Protein Bake Mix, explained
Protein Bake Mix is an unflavoured baking powder made with whey and milk protein, oat flour and egg. People use it to turn pancakes, muffins and other bakes into higher-protein versions.
From Herbalife, tap to play
What Protein Bake Mix is
Protein Bake Mix is a dry mix that already contains flour, dried egg and raising agents. For a pancake you only add milk or water, and a 480g tub makes 20 pancakes.
A serving is 24g of powder, about three tablespoons. Made with water, one pancake has 11g of protein and 89 calories. With semi-skimmed milk it has 12g of protein and 104 calories.
It has no added sugar, colours, flavours or sweeteners, so the taste and sweetness come from what you add. Formula 3 is the other neutral protein powder, but it is a stir-in for shakes, soups and sauces with 5g of protein a serving.
Herbalife publishes recipes that use it for waffles, banana bread, savoury cheese muffins and mini vegetable pizzas, as well as pancakes.
What's in it, ingredient by ingredient
Whey protein concentrate (milk)
Milk protein comes in two main families, whey and casein. Whey protein concentrate is the whey portion dried to a powder that is rich in protein.
Whey is a complete protein, meaning it carries all nine essential amino acids your body cannot make. It also has more leucine than casein or soy protein.
Why it's in Protein Bake Mix: It is the first ingredient, which means there is more of it than anything else. Herbalife describes the mix as formulated with premium quality whey protein.
Protein contributes to a growth in muscle mass. Protein contributes to the maintenance of muscle mass.
Protein supplies about half of a water-made pancake's calories, so the mix qualifies as high in protein under the 20% rule.
Calcium caseinate (milk)
Casein is the main protein in milk, and calcium caseinate is casein bound to calcium and dried to a powder. Like whey, it carries all nine essential amino acids.
Casein is digested more slowly than whey, so its amino acids reach the blood more gradually.
Why it's in Protein Bake Mix: It is the second protein source, alongside the whey. Together they give each 24g serving 11g of protein with water.
Both proteins come from milk, so the mix is unsuitable for anyone avoiding milk.
Gluten-free whole oat flour
This is whole oats milled into flour, from oats grown and handled so the gluten level stays at 20mg per kg or less. That is the legal limit for calling a food gluten-free.
Oats are listed with the cereals containing gluten in UK allergen law, so they are still declared in bold. That is why the label says contains oat even though the flour is gluten-free.
Why it's in Protein Bake Mix: It is the flour in the batter, so you don't add flour of your own.
Herbalife does not label the finished mix gluten-free. It declares both oat and wheat as allergens.
Whole egg powder
Whole egg powder is egg, both yolk and white, dried to a powder. Egg protein is another complete protein, so it adds to the total.
Why it's in Protein Bake Mix: It means you don't add a fresh egg, which is why the pancake method needs only milk or water.
Egg is one of the four allergens in bold on the label.
Baking powder (potassium hydrogen carbonate, disodium diphosphate, rice flour)
Potassium hydrogen carbonate and disodium diphosphate are raising agents. They react together once the batter is wet and warm, releasing small gas bubbles that lift it.
Rice flour is the carrier that keeps the powder dry and free-flowing.
Why it's in Protein Bake Mix: These raising agents make the pancake rise and stay light as it cooks.
A pancake made with water has 0.3g of salt, a twentieth of the 6g adults should stay under.
Gluten-free wheat dextrin
Part of the 1.7g of fibre per pancakeWheat dextrin is made by treating wheat starch so that it resists digestion in the small intestine. Because it passes through undigested, it counts as fibre on the label rather than as carbohydrate.
It is processed until the gluten is at or below the 20mg per kg gluten-free limit. Even so, UK allergen law only exempts a few named wheat ingredients, such as wheat glucose syrups and wheat maltodextrins, and wheat dextrin is not one of them. So it must still be declared as wheat.
Why it's in Protein Bake Mix: It adds fibre, which together with the oat flour makes the mix a source of fibre.
If you avoid wheat for an allergy rather than for coeliac disease, treat this product as containing wheat.
There is nothing else in the tub. The minerals on the label come from the milk proteins, oats and egg, and from the raising agents, since potassium hydrogen carbonate and disodium diphosphate supply potassium and phosphorus.
Reading the label
Per pancake (about 48g cooked), made from 24g of powder with 30ml of water, or with 30ml of semi-skimmed milk
- Energy: 89 kcal with water, 104 kcal with milk. The 30ml of milk adds 15 calories. Toppings such as fruit, yoghurt or syrup come on top of both figures.
- Protein: 11g with water, 12g with milk. About a fifth of the 55.5g a day suggested for men aged 19 to 64, or a quarter of the 45g suggested for women.
- Sugars: 0.6g with water, 2.1g with milk. The label says these are naturally occurring sugars. Milk sugar, from the milk ingredients and any milk you add, does not count as free sugar for the NHS.
- Fibre: 1.7g. About 6% of the 30g of fibre adults are advised to eat each day.
- Salt: 0.3g with water, 0.4g with milk. A twentieth of the 6g a day adults should stay under, or a little more with milk.
- Phosphorus: 250mg (36% RI) with water. Nearly half of the 550mg adults need each day. At 36% it qualifies for the claim that phosphorus contributes to the maintenance of normal bones.
- Potassium: 326mg (16% RI) with water. Just over the 15% needed to count as a source of potassium.
- Calcium: 100mg (13% RI) with water, 137mg (17% RI) with milk. Below the 15% source level with water. Semi-skimmed milk lifts it over that line.
The label shows two columns, one for a water pancake and one for semi-skimmed milk. Pick the column that matches how you make it.
Herbalife says the mix's nutritional profile is unchanged by cooking. Recipes that add other ingredients have their own figures.
How to use it
Heat the pan
Preheat a non-stick pan on a low heat.
Mix the batter
Mix 24g (three tablespoons) of Protein Bake Mix with 30ml (two tablespoons) of semi-skimmed milk or water. Pour the batter into the centre of the pan and spread it to the thickness you like.
Cook both sides
Cook on a low heat for two to three minutes until the bottom is golden. Flip it and cook the second side the same way.
One serving makes one pancake, and the 480g tub holds 20 servings. At one pancake a day, a tub lasts nearly three weeks.
Herbalife's own recipe pages use the mix for waffles, muffins, biscuits and loaves as well. Store the tub with the lid closed in a cool, dry place.
Good to know
Who it suits
- It suits people who want more protein from food they already enjoy making.
- It has no added sugar, colours, flavours or sweeteners.
Check first
- It contains milk, egg, oat and wheat, so it is not suitable if you are allergic to any of them.
- It is not suitable for vegans, because it contains milk and egg.
- It is not labelled gluten-free, so check with your dietitian if you have coeliac disease.
Questions people ask
Does it taste of anything?
No. It is unflavoured, with no added sugar or sweetener, so the taste comes from your toppings or recipe.
Is it better with milk or water?
Milk adds 1g of protein and 15 calories per pancake, and it lifts the calcium above the 15% source level. Water keeps the calories lower.
Can I use it in other recipes?
Yes. Herbalife publishes recipes for waffles, banana bread, brownies, savoury cheese muffins and mini vegetable pizzas made with it. Each recipe has its own nutrition figures.
Why does it say contains wheat if the ingredients are gluten-free?
The wheat dextrin is processed to gluten-free levels, but UK law still requires wheat to be declared. Only a few wheat ingredients, such as wheat glucose syrup, are exempt.
Does cooking destroy the protein?
Herbalife says the mix's nutritional profile is unchanged when cooked. The label figures are given per cooked pancake.
How is it different from Formula 3?
Formula 3 is a neutral stir-in for shakes, soups and sauces with 5g of protein. Bake Mix is a complete batter mix with 11g of protein per pancake.
Where these facts come from
- fs_528k: Herbalife product information and label
- label_528k: Herbalife product information and label
- fs_201k_nutriose: Herbalife product information and label
- efsa_resistant_dextrin: efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/3839
- hl_recipes: Herbalife product information and label
- fs_0242: Herbalife product information and label
- matrix: Herbalife product information and label
- bda_protein_sources: bda.uk.com/static/61ad81e4-ea30-41d3-a03717a2467754d9/Practical-guide-
- ods_exercise: ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/ExerciseAndAthleticPerformance-HealthProfess
- nhs_fibre: nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/digestive-health/how-to-get-more-fibre-into-
- sacn_fibre: gov.uk/government/publications/sacn-carbohydrates-and-health-report
- nhs_sugar: nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/food-types/how-does-sugar-in-our-diet-affect
- nhs_salt: nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/food-types/salt-nutrition/
- nhs_others: nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/others/
- fsa_allergens: food.gov.uk/business-guidance/food-allergen-labelling-and-information-
- fsa_glutenfree: food.gov.uk/business-guidance/food-allergen-labelling-technical-guidan
- reg_claims_annex: legislation.gov.uk/eur/2006/1924/annex
- reg_nrv_15: legislation.gov.uk/eur/2011/1169/annex/XIII
- gb_claims_register: gov.uk/government/publications/great-britain-nutrition-and-health-clai
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