ll be drinking this more during the colder months. I really appreciate warming up after a run in the cold.

You can see more collagen-related posts here:

Recipes:

Collagen Cocoa
Adding Collagen to Oatmeal
Vanilla Almond Recovery Protein Smoothie Recipe
Vital Proteins Berry Blast Recovery Smoothie

Collagen Information:

Skin Benefits from Collagen
Hair and Nail Benefits of Collagen
Why Collagen Post Run?
Differences of Collagen Peptides and Gelatin
Recovering with Collagen Protein

Questions for you:
Do you like matcha? Do you have any recipe suggestions?
What do you drink after a run?

Collagen Cocoa

November 23, 2018 By Hollie in vital proteins Tags: collagen, health, hot cocoa, recovery, vital proteins, wellness 23 Comments

Now that it’s getting colder, I like warmer beverages. While smoothies are good, I’m not one to drink smoothies year round. I drink hot coffee year round but ask me to drink a cold beverage when it’s 40 degrees, it’s a hard no from me.

Now that I’m back to running, I’m back to drinking collagen post run. I’ve been a Vital Proteins Ambassador almost a year now, but have enjoyed the products for much longer.

For warmer beverages, I personally prefer the Vital Proteins Flavorless Option. Why? Because you mix it into anything and it truly doesn’t have a taste and isn’t gritty either. I’ve put it into coffee and hot cocoa, and it’s been great.

What are Collagen Peptides?

Collagen Peptides are easily digestible in both cold or hot liquids. Collagen Peptides support healthy hair, skin, nails, bone, and joint health, plus help to recover from workouts.

Quick Facts of the Unflavored Collagen:

20 grams of collagen per serving
1 simple ingredient which makes it gluten free, dairy free, and even sugar-free

So anyway, this month I’ve been mixing the unflavored collagen with hot cocoa. I’m not fancy and boil a pot of water, add collagen and add a hot cocoa packet.

I like things simple and easy. Boiling hot cocoa, adding collagen, and mixing takes about 5 minutes at most.

Questions for you:

Do you prefer hot or cold beverages?

Have you tried collagen before?

Collagen: Protein without the Protein Powder

November 9, 2018 By Hollie in vital proteins Tags: collagen, health, running, sports, vital proteins, workouts 15 Comments

When I swam in college, it was usually mandatory to take some sort of protein after practice. I can remember everyone grabbing their protein bottles after college and all of us drinking it up.

After college, I still used protein powders here and there but not as frequently. Then sometime after 2014, I pretty much stopped using protein altogether. I can’t tell you why, but I just did. I became bad and lazy about eating directly after a run. Not because I avoided it but because it was never at the forefront of my mind.

In 2017, before becoming a Vital Proteins Ambassador, I started taking Vital Proteins after workouts. Most Vital Protein products offer at least 12 grams of protein without added sugars, chemicals, and artificial additives.

Protein powders with minimal ingredients and quality protein are usually more pricey.

Enter into my Life: Collagen sometime in 2017…

Collagen is a great protein alternative to consume post workout. In addition to protein, most collagen products also have amino acids including glycine and arginine.

Why is that important?

Both amino acids help the synthesis of creatine in the body and creatine has been shown to help improve performance during exercise.

As most people know, long-term strenuous exercise can lead to the loss of collagen in the body. Supplementing collagen helps to protect that loss. It has also been shown to reduce the risk of injuries on muscle, tendons, and ligaments. I stayed healthy through my marathon training cycle so while I’m not a doctor, it’s enough to keep me consistent with it.

Collagen makes up about 30% of the proteins within the human body. It is mostly found in structures like: bones, tendons, and ligaments. Collagen is also a part of the connective tissue in the skin. Supplementing it helps the constant renewal of skin cells.”

One other great benefit is the long shelf life. This means that there isn’t a need for artificial preservatives keeping it a clean and natural.

But Wait…it’s not “Complete”:

There is a minor catch with collagen and that is not considered a complete protein.

What does a complete protein mean?

There are 20 different amino acids that can form a protein, nine of which the body does not produce on it’s own. The nine the body cannot produce are called essential amino acids. We need to find them from different sources since we cannot make them.

Collagen, however, does not fall into a complete protein because it only contains 8 of the 9 essential amino acids. Sources that do include whey and eggs. Two sources that are complete proteins are both whey and egg protein. Which now Vital Proteins makes a few different whey protein options as well. I’ve tried all four and my personal favorites are the dark chocolate and coconut or the vanilla and coconut water.

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