High-protein meals recipes

Options
Please give me some ideas people, I hardly ever reach my daily protein goal. I'm not much of a meat lover, but I can go with chicken breasts or other "fatless" meat :)

Replies

  • scolaris
    scolaris Posts: 2,145 Member
    edited October 2015
    Options
    Any time you can 'layer' your proteins helps. I find it is not enough to just have one protein source per meal. Last night I had tuna melts on an open face, high protein English muffin with some Swiss cheese and I added Italian white beans to my green salad. That's five protein contributions: tuna, 20 g; Swiss, 9g; beans, 8g; muffin, 6g; and darkest leafy green spinach mix, 2g. Even then, some days might fall a little short. You're looking for averages.
    And I try to work some protein into every meal or snack.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Options
    You will get many replies, just make sure you know what you are doing and why.

    What is your protein goal? Lots of people aim unnecessarily high. 1.2 - 1.5 grams per kilo of bodyweight at normal weight is enough for most. More than that is just used as fuel. Too much can be hard for the kidneys (but you'll really struggle to get in amounts to get into that range). Protein is the most expensive of the macronutrients, and the more unbalanced your diet is, the more difficult to fit to your taste.

    Are you trying to avoid fat? Fat is not fattening; too many calories are.
  • PhilP0wer
    PhilP0wer Posts: 76 Member
    edited October 2015
    Options
    I don't know if it counts as a meal but on my lifting days I sometimes go with one cup of fat free or 1% milk, one scoop of protein powder and one cup of unflavored greek yogurt (made in a blender of course). That gives you 40g - 45g in one sitting. Oddly, the greek yogurt has as much protein as the protein powder scoop. It makes hitting my protein goal pretty easy plus then I don't have to pick the rest of my meals based on protein content
  • abatonfan
    abatonfan Posts: 1,123 Member
    Options
    Throw cottage cheese and Greek yogurt into everything. One of my favorite things to do is thicken premade soup with a half cup of Greek yogurt and nuke it in the microwave (and end up with a creamier soup with an additional 12-15g of protein). Mix yogurt and ranch dressing for a dip for veggies? Add cottage cheese to pizza or smoothies? Bake with Greek yogurt?
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    Options
    I like pinto beans with cheese and salsa.
  • domlnlc
    domlnlc Posts: 21 Member
    Options
    Eggs and tuna are excellent sources of protein. Try ISO 100 to meet your protein goals.
  • seanmmcafee
    seanmmcafee Posts: 5 Member
    Options
    A 5 ounce tuna steak has less than 200 calories with a whopping 42 grams of protein.
  • Azexas
    Azexas Posts: 4,334 Member
    Options
  • cjwils169
    cjwils169 Posts: 10 Member
    edited November 2015
    Options
    Add protein powder to almost anything. It comes in different flavors such as strawberry, chocolate and vanilla. I like to Sprinkle about a half a scoop on my cereal and oatmeal to start my day. It goes well with most yogurts and makes great tasting shakes with low fat or almond milk. The ideas are endless. Also get a extra helping of protein, without the sat fats, by using PB2 Peanut Butter Powder. It mixes well with the chocolate protein to make a Reeces flavored treat, packed full of protein. You can decide how many calories you want to spend because you add the desired amount of protein and PB2. God Bless us all on this journey to be better vessels, and all that we can be for His purpose.
  • Kullerva
    Kullerva Posts: 1,114 Member
    Options
    I'm not a big meat eater but I usually get close to my protein goal. Here are my main protein sources:

    (1) Cheese! I live in America's dairyland and it's cheap and easy to come by. Cottage cheese is particularly high (10-13 grams per serving). Look for low sodium varieties.
    (2) Fish. Tuna steaks, salmon, tilapia--all good for you, all with over 20g of protein per serving (and usually much higher, as others have said.)
    (3) Nuts. Nuts, nut butters, etc. are high in fat but also high in protein, and they're good for you.
    (40 High-protein pasta. Yes, this exists. My favorite brands are Einkorn (heirloom wheat) at 10g per serving and Dreamfields (cheaper, more processed) at 7 g per serving.
    (4) Meat substitutes. Loma Linda makes a mean taco filling that's all tofu/TVP and tastes just like ground beef.