Lizi's High Protein Granola, 350g

Product Information

Of the 20 amino acids, the body is only able to produce 11. The remaining nine are known as ‘essential’ and must be derived from food sources. Nicely toasted oats, gathered in a few clumps, but very little else; there was definitely one sunflower seed in our bowlful. A good toasty flavour on the sweet side, with some crunch, but no discernible nutty flavour or fruit.

Besides the widely known relationship between muscle growth and a high protein diet, this crucial nutrient plays a key role within the skeletal, immune, endocrine, and digestive systems, making us feel a whole lot better. Health is big news when it comes to marketing granola. Over the past year, there’s been a rash of granolas with extra health claims such as FODMAP compatible and microbiome friendly. “Prebiotic” – providing food for gut bacteria – is another term that’s bandied about, often for granolas that include inulin, a kind of indigestible fibre, although any granola or muesli containing a good mix of different whole grains, nuts, seeds and fruits fits the bill. A fruit-free blend that’s pale, with a few clumps, some sunflower seeds and one or two big whole almonds. The flavour isn’t bland but it’s not sweet at all. Delivers lots of nutty and seedy flavours. If you don’t want any sugar this could be good.Contains lots of nice-looking things including raisins and pumpkin seeds but the few pale clumps there are aren’t crunchy; it’s more of a muesli texture. Not sweet, with a slightly bitter aftertaste.

Dark, but doesn’t dye the milk so much as some others. There are lots of chewy coconut pieces in there and chunks of nut, and date syrup and vanilla flavouring in the ingredients list. It’s a promising colour but too sweet. Good if you love coconut. A pale but clumpy mix; I find flakes of Brazil nut and almond, plus half cashews and pumpkin seeds in reasonable levels. Not sweet but reasonably crunchy. Strong bitter aftertaste, which is a shame as it is good value otherwise. Of course, the post-exercise window has become prime time for making sure we are getting our protein. For the fit and healthy, boosting protein intake post workout is a really effective way to make sure that lean muscle mass develops and recovery time speeds up. By consuming protein within an hour of working out, you will be feeding your muscles when they are at their most receptive.

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So, whether your choice of fitness is yoga, running, strength training, hiking or biking – make sure that you are rewarding your exercise efforts with protein to keep your body in tip-top condition. Slightly darker than most, this is more porridge than clusters. Sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds are visible, along with a few scraps of chopped toasted nuts, but the taste is bland, like raw porridge, and the nuts don’t taste the freshest. No nuts in this, just a few sunflower seeds and oats in nice size clumps. A good medium dark colour but with a sweetish and bitter aftertaste. Not much going on otherwise. A shame about the bitterness.

When we think of high protein foods, we tend to think of meat. That’s correct – animal products like lean meat contain all the essential amino acids and are referred to as ‘complete’ proteins. The same can be said of fish and eggs too. Muesli-like, with lots of pumpkin and sunflower seeds, some teeny bits of what seems to be pecan, and lots of medium to light toasted oats. There’s no crunch, but a pleasing flavour, even if it isn’t toasty. Just not granola. With puffed quinoa, pumpkin seeds and oats this does not have a traditional look. There is a bit of honey flavour, though not overwhelmingly sweet, very crunchy, but more like breakfast cereal than a granola. Fun though. There are in fact, 20 different amino acids, and the sequence in which they are chained together will determine their functions – going to show how much attention to detail naturally occurs in our wonderful bodies!

Discover more about meeting your high-protein goals when following a plant-based diet in our blog: 14 sources of plant-based protein. As well as being responsible for making new bones and muscles, enzymes and hormones, protein is a source of energy for the body. Eating the right amount makes sure that you have all the energy you need for an active lifestyle, busy day or the exercise you have planned.

If you’re following a vegan or vegetarian diet, it’s so important that your diet is rich in variety. By taking this approach you can ensure you are consuming all of the healthy protein your body needs. There’s an added bonus to using plant-based foods as your source of protein – these foods are also incredibly nutrient dense and full of vitamins, minerals and that all-important fibre – providing further health benefits. Small clumps and pieces of nut rather than whole nuts. A few hard raisins. Quite pale so it looks a bit anaemic and the taste has a slight bitterness. Not very sweet, but delivers a decent crunch that sadly doesn’t last. A pale mix and not very clumpy (looks like a muesli), but it does seem lavish, loaded with nuts and fruit, including big, expensive-looking raisins as well as oats and wheat flakes. Sadly, the granola is on the soft side, not crisp and not very sweet. Oddly bland given the amount of nuts.There are loads of nuts in this, including whole almonds, along with sunflower and pumpkin seeds and slivers of toasted coconut. It has a toasty appearance but not very clumpy - there’s more nut than oat. Slightly salty, almost savoury, but you’d need to like coconut. Turn on the oven and allow it to fully preheat fully. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside. Of course, our High Protein granola contains the natural oat flakes, seeds and nuts that gives it the Lizi’s crunch. Very dark, almost like it has cocoa in (it turns the milk brown). Contains puffs of cereal and flakes of almonds, cashew and coconut. Not madly sweet but the flavour is complex, with slightly bitter treacly flavour; it comes across like a grown-up Coco Pops. The puffed cereal is divisive - does it have a place in granola?