High Protein Brownies: Why is protein so important?

Over 70 grams of protein! You can whip up these high protein brownies in like 5 minutes and then you just have to wait for them to bake. AND … they don’t take a million years to cook like boxed brownies do. AND they are protein packed … come on. Let’s also discuss why protein is important!

First, the ingredients for these high protein brownies

My brownies ended up coming to about 73-75 grams of protein and I cut it into 16 pieces. That made each brownie come out to about 4.6 grams of protein. You can also cut yours in 9 pieces, making it around 8.3 g of protein per brownie. It all comes down to your preference.

The dry ingredients needed for this recipe are cocoa powder, vanilla protein powder, baking powder, and salt. You can use whatever protein powder you normally use. I bought a dark chocolate bar to chop into big chunks and sprinkle on top.

The wet ingredients needed are peanut butter, eggs, almond milk, and maple syrup. I try my best to buy pasture raised eggs, however eggs are crazy right now so just use what you can get at this point. It’s important to find peanut butter that isn’t made with seed oils or high fructose corn syrup. To be honest though, it is so hard to find a natural peanut butter that I like because I am so used to the unhealthy kind. Sad to see it go, but love to watch it leave kind of thing, ya know?

Anyways, how did I make these high protein brownies?

Well it’s real simple actually. I started by cracking my eggs into a large bowl. Then, I add my almond milk and maple syrup and whisk that all together. After that, I added all my dry ingredients into the bowl and mixed until it was all incorporated. I then poured the mixture into a greased brownie pan. Finally, I sprinkled the dark chocolate chunks that I chopped up on top and baked it in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.

So simple. Recipe below!

Now to the good part … lets talk protein.

What is protein?

Protein is an essential macronutrient that is made from over twenty different amino acids. Proteins are found virtually everywhere in the human body and do most of the work inside cells. Inside the body, they help to regulate, as well as maintain function and structure. It makes up our body’s enzymes, which work to power the chemical reactions that go on in the body. It also makes up the hemoglobin that carries oxygen in your blood.

Why do we need protein?

So, as I said before protein is made up of amino acids, also known as the basic building blocks of proteins. Protein usually contains various amounts of 20 different amino acids. The human body does not store amino acids, therefore we need to be consuming protein on a daily basis so our bodily systems can run smoothly. Our body can make some of these amino acids, however it can’t make nine of them. Making these the essential amino acids and we must get them through the food we consume. The nine essential amino acids are histidine, isoleucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine.

Amino acids are precursors needed for synthesis of proteins, peptides, and other substances such as glutathione, creatine, nitric oxide, dopamine, serotonin, RNA, and DNA. All things super important to our health, growth, development, and reproduction.

Protein deficiency can lead to growth failure, loss of muscle, decreased immunity, weakening of the heart and respiratory system, and death.

How much protein do we need?

While we don’t want to over consume protein because that may lead to digestive problems or renal abnormality, we definitely want to make sure we are getting enough. The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for dietary protein for the average sedentary adult is 0.8 grams per kilogram (kg) of body weight. For example, if someone weights 135 lbs, than they would need 49 grams of protein a day. It is suggested that 10-35% of your diet be protein.

However, I see a number of educated and respected individuals say that we need anywhere from 0.8 to 1.25 grams of protein per LEAN POUND of body weight. So, that comes out to a way different number. Now, this depends on a number of different conditions and everybody’s body is unique and has different tolerances. They say that consuming a high protein diet can help you stay fuller longer and actually help with weight loss which we will discuss in a second. They recommend a high protein diet to active individuals, especially those trying to build muscle mass.

How much in one sitting?

There is controversy around the maximum amount of protein that can be utilized in our body in one sitting. It has been proposed that young adults can use 20-25 grams of high-quality protein for muscle protein synthesis. Anything above what that process needs will be converted into energy, urea, or other organic acids. With that being said, it may be a different amount when consuming a fast-acting protein vs a slow-acting one. It also may be different when consuming with other foods. So, find that sweet spot that your body needs and stick with that.

Most plant proteins are considered slow-acting, while animal based protein is usually considered fast acting. This refers to how easily our body can digest this food and how fast our body can absorb the amino acids

High-Protein Diet for Weight Loss

There have been a number of studies done to observe how a high protein diet can support weight loss. They found that when eating more protein than the RDA, it reduces body weight, while enhancing body composition by decreasing fat mass, but also preserving fat-free mass. It is important to have fat-free mass because it plays a big role in metabolic rate regulation and preserve skeletal integrity.

Mechanisms behind this

High protein diets are associated with increased satiety and energy expenditure. Increased satiety just means that you feel full and satisfied for longer. Because of this, individuals showed an elevation of blood amino acid concentration, hunger-inhibiting hormones, diet-induced thermogenesis, and ketone body levels.

Lets break that down a bit

The hunger-inhibiting hormones are glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), cholecystokinin (CCK), and peptide tyrosine-tyrosine (PYY). The release of these is stimulated by protein and when they are released, that increases satiety, thus reducing food intake.

High protein diets contribute to an increased energy expenditure by increasing diet-induced thermogenesis and resting metabolism. Diet-induced thermogenesis is the energy dissipated as heat after a meal. Energy expenditure is divided into 3 parts:

1. Activity induced
2. Diet-induced thermogenesis
3. Sleeping metabolic rate

Diet-induced thermogenesis is increased when calorie and protein consumption is released. Thus, a high protein diet increases diet-induced thermogenesis. Resting metabolism refers to the energy expended while you sleep. The study revealed that a high protein diet can prevent the decline in sleeping metabolic rate during weight loss. The high protein diet showed to preserve this by preventing lean mass loss.

A high protein diet also increases gluconeogenesis and ketogenesis which also increases satiety.

Conclusion

As you can see protein is very important for our health. We can manipulate the amount we eat to achieve the results we want, which is very cool to me. As I said before, everybody’s body is unique and can handle different things. I am in no way telling you what’s best for you, only you can figure that out. All I am doing is providing information that I have learned, so you can make the best decision for your health.

With all that being said, please try my brownies! If not, that’s okay. Just make sure you are getting enough protein.

Disclaimer

 I am not a certified nutritionist … yet, and I am not certified to give health advice. I am just providing information that I have learned. Everyone’s body is unique and has different needs. One food that is great for my body, may not be so great for you. Find what works for you! There is still so much to learn – so follow along if you want to learn with me.

Be sure to follow me on all my socials and let me know if you try this recipe and what you think. Also, let me know if you want to learn more about protein! You can find items used to make this recipe linked below.

Brownie Pan 

Disclaimer + example: This article may contain affilate links. This means I may earn commision should you decide to sign up for a program or make a purchase using my link. I only link products I love – thank you for your support.

Check out my latest recipes! Mexican Street Corn Dip and Rigatoni alla vodka without the vodka.

References

Protein. The Nutrition Source. (2021, November 12). Retrieved February 12, 2023, from https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/protein/

Wu, G. (2016, January 11). Dietary protein intake and human health. Food & Function. Retrieved February 12, 2023, from https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2016/fo/c5fo01530h

Schoenfeld, B.J., Aragon, A.A. How much protein can the body use in a single meal for muscle-building? Implications for daily protein distribution. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 15, 10 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-018-0215-1

Moon J, Koh G. Clinical Evidence and Mechanisms of High-Protein Diet-Induced Weight Loss. J Obes Metab Syndr. 2020;29(3):166-173. doi:10.7570/jomes20028

Marks BL, Rippe JM. The importance of fat free mass maintenance in weight loss programmes. Sports Med. 1996;22(5):273-281. doi:10.2165/00007256-199622050-00001