Hey, loves! I hope you’re having a great week.

Today I’m super excited to share my protein-packed pumpkin dip with you, and talk all things protein pantry.

I don’t know about you, but when I hear of a new high protein food on the market, I want to try it as soon as i can get my hands on it. I may or may not have an entire shelf in my pantry dedicated to protein powders and supplements, but 90% of the time, those powders get used in shakes and smoothies.

Ya’ll know I’m smoothie-obsessed, but it’s nice to get a yummy protein-packed snack that’s not made in a blender with ice, too.

This month I’m teaming up with Vitamin Shoppe and their new Protein Pantry. The protein pantry is the section of their store that houses all foods protein-packed. Check it out!

From nut butter to pancakes to microwave muffins, Vitamin Shoppe’s protein pantry has you covered with just about everything. I was able to try out the following Protein Pantry staples (ha…see what I did there? 😉

• flapJacked Might Muffins
• D’s Naturals fluffbutter
• Buff Baked White Chocolate peanut butter (though I *heard* the Red Velvet is TDF…so I’m going to go try that ASAP)
• P28 White Chocolate Peanut Butter
• Mancakes protein pancakes
• AboutTime protein pancakes
• P28 Protein Pancakes

Right?! But the Vitamin Shoppe Protein Pantry has FORTY protein-packed foods in it.

I have to be honest…I was SUPER excited about this campaign. I truly shop at Vitamin Shoppe on the reg, and really do get giddy when trying out new protein products. I also like to think of it as market research, since my clients tend to ask me all of the time which protein products I recommend! 🙂

One of my nutritional practices that I practice on a daily basis is to get protein with every single meal or snack I eat. This is especially important both as a fitness enthusiast and someone who runs, bikes, climbs, hikes, and lifts, but also as someone who’s recovering from an injury. It’s also important to eat enough protein if you’re trying to lose body fat, as protein is a high satiety macronutrient, and has the highest thermodynamic property of all of the macros.

I do recommend trying to get most of your protein requirements through whole foods, but it can be tough to do that 100% of the time. I typically eat one serving of supplemented protein a day, whether it’s through a bar, a shake, or some other protein goodie!

On Sunday, I experimented with some protein pancakes – that I made with a super thin batter – and made crepes. Then I rolled them up and stuffed them with D’s Natural vanilla maple fluff butter and some strawberries. And I’ve been taking the flapjacked Mighty Muffin’s with me to the gym on the mornings I train. I typically train 4-5 clients, and have an hour break in there, too. These have been the perfect mid-morning snacked, topped with a little Buff Baked peanut butter.

Then the other day, Shane and I were watching the Cubbies in the playoffs (because…THE CUBS ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS) and made and enjoyed some protein-packed pumpkin dip I made with some apple slices. It’s sweet, pumpkin-y, and reminiscent of fall, and tastes great with apple slices and jicama sticks (like THESE from Trader Joe’s <—obsessed)

Protein-Packed Pumpkin Dip with Greek Yogurt

[Tweet “Protein-Packed Pumpkin Dip with Greek Yogurt via @TrainerPaige #proteinpantry”]

How often do you supplement with protein? What are some of your favorite protein products?

This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of Vitamin Shoppe. All opinions are mine.