Legumes, soy and plant protein
Lupin flakes on a GLP-1: protein, portions and how to actually eat it
About 40 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), flakes, dry, for around 350 calories. Three tablespoons, about 30 g (1.1 oz), give roughly 12 g of protein for 105 calories.
To reach 30 g of protein from lupin flakes alone you would need about 75 g (2.6 oz). On a small appetite that is often more than one sitting allows, which is why we pair it rather than chase the whole target from one food.
How lupin flakes sits on a GLP-1
Lupin is the legume Australia grows more of than anywhere else, and the flakes made from it are the highest protein whole food in the plant aisle: about 40 g per 100 g (3.5 oz), with almost no starch and a great deal of fibre. They have a mild, nutty flavour and a slightly firm bite, and they go into other food rather than being eaten on their own. On a GLP-1 that is the useful part: three tablespoons stirred into porridge or yoghurt adds 12 g of protein without adding a mouthful.
When your appetite is small
Stir 30 g (1 oz), about three tablespoons, into whatever you are already eating: porridge, Greek yoghurt, a smoothie, or a bowl of soup. The flakes soften in anything wet within a few minutes and the bowl is 12 g stronger and no bigger. One warning: lupin is a known allergen and can cross react with peanut allergy, so if you have a peanut allergy, talk to your doctor before trying it.
Three ways to prepare it
Stirred into porridge in the last minute
Three tablespoons into a small bowl of porridge. The flakes soften and the bowl goes from about 5 g to about 17 g.
As a crumb on fish or chicken
Lupin flakes in place of breadcrumbs on a piece of white fish, baked at 200C, about 390F. A crunchy coating that adds protein instead of starch.
Cooked into a small savoury porridge with cheese
Flakes simmered in stock for five minutes, parmesan stirred through. A warm, soft, savoury bowl of about 20 g for a day when sweet food does not appeal.
What to eat it with
Porridge, yoghurt, soup, eggs, cheese. Lupin flakes are a booster rather than a dish, so they pair with whatever you were going to eat anyway.
How it compares
| Food | Protein per 100 g | Energy per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lupin flakes | about 40 g | 350 kcal | this page |
| Oats | about 13 g | 375 kcal | See the page |
| Chia seeds | about 17 g | 490 kcal | See the page |
| Pea protein | about 75 g | 380 kcal | See the page |
All figures are typical values for the food as eaten, flakes, dry, not laboratory figures for a particular brand.
Australian, US and UK names
Lupin flakes are an Australian product, sold in supermarkets and health food shops there and increasingly online in the UK. Lupin flour is used in European and UK baking. In the US, lupin is best known as lupini beans, the pickled Italian snack, which are a different, much wetter product at about 16 g per 100 g (3.5 oz).
Questions people ask
What is lupin and is it high in protein?
Lupin is a legume related to peanuts and soy. Dried flakes are about 40 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), so a 30 g (1 oz) serve carries 12 g. It must be labelled as an allergen in Australia, the UK and Europe, and anyone with a peanut allergy should check with their doctor first.
Your number comes first
Knowing what is in a food only helps once you know how much you are aiming for. The target is 1.2 to 1.6 g of protein per kg of your goal weight, not your current weight, which for most people is 90 to 140 g a day.
Work out your protein targetMore on eating well when your appetite is small: high protein foods for a small appetite, how much protein on a GLP-1, and every food we have written up. The whole system in five documents is the Keep Muscle Kit, A$47 / US$29 / £23.
EverStrong provides nutrition and strength coaching and education. It is not medical advice and does not replace your prescribing doctor.