Move over traditional protein powders, there is a new superfood in town — and it's not what one might think.
Otago University food science researchers Dominic Agyei and Ruchita Kavle say they started their research four years ago, looking into the nutritional content of insects.
They discovered two New Zealand insects are high in protein — crickets and the indigenous huhu grub.
The pair have been adding the insects, either whole or in powdered form, to different foods.
Kavle told Breakfast: "We've researched so many multiple species of insects, because of their nutritional content, they're high in proteins, fat and minerals.
"We thought of testing the protein powder to see how good it would be in food products — it did have good emulsion and foaming capacity, if you wanted to add it to your cappuccino... in the morning."
Kavle said "the huhu grub had about 26-30% protein, in comparison to beef which has about 21% and chicken which has about 17%".
"We would hopefully, according to our knowledge, be the first [researchers] to establish a good nutritional profile on it," Kavle said.
Agyei said they also made ice cream using cricket powder, describing it as "really nice". He also said the new addition makes the sweet treat a bit healthier.
"Because of the insect we added, the protein contents are higher, the mineral contents are higher, and it's also creamier."
Agyei recommended insect powders and hoped to see it increase in popularity.
"For most people who are not so enthused about the idea of consuming insects, having it as a flour is a good foot in the door."
"One of our objectives is to raise awareness of the facts that insects are a suitable food source, which would diversify the amount of food we have," he said.
"We feel that insects are actually a really good alternative that can be added to the mix — like they say, variety is the spice of life, so why not."
Kavle advised that if you're allergic to crustaceans, you shouldn't eat insects in any form.
Watch the above video to see Matty McLean, Chris Chang and Anna Burns-Francis eat cricket powder ice cream.
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