adding protein

shadowgem13

I have been told by my nutritionist that I need to increase my protein intake. I eat breakfast and lunch at work and I need some ideas on easy things I can pack for breakfast and lunch that are higher in protein. Currently I eat oatmeal for breakfast and a sandwich with fruit for lunch. Thoughts? Thanks in advance.

RGv2

I usually just go with a protein powder and a shaker.

evangelistjcmayo

I use the Amplify protein shake from GNC. It taste great when you blend with ice. A real milkshake and 20 grams of protein. Takes 2 mins. I just started a high protein diet recommended by my doctor. Good Luck

ansonrinesmith

Hard boiled eggs. Each egg has like 6g or protein
Greek Yogurt. Chobani has 14g per serving

Ceilidh_H

You could try adding hemp seeds to your oatmeal. They don't taste like much so they work well mixed in and are a good source of protein and adds fibre and fatty acids.

steve_mfp

Besides adding a protein powder, another alternative would be greek yogurt.

I've mentioned my love of Chobani greek yogurt in other threads. It's 0grams of fat, 140 calories and 18grams of protein. I have 2-3 a day. Easy to pack and they are ~$1 a piece.

FindingMyPerfection

Cottage cheese, low fat yogurt (Greek has higher protein), eggs (hard boiled travel well)

tuulikki30

Liberte 0% fat greek yogurt has 18 g of protein in a 3/4 cup serving for 100 calories

stt43

Hard boiled eggs. Each egg has like 36g or protein
Greek Yogurt. Chobani has 28g per serving

I'm pretty sure a boiled egg has only 6-7g of protein.

steve_mfp

Hard boiled eggs. Each egg has like 36g or protein
Greek Yogurt. Chobani has 28g per serving

I'm pretty sure a boiled egg has only 6-7g of protein.

Maybe he meant an Ostrich egg...they would have easily 100g or more protein.

Confuzzled4ever

I have been told by my nutritionist that I need to increase my protein intake. I eat breakfast and lunch at work and I need some ideas on easy things I can pack for breakfast and lunch that are higher in protein. Currently I eat oatmeal for breakfast and a sandwich with fruit for lunch. Thoughts? Thanks in advance.

hard boiled eggs, cheese sticks, beef jerky, put protein powder in your oatmeal and swap out the water or milk you use to mix it with yogurt; Cottage cheese. Chicken is awesome protein and easy to make ahead and take to work. (I take everything to work.)

Here's some recipes that have good protein..

Make snickerdoodle pudding for snack -
1 Large container 0% Fage (17.6oz)
6 Packets Truvia Natural Sweetener
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 tsp Cinnamon, ground
A dash of Allspice
A dash of ground cloves

Directions

Let the Fage sit out to reach room temperature. Then thoroughly whisk all ingredients together in a small mixing bowl.

Serving Size: 2 equal servings

Nutrition Facts

Servings Per Recipe: 2 Serving Size: 1 serving


Amount Per Serving
Calories161.0 Total Fat0.1 g Saturated Fat0.0 g Polyunsaturated Fat0.0 g Monounsaturated Fat0.0 g Cholesterol0.0 mg Sodium94.4 mg Potassium22.9 mg Total Carbohydrate21.4 g Dietary Fiber1.4 g Sugars10.4 g Protein25.2 g Vitamin A0.2 % Vitamin B-120.0 % Vitamin B-60.5 % Vitamin C1.6 % Vitamin D0.0 % Vitamin E0.0 % Calcium30.4 % Copper0.5 % Folate0.2 % Iron5.1 % Magnesium0.7 % Manganese23.7 % Niacin0.3 % Pantothenic Acid 0.0 % Phosphorus 0.2 % Riboflavin0.5 % Selenium0.1 % Thiamin0.2 % Zinc0.4 %

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Cottage cheese pancakes
Mix in a blender equal parts cottage cheese, quick oats, and almond (or other) milk. Then, add one scoop of protein powder (any flavor, chocolate is very good and am going to test banana). You can also add 1/2 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie season to make it especially flavorful. For an added boost of texture, flavor and protein, I add some chopped pecans when I first pour the batter on the griddle. I have been working with baking powder to see if I can get them to rise a bit, because they are pretty thin.

You not only can't taste the cottage cheese, but you get a real protein and fiber boost without tons of extra calories, and they taste a lot like regular pancakes. I make a batch up at the beginning of the week, and bring some to work and pop them in the toaster. Great for a quick, easy, tasty and nutritious snack/meal.

You can add in all sorts of flavorings to jazz it up to your taste.
meatloaf muffins.

40 oz ground turkey
1 medium onion + 1 large onion diced
3 bell peppers diced
2 1/2 handfuls of chopped mushrooms
3/4 c sugar-free blackberry jam (this is your binder, instead of eggs, plus great taste)
3/4 cup Classico Tomato-Basil Pasta Sauce
A bunch of flaxseed meal (I'm thinking....5-6 Tbsp?)
Granulated Garlic (I use a lot of garlic in everything <g>)
Cavender's Greek Seasoning

Mix together.. put in muiffin tins- bake at 350 for approx 45 minutes.
Can freeze these and warm up for snacks.
Calories will depend on muffin size.

Greek yogurt cajun chicken
4 chicken breast/thighs (boneless skinless)
1c.- 1 1/2c. of Plain greek yogurt
1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese (I use the 2% it's only 45 calories)
1 tsp Garlic
1/2 tsp slap ya mama (cajun season)
1 tsp season all
1/2 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 400

In a medium sized mix bowl, mix together your yogurt, cheese, and seasonings. Once you have that all mixed together, have a casserole dish ready and coat your chicken nice and thick with the mixture. Put in oven and cook till chicken is done.


Lasagna stuffed peppers
INGREDIENTS
1 Large Red Bell Pepper
1 Large Green Bell Pepper
1 Large Yellow Bell Pepper
1 Large Orange Bell Pepper
2 ½ Cups Tomato Meat Sauce
1 Cup Ricotta Cheese
1 Cup Mozzarella Cheese – Shredded
½ Cup Parmesan Cheese – Grated
1 Tbs. Italian Seasoning
(2 Tbs. Peace and Love)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400° Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Slice bell peppers in half lengthwise and remove ribs and seeds. Place pepper halves on baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes on the middle rack.

Remove peppers from oven. Fill each pepper with ¼ cup tomato meat sauce.

Next, spoon 2 Tbs. of ricotta cheese on top of the meat sauce in each pepper cup. Pour an additional 1 Tbs. meat sauce on top of the ricotta cheese.

Top each pepper with 2 Tbs. mozzarella cheese. Bake on middle rack for 12 minutes.

Remove peppers from oven. Top each pepper with 1 Tbs. Parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of Italian seasoning. Bake 5 additional minutes on top rack.

Prep Time – 15 Minutes
Cook Time – 40 Minutes

Makes Servings: 8
Per Serving:
Calories – 204
Carbs – 8 net g
Protein – 18 g
Fat – 11 g

Protein Pumpkin Pie Chia Pudding
Prep time: 3 hoursTotal time: 3 hours

Serves: 2-3


Ingredients
1.5 cups almond milk
½ cup pumpkin puree
1 scoop Formulx Vanilla Recovery Protein *
2 tablespoons almond butter (or other nut or seed butter)
1 tablespoon raw honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
pinch of salt
¼ cup chia seeds
extra almond milk for topping

Instructions
Blend all ingredients, except chia seeds, until smooth.
Place the blended mixture into a resealable large jar (or 2 smaller jars) then add chia seeds. Seal jar and shake.
Place in refrigerator overnight or for at least 3+ hours. I shook my jars once in between to make sure they didn’t become too gelatinous.
Pour some extra almond milk on top and eat up. Breakfast, snack or post workout recovery is served!

Notes
*Protein powder is optional. Recipe still works without it.

Mini Veggie Frittatas (approx 5g protein for approx 70cals)

Ingredients

5 eggs
2 Tbsp low-fat milk
1 cup diced tomato
2 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
2 cups chopped broccoli, fresh (or frozen and thawed)
salt and pepper to taste


Directions

Mix eggs and milk in a bowl. Add crumbled goat cheese and chopped vegetables. Season with salt and pepper.
Spoon mixture into muffin tins coated with cooking spray.
Baked at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until "set" and golden on top.

You can refrigerate and reheat these in the microwave for a quick breakfast or snack. Microwave on high for approximately 30 seconds. Serve warm.

Makes 9 "mini" frittatas.

Protein Poppers
Protein Poppers In A Cup


Carmel flavored protein popper coffee mug edition!

1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 tsp butterscotch ff/sf jello
2 tsp walden farms Carmel sauce
1 1/2 tsp truvia
1/2 egg white or 1 Tbsp egg beaters
1 1/2 tsp almond milk
1/8 tsp baking powder

Mix all ingredients well in a coffee mug and microwave for 1 min 30 seconds and there you have it!

Most of the poppers have similar ingredients so you can use this formula as a starting point for the other flavors too.

Hornsby

Hard boiled eggs. Each egg has like 36g or protein
Greek Yogurt. Chobani has 28g per serving

I'm pretty sure a boiled egg has only 6-7g of protein.

Maybe he meant an Ostrich egg...they would have easily 100g or more protein.

lol

but yea, a chicken egg is 6 grams of protein

MinnieInMaine

I hate to ask the obvious here but why not ask your nutritionist for suggestions? You may have other dietary limitations we're not aware of but they would (or should) be so they would be able to give you the best advice on this.

AZKristi

Eggs are good for breakfast and have plenty of protein. If you hard boil them you can eat them easily at work. Also, if you switch to a half sandwich at lunch you can add more meat and cheese to the sandwich to get more protein while keeping total calories the same.

markpmc

mix in a scoop of protein powder in your oatmeal. add a shake as an afternoon or evening snack.

Unknown

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Confuzzled4ever

Do turkey roll ups.. roll a slice of turkey with a slice of cheese around a tomato slice or pepperconi. (whatever lunch meat you like can be used)

or get quest protein bars

fruttibiscotti

I hate to ask the obvious here but why not ask your nutritionist for suggestions? You may have other dietary limitations we're not aware of but they would (or should) be so they would be able to give you the best advice on this.

^^^^ this!!!

shadowgem13

"I hate to ask the obvious here but why not ask your nutritionist for suggestions? You may have other dietary limitations we're not aware of but they would (or should) be so they would be able to give you the best advice on this. "

My nutritionist was not able to give me ideas as far as recipes for specific dishes to eat. He gave me a list of high protein foods(which is useful) and told me to eat more of what is on the list. He stated that if I needed specific dish ideas that I should search online or put up a post on MFP.

Thanks everyone for the ideas.

sfbaumgarten

I get the majority of my protein from plain nonfat greek yogurt.

neanderthin

I hate to ask the obvious here but why not ask your nutritionist for suggestions? You may have other dietary limitations we're not aware of but they would (or should) be so they would be able to give you the best advice on this.

^^^^ this!!!

First and foremost, this a a forum to ask such questions, otherwise this forum wouldn't exist and contrary to popular belief getting advise from a nutritionist could very well be inaccurate based on their training and personal biases........There's many people here that I would trust more so than some of the people that get a pay check for that same advise.

jaguar101570

There are a lot of good ideas here: egg whites, greek yogurt etc. The ultimate source of protein is a lean meat , preferably a white meat such as chicken ( breadless). A lean red meat is also a great source of protein. Cook it at home and microwave it at your work as most jobs have microwaves for their employees. Also , don't forget breadless fish, preferably tilapia or salmon. Good luck!

elsyoommen

I roast a chicken or two every week. Some meat from that and a bag of salad with a squeeze of lemon, and a couple of tablespoons of hummus makes a great lunch.(I either have no bread or else just a little bread on the side if I feel I need some)

I also find that fish is a great source - I like haddock dredged in chickpea flour and pan fried. This is more of a dinner, but I sometimes bring the leftovers for lunch the next day.

Lleldiranne

I've seen a lot of good suggestions here, just wanted to add one more. I eat canned tuna, salmon, and chicken. One can is only 120 calories and 26 grams of protein. I usually eat salmon or chicken plain, but I mix 1/2 Tb canola mayo and 1/2 Tb sour cream into tuna (also 1/2 T sweet relish). I don't even put it on a sandwich most times, just eat it as is with a fork (or if I want some crunch, a few whole wheat crackers).