Getting protein when I hate to cook

marycate225

I'm 5'4 108 lbs looking to gain muscle mass. I'm doing the strong curves bodyweight program and I also hike or kayak on the weekends. I've set my kcal goal at 2000-2100 in order to eventually gain about 10-15 lbs lean mass.
My only problem seems to be getting enough protein. At a 40/30/30 macro split I'm looking at around 122g/day. As someone who dislikes cooking meat (fine with eating it) this is difficult to do. Anyone have tips for meeting protein goals? I already eat greek yogurt everyday, frequently have eggs, cheese, nuts etc. Are protein drinks/recovery shakes easy to make? Ideally I would like to incorporate more meat in my diet considering I am low on b12 (taking a supplement though).

Thanks in advance you lovely humans

Wickedfaery73

I have a blender bottle and I like Body Fortress Advanced Whey protein mixes. 1 scoop has 30 grams of protein and 170 to 200 calories.

uglycrying

Canned tuna maybe? No cooking there. Perhaps meal prep some meat for the week so you only have to deal with cooking it once a week? What do you dislike about cooking meat?

allie644

What about beans? I usually prep my beans at the beginning of the week, or just spoon them out of a can on quinoa and add some veg and a dressing. It has a ton of protein and you get fibre as well as trace minerals.

amyk0202

I buy pre-cooked meat. I like the John Soules fajita meat--either steak or chicken. You can get pre-cooked chicken breasts of different flavors. Or you could just throw some in the crock pot & shred it up & freeze it in 3-4 oz servings. I don't like to cook either.

blushenvy

I know this still involves cooking, but it may help.
I cook chicken breast about once a month. I get a couple of flats and then I cut it into pre weighed 2 oz portions, toss it in a little olive oil, garlic and onion powder, and then bake it on sheet pans (450 degrees for about 20-30 minutes).
Cool it overnight in the fridge and toss it in the freezer the next day.
That way, while the mess is big-it's contained to one day and done.
I just pull out what I need and thaw the day before, or in a ziplock under running water the day of.
We use it for everything from cold chicken salads to pasta dishes.

marycate225

Canned tuna! Can't believe I forgot about that haha. And beans, do they freeze well?

Cooking a bunch of meat on the weekend and freezing it might be doable. I just hate everyday cooking of meat because it's dirty. Requires sanitation and more dishes than what I usually use.

allie644

marycate225 wrote: »

Canned tuna! Can't believe I forgot about that haha. And beans, do they freeze well?

Beans freeze well, but in a pinch you can just use canned beans. Just rinse them well before you eat them

Cahgetsfit

tuna, sardines, salmon (both canned or smoked), stuff like pickled herrings, canned chicken (though never been brave enough to try that!), deli meats, canned beans, protein powder shakes in a shaker bottle...

the possibilities are out there.

I also do bulk cooking of chicken as mentioned above.

Plus dunno about the dirtyness of cooking my chicken. All i get dirty is the chopping board, knife and the pan and then the containers I put the portions into - but you could always use zip-lock bags for convenience of non-cleaning.

blushenvy

Ha! I was going to say I hate doing the dishes as much if not more than the cooking! Tin foil is your friend!!!
And yes, totally agree it's gross-but it really has made life easier for us in the long run, so worth it!
We keep recipes super easy here-usualy only around 5 ingredients. But just about everything has protein, so those extra ingredients help fill some of the need too.

bioklutz

Deli meat! In the summer I often make a sandwich for dinner instead of turning the stove on.

One of the things I regularly cook is a turkey burger. I buy frozen patties. I finish working out, turn the stove on and put the patty in the pan. I take a quick shower and put pj's on. Run over and flip the burger. I pack up lunch for the next day. Put bread cheese and sauce on some bread. By the time I have finished the burger is done. The pan is non-stick so I just add a little dishsoap and let it soak for a few minutes and wipe it clean. It is hardly any work and pretty much no mess. The turkey burgers are from Costco and have 35 grams of protein, the cheese I use has 14 grams of protein.

marycate225

Cahgetsfit wrote: »

tuna, sardines, salmon (both canned or smoked), stuff like pickled herrings, canned chicken (though never been brave enough to try that!), deli meats, canned beans, protein powder shakes in a shaker bottle...

the possibilities are out there.

I also do bulk cooking of chicken as mentioned above.

Plus dunno about the dirtyness of cooking my chicken. All i get dirty is the chopping board, knife and the pan and then the containers I put the portions into - but you could always use zip-lock bags for convenience of non-cleaning.

It's not so much that it is messy just, idk germy? I realize this is one thing I am a little irrational about. I was a vegetarian for 7 years and still to this day raw meat grosses me out.

amyk0202

marycate225 wrote: »

It's not so much that it is messy just, idk germy? I realize this is one thing I am a little irrational about. I was a vegetarian for 7 years and still to this day raw meat grosses me out.

That's funny! I'm the same way. I like to eat meat, but I won't touch it raw. I make my husband or one of my kids put it in the pan. If nobody is home to put the meat in the pan, I won't make dinner. I am OK with frozen meat patties like bioklutz mentioned because I can just pry them out of the package with a fork & drop them in the pan without actually touching them. I get the Steak-eze patties & do that. They cook up really fast (like 3 minutes) in a really small frying pan. I add taco sauce & put it in a whole wheat taco boat with black beans & cheddar cheese. Lots of protein & fiber. I've also added A1 sauce & mushrooms & eaten them on a toasted bun with mozzarella cheese. They're quick & easy.

trigden1991

Pre-cooked meat, cook-in-pack meat, eggs, tinned tuna, whey protein, peanut butter.

comptonelizabeth

I'm having one of those days when I can't be bothered to cook. For breakfast I had porridge made with whole milk,with nuts and pumpkin seeds,plus a whey protein shake made with almond milk. I've snacked on cheese, and apple with peanut butter. For lunch I'm having a salad with tuna and egg and will already be nearing my protein goal.

psuLemon

How about utilizing other proteins like seitan, soy, legumes? Also, canned chicken is another one that hasn't been mentioned. You don't need all meat protein.


Also to point out, all muscle is lean (it's an industry misnomer to say it's not). Women will typically gain about 1/4 lb of muscle per week max (and I am not sure that will be achievable with a body weight program) and remainder would be fat (roughly 75%/25% is the fat to muscle ratio). So if you do gain 10 lbs, at max it will be 3lbs of muscle, which might be ok. So people like the increase in body fat on look.

Chieflrg

marycate225 wrote: »

I'm 5'4 108 lbs looking to gain muscle mass. I'm doing the strong curves bodyweight program and I also hike or kayak on the weekends. I've set my kcal goal at 2000-2100 in order to eventually gain about 10-15 lbs lean mass.
My only problem seems to be getting enough protein. At a 40/30/30 macro split I'm looking at around 122g/day. As someone who dislikes cooking meat (fine with eating it) this is difficult to do. Anyone have tips for meeting protein goals? I already eat greek yogurt everyday, frequently have eggs, cheese, nuts etc. Are protein drinks/recovery shakes easy to make? Ideally I would like to incorporate more meat in my diet considering I am low on b12 (taking a supplement though).

Thanks in advance you lovely humans

Protien is more important on a cut not a bulk where carbs play a larger factor.

You don't "need" to eat that much protien for your size.

You would be better off by figuring your macros by your body weight and not a percentages.

Something along the lines of .8 g-1g/lb of LBM is all that is needed for protien.

So you are looking more in the 80g per day depending on your body fat percentage.

chocolate_owl

Go buy a whole chicken and roast it. You barely have to touch the raw meat if you're careful (open bag, dump in pan, use silicon basting brush to add seasoning), and you can eat off of it for a few days. With the holidays coming up, turkeys and hams will be available too.

WickedPineapple

I pick up a rotisserie chicken about once a week and work on eating it throughout the week.

cwolfman13

marycate225 wrote: »

I'm 5'4 108 lbs looking to gain muscle mass. I'm doing the strong curves bodyweight program and I also hike or kayak on the weekends. I've set my kcal goal at 2000-2100 in order to eventually gain about 10-15 lbs lean mass.
My only problem seems to be getting enough protein. At a 40/30/30 macro split I'm looking at around 122g/day. As someone who dislikes cooking meat (fine with eating it) this is difficult to do. Anyone have tips for meeting protein goals? I already eat greek yogurt everyday, frequently have eggs, cheese, nuts etc. Are protein drinks/recovery shakes easy to make? Ideally I would like to incorporate more meat in my diet considering I am low on b12 (taking a supplement though).

Thanks in advance you lovely humans

At 108 Lbs, that's way more protein than you need. At a certain point, there ceases to be any benefit to more protein...you're just making really expensive glucose. If you're taking in more than 1 gram per Lb of LBM, you're taking in too much. Also, for a bulk, carbs are king.

chunky_pinup

My husband buys himself those rotisserie chickens from our Grocery store deli so it's already cooked and ready to go...and most of the time...it's actually cheaper than buying the same size chicken raw, so it's a win-win for him.

AnarchistKitchen

This chocolate protein oatmeal smoothie has 28 grams of protein in it. If you added greek yogurt to this you could easily get this drink up to 50 grams of protein without having to cook anything. I will mention that I find this recipe really filling so maybe leave out the oatmeal if you're struggling to get enough calories in. I would think leaving the oatmeal out might make it less filling. I LOVE this recipe.

https://richbitchcooking.wordpress.com/2016/10/11/vegan-oatmeal-smoothie-chocolate-protein-thick-creamy/

jnlamppert

On my lazy weeks instead of prepping chicken for the week I buy a rotisserie chicken from my local grocery store (or Sams/Costco). Then you can just eat off of that for the week!

healthkickkath1

You've always got the option of wearing disposable rubber gloves when cutting up raw meats

KaseyWolf

alot of great tips here. I bought some gnc nonflavored protein and drop it into just about anything (soups, pudding, eggs, oatmeal, shakes) for protein boost.

KaseyWolf

AnarchistKitchen wrote: »

This chocolate protein oatmeal smoothie has 28 grams of protein in it. If you added greek yogurt to this you could easily get this drink up to 50 grams of protein without having to cook anything. I will mention that I find this recipe really filling so maybe leave out the oatmeal if you're struggling to get enough calories in. I would think leaving the oatmeal out might make it less filling. I LOVE this recipe.

https://richbitchcooking.wordpress.com/2016/10/11/vegan-oatmeal-smoothie-chocolate-protein-thick-creamy/

I've read that it is difficult to absorb more than 30 g of protein at once. You end up wasting what is left over. Has anyone else heard of this or have feedback on that?

trigden1991

KaseyWolf wrote: »

AnarchistKitchen wrote: »

This chocolate protein oatmeal smoothie has 28 grams of protein in it. If you added greek yogurt to this you could easily get this drink up to 50 grams of protein without having to cook anything. I will mention that I find this recipe really filling so maybe leave out the oatmeal if you're struggling to get enough calories in. I would think leaving the oatmeal out might make it less filling. I LOVE this recipe.

https://richbitchcooking.wordpress.com/2016/10/11/vegan-oatmeal-smoothie-chocolate-protein-thick-creamy/

I've read that it is difficult to absorb more than 30 g of protein at once. You end up wasting what is left over. Has anyone else heard of this or have feedback on that?

I've heard that said many times however it is false. Meal timings and macronutrients in meals have minimal effect. It is all about the bigger picture (CICO).

crawforgarten

I am on a high protein diet, and do agree with a lot of the advice here. The only thing I'd add is a protein bar. I personally use ThinkThin protein bars. 20g of protein, 0g sugar, 230 calories.

trigden1991

crawforgarten wrote: »

I am on a high protein diet, and do agree with a lot of the advice here. The only thing I'd add is a protein bar. I personally use ThinkThin protein bars. 20g of protein, 0g sugar, 230 calories.

20g of protein is 80 calories so what makes up the remaining 150 calories? Sugar is not a macronutrient, it is a carbohydrate.

cosmonew

I also have read that protein over 30g in a single sitting is wasted. I just try to keep my protein under this and enjoy it more often.

psuLemon

cosmonew wrote: »

I also have read that protein over 30g in a single sitting is wasted. I just try to keep my protein under this and enjoy it more often.

It's a false statement. In fact, if you are actively working to stimulate protein synthesis and maximize training results, you may need more per meal. The below video is a good explanation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTF9YR6BU9k