5 Ways to Use Collagen Peptides
There are many ways to use collagen peptides. With their potential and proven benefits from skin health to joint support, many people are looking for creative ways to incorporate hydrolyzed collagen into their life.
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What is Collagen?
Body-wise, collagen is the most abundant protein in your body. It forms connective tissue which is important for many parts of your body. It helps give support to your skin, muscles, and bones.
Food-wise, collagen can be found in foods like bone broth and organ meat. Collagen is part of the reason why bone broth is such a popular health food.
Collagen is also sold as a protein supplement either simply as collagen, collagen peptides, or hydrolyzed collagen.
Interestingly, collagen is not a complete protein source. This means that collagen doesn’t have all of the essential amino acids in it. However, this doesn’t even begin to negate its beneficial impacts.
What are Collagen Peptides?
Collagen peptides, also known as hydrolyzed collagen, is a form of collagen that has been broken down. This form of collagen is considered to be easier to digest and absorb in the body.
Unlike collagen or gelatin, peptides do not thicken whatever you add them to.
Benefits of Collagen Peptides
Collagen Peptides have a variety of reported benefits. Benefits like:
- Improved skin elasticity (which can help with aging). In fact, a 2019 randomized control study found that collagen taken orally provided a variety of skin benefits that could counteract aging.
- Joint support – In a 2008 research study on collagen hydrolysate supplementation in athletes, they found that those taking collagen had improved joint pain.
- Strengthened tendons and ligaments (which can also help with joint-health and muscle support). In fact in one study published in 2018 on collagen supplementation and ankle function, researchers found that collagen supplementation may help support ankle stability and prevent injury.
- Increased bone mineral density in postmenopausal women as demonstrated in this 2018 study.
Not to mention, they are often flavorless and are a great way to sneak in extra protein into your diet.
How Much Collagen Should You Have a Day?
In a 2019 study on the effective amounts of hydrolyzed collagen for health benefits found that 2.5 to 15g a day may be effective.That’s around just 1 scoop of collagen a day!
My favorite are from Great Lakes Gelatin (not sponsored, I just love them). They don’t have an after taste (like many others I’ve tried) and their collagen and gelatin products come from grass-fed cows.
5 Ways to Use Collagen Peptides
Now that you know what collagen peptides are, here are 5 ways to use them in your recipes!
Add it to Your Protein-Energy Bites
A favorite way to use hydrolyzed collagen is in protein-energy bites. It’s a great way to get some extra protein into my snacks that I meal-prep.
To incorporate them into your energy bites, simply add a scoop or two into your energy bite dough and prepare them as you normally would.
Some of the protein-energy bite recipes I’ve developed sport a whopping 5 – 8g of protein per serving. Here’s a list of my favorite energy bite recipes:
- Cake Batter Bliss Bites (6.2g of protein a ball)
- Peanut Butter Protein Bites (8g of protein a ball)
- Chocolate Protein Energy Bites (5.2g of protein a ball)
Add It to Your Oatmeal & chia seed pudding
Collagen peptides are typically flavorless. This makes them easy to add to your morning oats or chia pudding. The next time you go to make a cozy breakfast bowl, mix in a scoop of collagen for a boost of protein.
If you want some more guidance, I have a Red Velvet Cake Chia Pudding recipe that has collagen in it that you can try.
Throw a Scoop of Collagen Peptides into Your Smoothies
Collagen peptides are perfect to add to smoothies because as I mentioned before, they won’t thicken them like gelatin or regular collagen.
I’ll be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of smoothies. I feel like they hit my bloodstream too fast. However, I’ve learned that adding sources of protein and healthy fats to my smoothies has helped with this issue.
So on the rare occasions when I am craving a smoothie, I’ll throw in a scoop of collagen. This not only adds a boost of protein but it also helps slow down how fast the smoothie hits my blood sugars.
Try my Raspberry Red Velvet Cake Smoothie if you need some smoothie inspiration!
Use Collagen Peptides in Your Dips
Perhaps one of the easiest ways to incorporate collagen peptides into your diet is by adding it to your dips (like I did in my Protein Hummus recipe).
Think hummus, bean dip, guacamole, the list goes on. Simply adding a scoop (or two) can be a great way to pack in some extra protein with out changing the flavor or texture of the dip.
Add Collagen Peptides Into Your Milk
Adding any form of collagen into your latte seems to be all the rage these days. And understandably so, not only does it add creaminess but it also adds in extra protein.
Simply add a scoop to your coffee or tea and enjoy. Or froth it into your milk for an extra creamy and nourishing latte.
Bonus Ideas…
Bonus Idea from my mentor Kelly Schmidt is to mix a scoop of collagen into your morning scrambled eggs! You could also throw a scoop or two into your soups!
Need Some Collagen?
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