Upping protein without shakes...Help a girl out, will ya? :)

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  • Vini9
    Vini9 Posts: 343 Member
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    Darn I forgot something else that is a good snack. You take cheese ( I prefer shredded) put it in the oven till edges are crispy. Or you can cook it in the skillet. Cut it into wedges and have with hummus or black bean hummus. Yum!
  • sympha01
    sympha01 Posts: 942 Member
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    I'm in the same situation as you in that I'm trying to up my protein but would prefer to get it from eating food than drinking a food replacement.

    One thing I'm doing right now is making an Indian lentil / chicken stew that per giant (dinner-sized) bowl has 60 g of protein (!) with 528 calories and 11 g of fat. I eat a half-sized (normal) bowl for lunch to get a monster protein boost for pretty few calories and little fat.

    I'm also including a 12 oz glass of nonfat milk in my plan every day (more if my calories allow it) as well as a serving of nonfat yogurt.

    Higher in fat (but healthy fat!) is sardines. They all say you should get two servings of fatty fish per week ideally, and sardines fit the bill. They're cheap, eco-friendly, and compared to other fatty fish low in toxins like mercury.

    If you eat grains at all, consider looking at some of the fortified high-fiber pastas that are on the market now. The house brand from my local supermarket has 10 g of protein (and 7 g of fiber -- bonus!) per 190 calorie 2-oz serving. You can pair that with beans and pasta sauce for a pretty respectable protein and fiber boost for lunch.

    I also like to make a batch of brown rice with black beans (or pinto beans) which you can mix with salsa and mexican-style veggies or a bit of seasoned chicken or pork and/or low-fat cheese for a nice lunch.

    Last thought -- meat is meat, and it can be expensive, I know. But I've also found I can dry-grill (no oil) a few flattened skinless boneless chicken breasts on the weekend, cool them and slice them up and put them in the fridge, and they're THERE, ready to go, to add to salads or whatever during the week.
  • crobl
    crobl Posts: 380
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    I don't like protein shakes either - the taste/texture get to me. But I make my own "protein shake". And as a disclaimer - I hate cottage cheese, the taste, the smell, the texture - icky! But you can't taste it - this seriously tastes like peanut butter/banana

    Cottage cheese (about 25g protein per cup)
    Peanut Butter (about 8g per 2 tablespoons)
    Banana (about 1.3g per medium banana)
    Milk (about 8g per cup)
    Cinnamon

    I'll be honest, I don't measure a lot, usually I go with what fits in my magic bullet and gives a good consistency- but figure

    1/2 cup cottage cheese
    2 TBSP peanut butter
    1 banana
    1/2 milk
    cinnamon

    That will get you about 25 grams of protein. Give or take my math deficiencies!
  • queend4580
    queend4580 Posts: 3
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    Is EAS sold at Wal-Mart? I was just about to post on the board for help with picking the right kind of protein powder and stumbled across this topic. Serendipity I think!
  • shar140
    shar140 Posts: 1,158 Member
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    To get that much protein and keep your fat that low, you'll have to skip the nuts and cheese, which are not high protein options, anyway, and go with fairly lean sources: lean fish, lean poultry and meat, etc.

    Break down:

    Breakfast -
    4oz 93% lean ground turkey (I make my own turkey sausage from it)=22g pro
    3 servings of egg beaters = 15g pro (though the nutrients are all in the yolk)


    Lunch-
    2 cans of tuna in water=36g

    Snack(s)-
    1 cup cottage cheese=28g

    Dinner-
    6oz chicken breast (skinless)=52g

    That's a total of 153g pro (26g fat, I used full-fat cottage cheese), plus whatever you get from your other foods.

    Personally, I aim for at least 100g pro/day, and generally hit in the 120-140g range (sometimes more, sometimes less). I try to get ~30g pro per meal, thus hitting my 100/day. Usually dinner is higher than 30g. I use protein powder occasionally, but not regularly. Snacks I have: cottage cheese, greek yogurt, boiled eggs, leftovers from lunch sometimes, tuna/chicken salad (with some celery or cucumber, or just with a spoon). Seafood may also be another option - but I'm allergic to shellfish, so I'm not as knowledgeable about it.

    So in your case to make numbers easy, aim for something like 50g protein/meal - for 3 meals, that's 150g. Or adjust to 45g/meal, that's 135g pro plus a snack. It doesn't need to be the same amount at each meal, but it will need to be pretty high to get that much protein in a day. So I'd aim for some minimum per meal. Good luck!
  • CeleryStalker
    CeleryStalker Posts: 665 Member
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    And I mean if you want to get technical and trying to try natural, they make super expensive fancy "organic gluten free proteins" but you know what else is organic and gluten free, Cocaine, Uranium and Lead so don't let the buzz words sway your choice, alcohol isnt natural, if you put anything in your coffee other than black its not natural, and if you don't drink coffee or alcohol well then you win.

    LMAO If I could get my hands on some organic cocaine, I wouldn't have this weight problem :laugh:
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    I would suggest Fage greek yogurt 0%. I add some splenda and eat it as is but you could definitely add some fresh strawberries.


    It's 100 calories, 0g fat, and 18g protein. ;)
  • mjrkearney
    mjrkearney Posts: 408 Member
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    If you don't like protein shakes make your own. My personal favorite is spinach, Greek yogurt, frozen berries, and milk. I once put protein powder in that for something like 50 grams of protein, but it came out grainy.

    Another option is PB2 mixed with, again, Greek yogurt. I think I eat too much of the stuff.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    Personally, as a paleo guy, I don't mind the fat. In fact, it helps me. But I also only do uncured bacon..,.

    Bacon isn't paleo. Or even primal, for that matter.
  • CeleryStalker
    CeleryStalker Posts: 665 Member
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    You guys are fantastic!! Thank you so much for all these wonderful suggestions! I'm glad to see others jumping in for the ideas as well. Thanks to your wonderful suggestions, I remembered I had some 'fancy' can of tuna in the pantry I've been meaning to eat. Not sure what makes it so 'fancy', but I'm a sucker for packaging (as long as the label agrees with what I'm after), and this stuff came in a swanky package. Ever have Ocean Naturals Skipjack tuna in water? It was good, but no better tasting than the regular stuff that's a third the price. I tend to be a hippie when it comes to 'sustainable' and 'responsibly caught' options as opposed to farmed, etc. This stuff says it's 'responsibly caught', so if that's true, I suppose it's worth the extra buck per can. You know what they say about a fool and his money tho... *blush*


    So....off to the store to load up on things I can't find at the farmer's market. Got a pretty substantial list here. Thanks a bazillion for all these great recommendations. And by all means, keep'em coming! :flowerforyou:
  • melham
    melham Posts: 233 Member
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    Quest Protein Bars. They have very low sugar, many are under 200 calories, and 20g protein. They're also very tasty and come in lots of flavors. Try them out at GNC then order them online once you know what flavors you like. Quest has a website if you're curious, and you can buy from there, too.
  • CeleryStalker
    CeleryStalker Posts: 665 Member
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    OK since SEVERAL of you have mentioned these Quest bars, I'm adding GNC to my afternoon shopping trip. I had already looking up Quest and 'store locator' before I came back to this thread and saw YET ANOTHER recommendation on these bad boys. They better be good! :laugh:
  • toni_mmh
    toni_mmh Posts: 78 Member
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    my fav breakfast is Nature Valley Protein Bar - 10g protein with a 8oz glass of 1% lowfat choc milk (8g protein). YUM
    and fits in my macros for breakfast.
  • MichelleLRayburn
    MichelleLRayburn Posts: 3 Member
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    For breakfast, I like Biggest Loser Pancakes ( made from 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1 egg, 1/2 cup of oatmeal and some vanilla blended up in my magic bullet blender, then fried in a pan like regular pancakes). It delivers 24g protein, 33g of carbohydrates, 4 sugars, and 10g protein. I top them with fruit.
  • melham
    melham Posts: 233 Member
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    OK since SEVERAL of you have mentioned these Quest bars, I'm adding GNC to my afternoon shopping trip. I had already looking up Quest and 'store locator' before I came back to this thread and saw YET ANOTHER recommendation on these bad boys. They better be good! :laugh:
    I can't eat chocolate (I have GERD), so I've tried several non-chocolate. My favorite is cinnamon roll, second is vanilla almond, third is apple pie. I don't want to hear about how good the chocolate flavors are... I love chocolate... dangit :sad:
  • JacksMom12
    JacksMom12 Posts: 1,044 Member
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    If you would consider a natural protein powder, check out About Time protein. Tryabouttime.com 25 grams of protein in 100 calories. No artificial sweeteners or anything.
  • RadioactivePirate
    RadioactivePirate Posts: 212
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    I make a protein smoothee by using Greek yogurt, fruit, milk, vanilla, and sweetener. No protein powder necessary. I'm not concerned with "natural" but I hate the taste and texture of protein powder, so I avoid it. My usual is 1 cup frozen strawberries, 3/4c milk, 1/2c plain Greek yogurt, vanilla, and Splenda, and it ends up around 20g protein and under 200 calories.

    Greek yogurt and cottage cheese are FANTASTIC sources of protein in general, low in fat and in carbs.
  • meowlymary
    meowlymary Posts: 84 Member
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    I didn't read all the replies so sorry if this is redundant - little things to keep on hand for quick proteiny snacks: hard boiled eggs, string cheese. I know you said you like meat but if you're okay with meat substitutes, Morningstar makes really yummy "sausages" that are only 80 cal and 10 g of protein! They are great if you pop them in the skillet for a few minutes and eat with an egg and avocado or something. I'm having trouble with my protein too and have resorted to making PB protein shakes, but these are the other ideas I've gathered.
  • sabified
    sabified Posts: 1,051 Member
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    bump to save ideas
  • RunsOnEspresso
    RunsOnEspresso Posts: 3,218 Member
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    I want to read this later, always looking for ways to increase protein.

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