Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Thanks for laying this out, it's really great to see a side-by-side.

I have actually been using dried spinach powder from bulkfoods.com as a protein powder for maybe around six months. Spinach has a 120 amino acid score at ND and is about as high in protein as spirulina and incredibly affordable (actually cheaper than hemp) in comparison, so it seems like a decent bet, especially since I have been gaining great this whole time.

how does it taste cubby?

Like a green smoothie. Fruit is absolutely a must and using some of True Protein's natural banana flavor (though the banana flavor is still artificial) helps a lot to allow you to increase the amount of spinach to fruit. Each morning I have a smoothie made of a half cup of spinach powder with a cup of strawberries, a tablespoon of flax, some maca and some True Protein banana flavor. Just like green smoothies, which it essentially is, the more you consume it, the better it begins to taste and the more spinach you can add.

That half cup comes out to roughly 160 calories in spinach. The jar says that it is 35 calories a tsp, but that is way off. Most green powders are about 20 calories a tbsp, so that is what I go off of.

Also, a little bit of lemon juice or some fruit flavored vinegar helps to tilt the flavor in favor of the fruit. You just have to use a very small amount unless you love a lemony or vinegary shake. If you use a small enough amount (a tsp to a tbsp), you won't taste the lemon or vinegar, but it will serve its purpose.

Any idea of the protein content in 1/2 cup? I'm interested.

http://www.unifiedfoods.com/spinach_spec.pdf

From this, and the rough calculations I did based on the fact that 3.5 pounds of it filled a 5gallon jug ~80% of the way, that it's ~.53g/cc.

240cc--> 126g--> 5g fat, 37.5g net carbs, 13g fiber, 40g protein. A half cup would be 2.5g fat, 19g net carbs, 6g fiber, and 20g protein.

I tried drinking this straight, and it was pretty difficult to stomach. I'll have to try the strawberry + banana smoothie.

Yep, my calculations are about the same as dnephi's. I guess it at 22g per half cup. It all depends on what data you are using, but most puts it in that general range.

I wouldn't try it straight. I love spinach, but not that much. The best way to down a lot of it is to mix in whatever trueprotein.com flavor pack has the most appealing flavor to you in a green smoothie or use a ton of fruit. I use the flavors with a cup of berries because I consume plenty of fruit otherwise.

I was just looking at a post by devil's plaything today and looked at his link about spinach and steroids. I realized that the amount of spinach I consume on average in a day is the equivalent of almost two pounds, one half cup powder being equivalent to about 1 and 1/3 lbs. I am getting a light steroidal effect.

interesting about the spinach.... keep us posted cubby.

I don't get why they can't extract the protein from more grains and veggies for the powders besides rice, peas and soy. It'd be great to get some more variety from protein powders by using quinoa, amaranth or the plethora of other healthy grains out there. You would think it wouldn't be that hard to extract them from legumes either? If they can do peas, why not legumes. Guess they're just isn't a need for it, or more companies would be doing it.

I just started using trueprotein's premium natural orange cream flavor with my spinach. I add one half tsp to each shake consisting of a tablespoon of ground flax, a half cup of spinach, a cup of strawberries, a teaspoon of lemon juice and some maca. The flavor absolutely dominates the spinach. I can't wait until they release a natural banana or berry premium flavor, because that will make the smoothies absolutely awesome.

I am thinking about experimenting with consuming over a kilo equivalent of spinach a day starting next week. I will keep you all posted on the results.

Does anyone know if the vitamin and mineral add on for gemma is vegan?

I highly doubt it is josh, willing to bet the Vit D is probably not veg.

TROY! What are you up to these days?

YO! I'm here in the shadows poking around from time to time. Took up snowboarding this past winter and having a blast with it! Weight training has been cut back to 2-3 days a week. My wrist is permanently sprained but I can't help but to keep hittin the slopes and get better at it... its in my nature. Other than that, I'm about to have my 3rd green smooth of the day! Hope all is well with you!

Just gave Carl at TP an e-mail and he has confirmed from the manufacturer that yes, the Vitamin D is vegan, and the add on as a whole is completely safe for vegans.

Thanks!