I know some of you might be wondering: What the heck is a protein fluff?
Friends, prepare your mind, because it's about to be blown. Protein fluff is a frozen, "marshmallowy" protein ice cream. It's extremely light and voluminous. With just a few ingredients, you can fill an entire salad bowl and find yourself sitting down with a soup spoon eating what looks like a calorific bomb of frozen decadence.
And yet it's a low-calorie snack.
Protein fluff's filling and low-calorie nature is precisely what makes it a staple among many dieters. It is also extremely easy to make and requires just three basic ingredients: milk, protein powder, and fruit—pretty much the same stuff you'd use in a protein shake or smoothie.
From Mush To Fluff
What makes protein fluff so special is that by blending just a few ingredients, you create what amounts to ice cream! In fact, if you were to stop right there, you could just eat it like ice cream inside a (protein) cone—I've done this and it's delicious. To turn it into proper fluff though, whisk it for a good 5-8 minutes. That's where the magic happens. Your ice cream turns into full-blown fluff.
Are you ready to give it a try?
1. Strawberry Protein Fluff
2. Banana Protein Fluff
3. Blueberry Protein Fluff
Fluffy Options
Make protein fluff with casein! Once you master whey protein fluff, I urge you to fluff some casein! Casein gets thicker than whey does though, and it yields a more compact fluff. You'll have to change the quantities of the ingredients to account for the extra density.
Using xanthan gum is optional. It makes your protein fluff stay fluffier longer and gain a thicker consistency. However, a lot of protein powders include it in their formula to ensure thick shakes. I suggest you try making your fluff with and without it so you can see what it does. Just remember to use very little of it. Half a teaspoon per serving will do.
Try different flavors of whey. You can also play around with your milk. Try whole milk, semi-skimmed milk, cartoned coconut milk, almond milk, etc.
You can use various fruits, nuts, and spices for toppings. Try coconut, seeds, cocoa, or fresh fruit! You can also try adding powdered egg whites for stiffer fluff, defrosting your fruit, or freezing the fluff before whisking. Put on your chef's hat and experiment!
Though berries are the best fruit to fluff, (though frozen banana slices come in at a close second), you can also use frozen pineapple or frozen apples as your base.
I make my protein fluff using a handheld blender. I use my handheld blender to mix ingredients before switching to a handheld electric whisker. You can definitely use a blending stand (a Kitchenaid mixer), or a regular cake mixer, but I wouldn't recommend using a blender like the one you'd use to make protein shakes because the mixture won't fluff properly.
Most vegetarian and vegan protein powders do not fluff, so please don't try to fluff your pea protein, brown rice protein, or hemp protein.