In January I brought to you a very special Myprotein collabo with my Almond Butter Truffle Protein Bars, this month I’m bringing you the most insanely delicious Marine Collagen Hazelnut Chocolate Spread using the most superb type 1 Marine Collagen Powder from the Myvitamins range. Collagen supplements are all the rage in health and wellness and beauty scenes and are quite literally everywhere at the moment but they tend to be of poor quality and only carry low doses packed with fillers. For this reason, I only ever buy pure collagen powder and as I don’t eat meat I stick to marine collagen, which thankfully comes with a whole host of benefits.
Disclaimer: Please note that this is a sponsored post. I was sent free products and compensated in return for an amazingly delicious recipe. Any payment I receive I use to purchase more ingredients and equipment to keep this blog up and running, and most importantly to keep creating quality content for you all. I am not an affiliate of Myprotein and any purchases you make via them I will not be compensated for. I am not influenced by the company in any way and all opinions, ramblings, and thoughts are my own and 100% honest. If you’d like to know more, feel free to contact me.
Now, for those of you that don’t know, collagen is a type of protein that can be found in abundance in your body and makes up many organs and tissues. It’s responsible for helping your blood clot and healing wounds, keeping joints and connective tissues healthy and keeping your skin structurally sound.
This Marine Collagen Hazelnut Chocolate Spread is a healthy alternative to everyone’s childhood favourite Nutella. Packed with protein and collagen peptides to help keep skin glowing and joints strong and healthy.
Collagen production peaks in the body at around 25 and then begins to decrease when you hit about 30. By the age of 40, you can actually lose up to 1% of your body’s collagen every year. Of course, diet and lifestyle choices such as smoking and sun exposure can exacerbate this. With this loss of collagen comes wrinkles and loss of bone mass leading to weaker bones and joints. So if you’re 30 or over a decent collagen supplement should be something you keep regularly stocked in your cupboards.
This might sound a little scary and gross but marine collagen is actually made from the bones and scales of fish. But don’t worry it’s absolutely not fishy in taste and comes with a whole host of amazing benefits that make it well worth it, such as:
- Boosted collagen production – the amino acids glycine and proline, among many others, help to stimulate the synthesis of collagen within the body. Not only will this help increase collagen production but prevent the breakdown of collagen tissues too.
- Improved metabolism and stabilised blood sugar – marine collagen improves your glucose and lipid metabolism which can help those struggling to lose weight, and for obvious reasons could be a great aid for diabetics. A healthy glucose metabolism keeps pores and hair follicles healthy too meaning lustrous hair and a model like glow (well kinda if you’re lucky).
- Healthier skin – it is also thought that collagen can enhance the distribution of collagen fibres within the dermis, increasing the overall epidermal thickness. This in turn helps to protect the skin from ageing. The amino acid proline also helps to protect the skin from oxidative damage and can have photoprotective benefits.
- Keeps bones healthy – marine collagen can help increase the absorption of calcium and other minerals that are essential to bone health. It can also help keep joints lubricated and decrease inflammation and the risk of joint deterioration.
- Promotes a healthy brain – the amino acid glycine makes up roughly 20% of the amino acid content in collagen. It can help to calm down the mind improving focus and sleep.
- Improves thyroid health – collagen helps your liver to be able to convert thyroid hormones into active T3 thyroid hormones which can lower cortisol levels in your blood and reduce stress.
So, as you can see marine collagen is some pretty nifty stuff that I cannot live without. If I stop taking collagen I definitely start to see a difference within my skin after a few weeks – it gets drier and loses its plumpness. If you’ve never dabbled with collagen just be aware that it can take anywhere from 4 to 12 weeks to see any effects, especially within the skin and age can totally play a factor in how long this takes too. It all depends on your current collagen levels.
The Myvitamins Collagen Powder is completely tasteless and has the faintest odour of fish but it’s definitely nothing unpleasant and can actually double up as a pretty mean coffee creamer. If you’re big on Bulletproof coffee then throw a scoop in and you’ll end up with a super creamy and pleasant coffee to drink. To be honest this is the main way that I use collagen on a daily basis.
Having said that, marine collagen powder is perfect blended into both hot and cold drinks due to its water-soluble nature and it’s also great in things like protein bars and raw desserts too. Not only will you be getting all of the amino acids you need in your body but each serving contains 9g of protein too. If you’re keto you’ll be pleased to know that it’s also carb-free.
Anyway enough of my rambling on, this Marine Collagen Hazelnut Chocolate Spread has a fudgy consistency with the beloved flavour of your childhood favourite Nutella, just minus all of the nasty processed sugars and fats. I’ve also thrown in some coconut oil as MCTs are great for the skin and the gut. All you need is a good quality food processor and a little patience, and a whole lot of willpower when it comes to not eating the entire jar. Which I may or may not have done.
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- 300g organic hazelnuts
- 120ml cashew milk (or other nut milk)
- 60g Myvitamins Marine Collagen Powder (unflavoured)
- 30g cacao powder
- 70g coconut oil (melted)
- 125ml maple syrup
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract or 1 tsp vanilla paste
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan-assisted. Spread out the hazelnuts onto a baking sheet as a single layer and place them into the oven for 10-12 minutes, until they’ve browned a little and the skins begin to fall off. Remove from the oven and wrap them in a clean kitchen towel and leave them for a few minutes to help the steam loosen the skins.
- Place the hazelnuts into a mason jar and seal the lid, shake up and down until the skins come loose. Alternatively, rub the hazelnuts vigorously within the tea towel to remove as much loose skin as possible. Some skin will still cling to the nuts - don't worry this is inevitable. Leave the hazelnuts to cool completely.
- Warm the cashew milk in a pan on low heat. Do not allow to come to a simmer or a boil. Set to one side until needed.
- Add the hazelnuts and remaining ingredients, except for the cashew milk, to the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth. This will take a few blends. Be sure to scrape down the sides with each blend using a silicone spatula. You will find some oil separation happens but don't worry!
- Slowly pour in the warmed cashew milk whilst the food processor is running until the mixture is smooth and emulsified.
- Pour/spoon into clean, airtight jars and leave to cool completely before storing in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks.
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