Quick easy ways to get protein in?

Mykaelous

It's super easy to get protein in your diet. I routinely hit 100 g a day. Tuna, sardines, clams, lentils, beans, ham and chicken are my go to protein sources. Canned tuna, sardines, oysters, and clams can all be eaten straight from the can. You can mix up your tuna with some mustard, onion, jalepenios and sweet pickles for a simple tuna fish sandwich recipe. You can make yourself a thick ham sandwich with 8 slices(112g) of ham(18g protein), a slice of cheese(4g protein) and a slice of bread(4g protein) for a total of 240 calories and 26g protein. You could boil up some lentils, 100 calories 10 grams of protein, and 10 grams of fiber in each serving. You could microwave a can of chili beans at 200 calories a serving and 16 grams of protein. You can also pop in a post workout/pre-sleep protein shake at 100 calories a scoop and 25g of protien.

parys1

Tuna Fish

But I thought tuna was chicken of the sea.

eimaj5575

Big can of canned chicken and 1 cup non fat greek yogurt. mix together add onions or what not if you like and its about 77 grams of protein and yummy. Kinda close to actually chicken salad and just about 400 calories.

martinel2099

You can buy cheap protein shakes in bulk at costco. This time around I bought muscle milk, 170 cal, 18g of protein. Protein powder is cheaper and some give more protein bang for buck but I don't use it as much.

Mykaelous

Seriously? I can make > 25 2 scoop (50g) shakes for less than $50 in good quality protein

@Jac - what brand do you buy?

My general standby is the Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard but I got a groupon a few weeks back for some Cellucor and I am enjoying that as well.

Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard is a great standard protein powder with everything you need in it for a great price. Tastes bland in my opinion and doesn't mix too well with 16 oz of water, but for the price its unbeatable in my book. If you are willing to spend a bit more(25% more) I would go with the hydrolyzed whey protein isolate by dramatize. It not only tastes good, but more important than that it dissolves almost instantly in 16 oz of water. That said nutritionally it's about the same as the Optimum so it comes down to preference.

_Pseudonymous_

You don't have to be a good cook to cook chicken breasts. Even a little salt and pepper, or whatever, will be fine, then cook at 350 for 20-30 minutes depending on size and your oven.

I grill a big package and then microwave some and eat it with leftover sides or pasta sauce or salsa. Very fast, very easy, very proteiny.

So you just buy a package of chicken breasts, sprinkle some salt and pepper then bake?

Yes. Or whatever spices you like.

Just don't over cook it so that it dries out too much. I leave it marginally on the "rare" side... no pink or anything, then let it sit under some foil to cool and finish cooking. Put it all in a ziplock bag and pull it out and nuke it when you need it. Much faster and easier than making it one meal at a time and it takes like 5 minutes to get it in the oven.

One option for the not so savvy cook is to get chicken thighs rather than breasts. They are nearly impossible to dry out even if you over cook them. They are marginally higher in calorie content but are still a good solid source of protein. I make a huge batch once a week to take with me to work and pair iwth different sides or put in different things.

Mykaelous

You can buy cheap protein shakes in bulk at costco. This time around I bought muscle milk, 170 cal, 18g of protein. Protein powder is cheaper and some give more protein bang for buck but I don't use it as much.

This is also a great alternative, and since they are separately packaged it's easier to grab and go. Tastes good too, granted it's at the price of increased calories, compare 170 cal, 18 g protein in muscle milk, to dynamatize's 106 cal, 25g protein per scoop.

Erin_goBrahScience

Take my word and make this ASAP


Thomas Keller's Chicken Breasts with Tarragon:

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/08/thomas-kellers-chicken-breasts-with-tarragon.html

Mykaelous

You don't have to be a good cook to cook chicken breasts. Even a little salt and pepper, or whatever, will be fine, then cook at 350 for 20-30 minutes depending on size and your oven.

I grill a big package and then microwave some and eat it with leftover sides or pasta sauce or salsa. Very fast, very easy, very proteiny.

So you just buy a package of chicken breasts, sprinkle some salt and pepper then bake?

Yes. Or whatever spices you like.

Just don't over cook it so that it dries out too much. I leave it marginally on the "rare" side... no pink or anything, then let it sit under some foil to cool and finish cooking. Put it all in a ziplock bag and pull it out and nuke it when you need it. Much faster and easier than making it one meal at a time and it takes like 5 minutes to get it in the oven.

One option for the not so savvy cook is to get chicken thighs rather than breasts. They are nearly impossible to dry out even if you over cook them. They are marginally higher in calorie content but are still a good solid source of protein. I make a huge batch once a week to take with me to work and pair iwth different sides or put in different things.

I Agree. I recently compared Tyson's pre-cooked microwavable chicken breasts, to their chicken thighs and the thighs were the clear winner. Definitely worth the 20 calorie difference per serving.

Booda101

I grill a lot of chicken breasts with an electric griddle (Cuisnart Griddler). I use different spices to mix it up (e.g. Lemon Pepper, Mrs. Dash, Mojo marinade, BBQ sauce). I cook several breasts at a time and prep veggies or rice to go with them. This way I have several days worth of meals prepared in advance.

I have several flavors of protein powders which I'll mix with either greek yogurt or skim milk. Plus I throw in different fruits to get the added nutritional benefits of those.

This has helped me to boost my protein intake to over 100 grams with little effort.

Good luck!

Texusmc

oh this wont end well......well then again maybe it will...who knows

AnswerzPwease

oh this wont end well......well then again maybe it will...who knows

Good post ... Or maybe it wasn't. Or maybe it is.

_runnerbean_

I don't think I need a huge amount of protein but I get mine from cashew nuts, eating hoummous on bagels and eating yogurt every day . For those drinking protein shakes etc, is that to build muscle mass when weight training?

Nanierh85

I buy twin packs, 2 five pounders of protein for 71.99 shipping included, BPI HD whey. I like it and it's cost effective, sometimes I get muscle infusion for 82dlls for 10 dlls.

WBB55

(All prices for my region of U.S.)
These are the cheapest sources of protein I know about, for comparison, when looking at the cost of what seems to be "expensive" protein powder. I consider all of these to be very inexpensive sources of protein.

The cheap Walmart protein powder = $.006 per gram of protein
Tunafish = $0.016
Canned salmon = $0.026
Frozen raw chicken breasts = $0.019
Frozen raw ground turkey = $0.018
Cottage cheese = $0.027
Whole eggs = $0.037
Mozzarella = $0.028
Dry Lentils = $0.013
Dry navy beans = $0.015

_lyndseybrooke_

eggs, or protein shakes are the easiest

Thanks! I thought about the protein shakes just not sure I want to spend $75 However often. Maybe I'll hard boil some eggs!

$75?! Why the hell would you need to buy protein powder that expensive? Mine is $28 for a 3 lb tub and you can get decent protein powder at Walmart for under $20.

Both the bodybuilding trainers I spoke to said you get what you pay for . I guess there was a study a few years ago testing the actual protein content of many different brands and only the more expensive ones had the actual dosage listed on the bottle inside as well. Said the supplement market is not very regulated.

Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard is a very popular, quality brand of protein powder. You can get a 3 lb tub for around $30. I know plenty of big, buff dudes that use the Walmart stuff and get along just fine. No need to be a protein powder snob as a beginner. You asked for an easy way to get in protein - here it is, and not for $75.

_lyndseybrooke_

I don't think I need a huge amount of protein but I get mine from cashew nuts, eating hoummous on bagels and eating yogurt every day . For those drinking protein shakes etc, is that to build muscle mass when weight training?

Protein does not "build muscle." Getting an adequate amount of protein is important in any diet, but especially if you're working out and definitely when you're doing strength training (which everyone should be doing if their goal is to look good). 1 g/lb of lean body mass is pretty standard, and many people that lift heavy will take in 1 g/lb of body weight.

I'm not sure why you don't think you need much protein.

Branstin

Tuna Fish

But I thought tuna was chicken of the sea.

LOL!

alexandergetsfit

i use herbalife protein shakes.... great flavors, i've lost over 160 pounds witch i think is bad effin *kitten* .....

Mykaelous

I grill a lot of chicken breasts with an electric griddle (Cuisnart Griddler). I use different spices to mix it up (e.g. Lemon Pepper, Mrs. Dash, Mojo marinade, BBQ sauce). I cook several breasts at a time and prep veggies or rice to go with them. This way I have several days worth of meals prepared in advance.

I have several flavors of protein powders which I'll mix with either greek yogurt or skim milk. Plus I throw in different fruits to get the added nutritional benefits of those.

This has helped me to boost my protein intake to over 100 grams with little effort.

Good luck!

Hmm protein powder in yogurt.... will try this.