Need more protein

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tracypk
tracypk Posts: 233 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm getting a hang of the macros, but I find that I still need more protein. I eat mostly chicken for lunch and dinner. Eggs and turkey sausage for breakfast. I have 1/2 cup of cottage cheese for a snack. Does anyone have any ideas of where I can get more protein from? Not on a budget to buy protein shakes or supplements though.

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  • xxthoroughbred
    xxthoroughbred Posts: 346 Member
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    Nuts and fish.

    But really, it sounds like you're eating a good amount of protein. You can't find any way to make the protein powder work? They're very versatile and I get a big jug that lasts me awhile for $35.
  • elainecroft
    elainecroft Posts: 595 Member
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    Tofu, soybeans, peas, lentils, beans - lots of good veggie sources of protein
  • drmerc
    drmerc Posts: 2,603 Member
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    greek yogurt, turkey
  • Yukongil
    Yukongil Posts: 166 Member
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    nuts, milk, cheese, fish, beans, greek yogurt. Add them all together and you'd probably have something really gross, but maybe some chicken and black bean chili with some low fat cheese, or some chopped nuts in your cottage cheese or in greek yogurt. Make a smoothie with milk, greek yogurt and peanut or other favorite nut butter. Combine your types of protein to really max it out per meal.
  • Brunner26_2
    Brunner26_2 Posts: 1,152
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  • tracypk
    tracypk Posts: 233 Member
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    Nuts and fish.

    But really, it sounds like you're eating a good amount of protein. You can't find any way to make the protein powder work? They're very versatile and I get a big jug that lasts me awhile for $35.
    I guess I could find a way to make it work. What do you mix it with? Is it more expensive to do the shakes?
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
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    You could always add some tuna to your cottage cheese. I have tuna and Greek yogurt with some wafer crackers for one of my snacks. Boiled eggs make nice snacks also or beef jerky (if you don't care too much about sodium) I find Fish is also higher in protein than most other meat so I tend to like to eat more of it. Nuts are OK too but for me too many calories.
  • thechubner
    thechubner Posts: 94 Member
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    If you can do plain tuna fish it's cheap and protien packed. The walmart protein powder is only $15 for a 2lb tub. Body fortress I think is the brand, but good natural cheap bets are tuna, chicken, turkey, and eggs. Peanutbutter has protien in it too, but my nutritionist said to count it as a fat (a good fat as long as it has no sugar), and chickpeas, quinoa, and beans are excellent sources of protein as well (and cheap) - but they count as a carb. One tip is to eat a protien loaded carb (like quinoa or bean) with your regular protien, and the points will add up. Good luck!
  • sarahcuddle
    sarahcuddle Posts: 349 Member
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    Fat free Greek yoghurt is high protein low calorie. I also like extra light philadelphia cheese.
  • lenniebus
    lenniebus Posts: 321 Member
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    greek yogurt, turkey

    She's not a turkey :)..hahaha...just kidding

    I am having the same issue in finding some low calorie sources of good protein. Today, I brought in some turkey pepperoni for a snack, and that's about 70 calories for 17 slices which I didn't think was bad. It's a little different anyway.
  • twinmomtwice4
    twinmomtwice4 Posts: 1,069 Member
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    greek yogurt (plain, no added fruit....you can add your own fruit)

    low-fat dairy

    peanut butter, almond butter, sunflower butter

    nuts and seeds

    turkey jerky (excellent source of protein but keep an eye on the sodium!)

    seafood (a 6-oz piece of fish is loaded with protein)

    You can also make your own granola mix, with nuts, seeds, oats, ground flaxseed, oat bran and some raw organic honey. It's delicious and full of protein!!
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Nuts and fish.

    But really, it sounds like you're eating a good amount of protein. You can't find any way to make the protein powder work? They're very versatile and I get a big jug that lasts me awhile for $35.
    I guess I could find a way to make it work. What do you mix it with? Is it more expensive to do the shakes?

    Protein powder is much cheaper than pre-prepared shakes and generally you get a lot more protein for your calorie buck. You can mix with water (which I do not like) or with milk. Or, you can use in other foods like greek yoghurt.
  • mell6355
    mell6355 Posts: 171 Member
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    Nuts and fish.

    But really, it sounds like you're eating a good amount of protein. You can't find any way to make the protein powder work? They're very versatile and I get a big jug that lasts me awhile for $35.
    I guess I could find a way to make it work. What do you mix it with? Is it more expensive to do the shakes?

    The Special K "high protein" shakes are high in a lot of carbs and calories (for what you get) too, I just got some protein powder to mix with my morning smoothies, very low on carbs, calories, and great protein. Just depends on what you make with the powder.
  • bornfreehooves
    bornfreehooves Posts: 9
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    Quinoa, soybeans and products made from soybeans (tofu, tempeh, and miso), legumes, most whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.
  • ChaoticMum
    ChaoticMum Posts: 115 Member
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    If you can do plain tuna fish it's cheap and protien packed. The walmart protein powder is only $15 for a 2lb tub. Body fortress I think is the brand, but good natural cheap bets are tuna, chicken, turkey, and eggs. Peanutbutter has protien in it too, but my nutritionist said to count it as a fat (a good fat as long as it has no sugar), and chickpeas, quinoa, and beans are excellent sources of protein as well (and cheap) - but they count as a carb. One tip is to eat a protien loaded carb (like quinoa or bean) with your regular protien, and the points will add up. Good luck!

    Wow...lthat same tub here in Manitoba is 27.95....insane.

    I would add in nuts, and fish too. No need to do the protein powder unless, like me, you enjoy "drinking your lunch" once in awhile. That's when I add in the protein powder. Coconut milk, protein powder, blueberries and kale is my favourite.
  • mercymarque
    mercymarque Posts: 450
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    greek yogurt, nuts, boiled eggs, tofu, beans and peanut butter (I would do pb2 to save on calories)
  • running_shoe
    running_shoe Posts: 180 Member
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    bump
  • 1ConcreteGirl
    1ConcreteGirl Posts: 3,677 Member
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    Seriously, if there is any way to make protein powder work in your budget, it is well worth it. You get about 25g per serving, and you should be able to get a month's worth for about $35. That's a dollar a day for proper protein. I live on the stuff because I'm trying to eat 50% protein, and it's almost impossible for me without the powder. I put a cup of almond milk in the blender, toss in a scoop of protein powder, and add half a cup of frozen berries for breakfast almost every day.

    Other than that, don't do nuts if you are specifically looking for protein because nuts are really twice as much fat as they are protein and most people don't have a problem getting in their fats.

    ETA: Theonly thing I know that has about as much protein as protein powder is Nonfat greek yogurt. Fage brand has about 23g per serving, but it's comparatively a lot more expensive than the protein powder...
  • tracypk
    tracypk Posts: 233 Member
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    Seriously, if there is any way to make protein powder work in your budget, it is well worth it. You get about 25g per serving, and you should be able to get a month's worth for about $35. That's a dollar a day for proper protein. I live on the stuff because I'm trying to eat 50% protein, and it's almost impossible for me without the powder. I put a cup of almond milk in the blender, toss in a scoop of protein powder, and add half a cup of frozen berries for breakfast almost every day.

    Other than that, don't do nuts if you are specifically looking for protein because nuts are really twice as much fat as they are protein and most people don't have a problem getting in their fats.

    ETA: Theonly thing I know that has about as much protein as protein powder is Nonfat greek yogurt. Fage brand has about 23g per serving, but it's comparatively a lot more expensive than the protein powder...
    The almond milk with fruit sounds tasty. I'm going to try it. Thank you.
  • Yukongil
    Yukongil Posts: 166 Member
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    real milk or soy milk will typically offer more protein, but whatever you think tastes better is all good.

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