Protein

I need to eat quite a bit of protein in order to hit my daily goal. I am having tuna for lunch and my husband picked burgers for dinner. All of this fits into my calories, but I still won't have enough protein for the day. Are there any side dishes I could make that would have lots of protein?

Replies

  • michelleepotter
    michelleepotter Posts: 800 Member
    Cheese, beans, milk, yogurt, eggs, nuts - all high in protein.
  • MrsJonesFitness
    MrsJonesFitness Posts: 15 Member
    hemp seeds.. I have cereal I sprinkle hemp seeds on top, I make broccoli, I put them on that too, in a smoothie, yogurt, it goes on everything :P Also you can blend a banana, a half tablespoon of peanut butter some protein powder and minimal milk, blend it all up and freeze, and bam you have healthy ice cream for after dinner. Or put a hard boiled egg on your salad?
  • martinel2099
    martinel2099 Posts: 899 Member
    Consider buying some protein too. I like the shakes and if you get the powder you can put a scoop of it into your cooking.
  • cweaver1981
    cweaver1981 Posts: 76 Member
    I do have some protein powder at home that I use from time to time, but I really try to get most or all of my protein from food. The banana ice cream sounds awesome. I may just have to try that!
  • dopeysmelly
    dopeysmelly Posts: 1,390 Member
    Yogurt, egg, egg white, bok choi, broccoli, swiss cheese, milk, edamame, peas, beans, lentils, seeds..

    What I did was google a list of high protein foods, picked the ones I liked best and built up my protein using that. It can be done, but it takes a bit of effort to start with. I routinely get to 80g protein on 1350 calories. My diary is open.
  • amy8400
    amy8400 Posts: 478 Member
    Everyone has different tastes but my favorite protein foods are tuna, lean pork/beef/chicken, greek yogurt, Morningstar veggie patties (beans being the primary protein source), low fat cheese, homemade protein shakes using Designer Whey protein, greek yogurt, skim milk and PB2 or fresh fruit; protein bars, nuts and homemade chili with beans and beef or Morningstar crumbles if I'm wanting to cut out meat. Eggs are great protein sources but I only eat them as an ingredient (sorry, I have a thing for hard boiled eggs that goes back to childhood :frown:

    Read labels and find foods that have higher protein sources than others--breads, soups, cereal, crackers, etc. You will be surprised there are modest amounts of protein in some foods versus other brands of the same type product. Just by making better choices you can find additional protein sources, even though they may not be considered high protein foods. It all adds up at the end of the day.
  • amy8400
    amy8400 Posts: 478 Member
    I should add that I just bought a book called Power Hungry by Camilla Saulsbury ($12.83 on Amazon) and she has numerous recipes for protein/energy bars. I can't wait to try several of the recipes--the pictures look so good.
  • Sam_I_Am77
    Sam_I_Am77 Posts: 2,093 Member
    - Chicken breasts
    - Lean Steak (london broil)
    - Salmon and most other fish
    - Nuts (have some protein but a high quantity of fat. If you can fit them in your macros then fine, but be careful as they add a lot of calories very easily)
    - Cottage Cheese
    - Eggs
    - Whey Protein
    - Lean cuts of Pork
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
    Everyone has different tastes but my favorite protein foods are tuna, lean pork/beef/chicken, greek yogurt, Morningstar veggie patties (beans being the primary protein source), low fat cheese, homemade protein shakes using Designer Whey protein, greek yogurt, skim milk and PB2 or fresh fruit; protein bars, nuts and homemade chili with beans and beef or Morningstar crumbles if I'm wanting to cut out meat. Eggs are great protein sources but I only eat them as an ingredient (sorry, I have a thing for hard boiled eggs that goes back to childhood :frown:

    Read labels and find foods that have higher protein sources than others--breads, soups, cereal, crackers, etc. You will be surprised there are modest amounts of protein in some foods versus other brands of the same type product. Just by making better choices you can find additional protein sources, even though they may not be considered high protein foods. It all adds up at the end of the day.

    MorningStar veggie sausages are theeeee best. Two of those, two eggs is 34 grams of protein and is satisfying (for me!).
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Cheese, beans, milk, yogurt, eggs, nuts - all high in protein.

    Nuts and beans are great for you, but 6g of protein for 100 calories is not 'high' protein. I wish people would stop mentioning those as high protein sources. Heck the bread I use has 5g of protein for 100 calories, is that a high protein source too? Heck, some frozen yogurt has 6g of protein for 100 calories too, let's call those a good protein source as well.

    All half-joking aside, I pretty much eat chicken breast every day. Eggs, egg whites, Greek yogurt are great as well. And cheese. I don't always reach my protein goal because I need some variety, but when I do, it's mostly from eating those things (I got to start eating more tuna too though). Deli meat is awesome too but the sodium/preservatives suck.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    If I want more protein at the end of the day I usually have a low (or no) fat yogurt or 1-2% cottage cheese as a side.

    You could also consider eating more beef and no bun if that sounds good to you.