cheap protein foods

Bellusion

I wish chicken was $1.77/lb here! It goes on sale about once a month for $1.99/lb and I do stock up when it does.

Thanks all! Got some great ideas. We have about $100/week for a family of 4 (including the youngest's diapers).. which is more than some people but still doesn't go very far.

sirabbadon

I'm doing a ketogenic thing right now, so the low carb, high fat thing works well for me, especially when I'm travelling. I don't pay attention to my sodium, so can't speak to that. And the calories aren't too bad for just the one burger, which is 25g of protein for $1, 440 total cal (including bun). And you can make it much better by ditching the bun as mentioned by erickirb.

Fat isn't a bad thing, as long as it works for your macro goals. For me, it hits the spot.

erickirb

McDonald's double cheese burger. Or better yet... the meat from one double cheese burger (throw out the bun) and insert said meat into another double cheese burger.

I call it the McDonald's quadruple cheeseburger. ~50g protein for $2.

This makes me sad, as this in Canada would be more like $3

How much does a gallon milk cost in Canada? Just curious, cause I am going on vacation there. LOL, I know it is illegal, to smuggle dairy products over the border.

way too much. in my province, depending on store $5.49 to $6.29, though our dollar is now trading at 10% below the US, so to convert - 10% $4.95 to $5.70 US.

bachakil

Salmón is not cheap... But it's soooo good and quick to make... Also, egg whites and Greek yogurt are great but not cheap... I guess foods that are healthy, cheap and high in protein are pretty much tuna, chicken, yogurt, beans and eggs.

nicor44

Dried beans and lentils are inexpensive and are good sources of protein.

biggsterjackster

McDonald's double cheese burger. Or better yet... the meat from one double cheese burger (throw out the bun) and insert said meat into another double cheese burger.

I call it the McDonald's quadruple cheeseburger. ~50g protein for $2.

This makes me sad, as this in Canada would be more like $3

How much does a gallon milk cost in Canada? Just curious, cause I am going on vacation there. LOL, I know it is illegal, to smuggle dairy products over the border.

way too much. in my province, depending on store $5.49 to $6.29, though our dollar is now trading at 10% below the US, so to convert - 10% $4.95 to $5.70 US.

Thanks. Wow, that's going to be an expensive vacation.

Greytfish

I wish chicken was $1.77/lb here! It goes on sale about once a month for $1.99/lb and I do stock up when it does.

Thanks all! Got some great ideas. We have about $100/week for a family of 4 (including the youngest's diapers).. which is more than some people but still doesn't go very far.

Stock up when meat or fish are on sale, portion into smaller packs, and freeze.

Oh, and try puched salmon rather than tuna. A woman in her childbearing years should not exceed two 2.5 oz. portions of tuna per week.

elsyoommen

McDonald's double cheese burger. Or better yet... the meat from one double cheese burger (throw out the bun) and insert said meat into another double cheese burger.

I call it the McDonald's quadruple cheeseburger. ~50g protein for $2.

This makes me sad, as this in Canada would be more like $3

How much does a gallon milk cost in Canada? Just curious, cause I am going on vacation there. LOL, I know it is illegal, to smuggle dairy products over the border.

way too much. in my province, depending on store $5.49 to $6.29, though our dollar is now trading at 10% below the US, so to convert - 10% $4.95 to $5.70 US.

Thanks. Wow, that's going to be an expensive vacation.

I think it depends on where you are going in Canada. In Ottawa and Toronto you can often get 4 litres for under $4.00 I don't know how that compares to a gallon.

(if you care about such things) regular milk in Canada is not allowed to contain antibiotics or growth hormones which is different from the U.S. I believe. My siblings who live in the U.S. buy organic milk when they are home in the U.S. and they buy regular milk when they are in Canada.

Edited to add: I think your math is wrong. The Canadian dollar is trading below the U.S. dollar therefore $4.95 Canadian would be less than that in U.S. dollars not more. I think that would be somewhere around 4.43 US (assuming that Canadian dollar is .90 us).

lyoder1

I'm on a pretty tight budget as well, so I always try to find my protein sources when they're on sale.. But here are some of my ideas (which most everyone else uses too): Peanut butter (or any nuts), beans, chickpeas, cottage cheese, canned tuna, and eggs... I love to drain/rinse the chickpeas and toss them w/ a little bit of olive oil and spices, throw them in the oven to crisp them up, and then eat them as a snack! Good luck!

erickirb

McDonald's double cheese burger. Or better yet... the meat from one double cheese burger (throw out the bun) and insert said meat into another double cheese burger.

I call it the McDonald's quadruple cheeseburger. ~50g protein for $2.

This makes me sad, as this in Canada would be more like $3

How much does a gallon milk cost in Canada? Just curious, cause I am going on vacation there. LOL, I know it is illegal, to smuggle dairy products over the border.

way too much. in my province, depending on store $5.49 to $6.29, though our dollar is now trading at 10% below the US, so to convert - 10% $4.95 to $5.70 US.

Thanks. Wow, that's going to be an expensive vacation.

I think it depends on where you are going in Canada. In Ottawa and Toronto you can often get 4 litres for under $4.00 I don't know how that compares to a gallon.

(if you care about such things) regular milk in Canada is not allowed to contain antibiotics or growth hormones which is different from the U.S. I believe. My siblings who live in the U.S. buy organic milk when they are home in the U.S. and they buy regular milk when they are in Canada.

Edited to add: I think your math is wrong. The Canadian dollar is trading below the U.S. dollar therefore $4.95 Canadian would be less than that in U.S. dollars not more. I think that would be somewhere around 4.43 US (assuming that Canadian dollar is .90 us).

Math is right, if I pay 5.49, 10% less would be about 55 cents to $4.94US, not sure where you think the math went wrong, and the $6.29 at some stores would be $5.61US, that said these are 4L which is about 3% more volume than a gallon (3.88541148 Litres/gallon)

You must be reading my info wrong. I was saying milk ranges from 5.49 to 6.29 Canadian $ per 4L, so in US that would be 4.94 to 5.61, depending on which store you go to.

elsyoommen

McDonald's double cheese burger. Or better yet... the meat from one double cheese burger (throw out the bun) and insert said meat into another double cheese burger.

I call it the McDonald's quadruple cheeseburger. ~50g protein for $2.

This makes me sad, as this in Canada would be more like $3

How much does a gallon milk cost in Canada? Just curious, cause I am going on vacation there. LOL, I know it is illegal, to smuggle dairy products over the border.

way too much. in my province, depending on store $5.49 to $6.29, though our dollar is now trading at 10% below the US, so to convert - 10% $4.95 to $5.70 US.

Thanks. Wow, that's going to be an expensive vacation.

I think it depends on where you are going in Canada. In Ottawa and Toronto you can often get 4 litres for under $4.00 I don't know how that compares to a gallon.

(if you care about such things) regular milk in Canada is not allowed to contain antibiotics or growth hormones which is different from the U.S. I believe. My siblings who live in the U.S. buy organic milk when they are home in the U.S. and they buy regular milk when they are in Canada.

Edited to add: I think your math is wrong. The Canadian dollar is trading below the U.S. dollar therefore $4.95 Canadian would be less than that in U.S. dollars not more. I think that would be somewhere around 4.43 US (assuming that Canadian dollar is .90 us).

Math is right, if I pay 5.49, 10% less would be about 55 cents to $4.94US, not sure where you think the math went wrong, and the $6.29 at some stores would be $5.61US, that said these are 4L which is about 3% more volume than a gallon (3.88541148 Litres/gallon)

You must be reading my info wrong. I was saying milk ranges from 5.49 to 6.29 Canadian $ per 4L, so in US that would be 4.94 to 5.61, depending on which store you go to.

Ok sorry, I see now that I was reading your post incorrectly. Thanks. I guess it does vary quite a bit by province. I shop regularly in Ottawa and Toronto and I usually pay $3.95 for 4 litres of 2% milk. I have 4 kids so we go through a lot of milk.

Mr_Excitement

Eggwhites, tuna, chicken, cottage cheese...

jdaley90

Eggs, chicken, tuna, cottage cheese (quart size), greek yogurt (greek size), brown rice, whey protein powder

runfatmanrun

McDonald's double cheese burger. Or better yet... the meat from one double cheese burger (throw out the bun) and insert said meat into another double cheese burger.

I call it the McDonald's quadruple cheeseburger. ~50g protein for $2.

This is pretty awesome. Not a big McDs fan but hard to beat the idea.

elsyoommen

sardines, herring, ricotta.

I generally buy whatever meat is on sale in largish amounts and make large pots of stuff such as oxtail, chicken curries (made with chicken thighs or whole chicken cut up), fish curries made with whatever fish is on sale (usually salmon, haddock, hake).

I buy dried beans and lentils rather than canned. They take more preparation, but they are cheaper and tastier. Again I make big batches.

I also try to get 120g of protein per day and I find that I get the biggest bang with eggs, fish plus one protein shake per day. (protein powder seems expensive but it is affordable when you consider the $ per gram of protein).

LDhummingbird

This thread is so helpful to me. I work at a peanut-free school and a child in my class also has tree nut allergies, so my old standby of peanut butter isn't going to work for me most days. Since I started logging again I've consistently been under on protein, and now I have some new ideas. Thanks, guys!