Incorporating more protein

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Seffell
Seffell Posts: 2,222 Member
edited April 2016 in Food and Nutrition
Hi,

I'm looking for meal ideas on how to incorporate more protein into my diet. I barely make it to 20% on the better days. I know foods high on protein, I'm rather looking for tasty ideas for meals/recipes high in protein.
Good news is I love cottage cheese, even the low/no fat one. So I use this for deserts or just on its own. Yum!
Bad news is that lean poultry (and lean meat in general) has always been very unpleasant to me (regardless of spices or souses, I dislike the texture). I like fish but the low fat variety like canned tuna in water is too dry to my taste (I still force myself to low fat mayo and tuna sandwiches for lunch sometimes but I don't enjoy it).
I also have found a very tasty version of soy sausage which are high in protein and I love them.
But that's about it for me.

Also maybe I should mention that I'm not looking to buy any protein shake supplements or anything of the sort. Also my blender is a cheap one of the not so 'blending' type :) so I don't use it too much.

In case you wonder, the reason I want more protein is firstly because I think I eat too little of it and second I hope to replace partially the fats that I eat as it turns out I eat too much (up to 40% fats a day). Also - I don't have problems with my weight loss for now, so I'm not looking for ways to speed it up.
My problem is I like fatty foods way, way too much! So throughout my life I've mostly eaten fatty stuff (I never realised that before I started tracking) and really don't know how to make delicious high protein meals.

Thanks :)

Replies

  • IGbnat24
    IGbnat24 Posts: 520 Member
    edited April 2016
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    No need to stick to only lean cuts of meat. Dark meat poultry and hamburger meat are just fine. Eat what you like but learn to control portions. And 40% fat is fine--I eat nearly 60% because yum
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,222 Member
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    IGbnat24 wrote: »
    No need to stick to only lean cuts of meat. Dark meat poultry and hamburger meat are just fine. Eat what you like but learn to control portions.

    Thanks. Like I mentioned I don't have problems with the portions/losing weight but my meat relationship is complicated :) . Before I started dieting/tracking I would only eat the fat bits of the steak (I'm totally serious) and the chicken skin and no other meat at all (I just don't like meat really :) ) Eating this even in moderation won't increase my protein and decrease my fat you see :)
  • Btheodore138
    Btheodore138 Posts: 182 Member
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    I would look into more soy type meat replacements, like soy burgers and such. You can try taking that soy sausage you like and mixing in in with some cooked quinoa, some sundried tomatoes, lemon juice, and feta cheese for a meal. Or get some some ground beef (or soy crumbles) and make a taco salad with tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, and make a dressing out of salsa and plain greek yogurt (it tastes just like sour cream but has higher protein).
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,222 Member
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    @Btheodore138

    Aww, sounds great! I love quinoa (to the point I crave it sometimes lol :) ) but never tried combining it with these things! The taco idea is great too! Thanks a lot!
  • fivehomers
    fivehomers Posts: 1 Member
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    MTS nutrition makes a great whey protein shake. The best flavor is cookies and cream. It has 24 g of
    protein and only 150 pr 160 Cals. I put mine in a shaker cup with 8oz blue diamond chocolate almond milk 40 Cals and add ice. Shake it up and it taste like melted cookies and cream ice cream.
  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,070 Member
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    I just found ultra filtered milk around here. 12g protein per cup. Quest protein chips are 21g. Shrimp and scallops are awesome high protein low cal options. Try some of the recipes on the flavored tuna packs.
  • smit7633
    smit7633 Posts: 182 Member
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    I love beans/lentils, yoghurt, quinoa, nuts and seeds... You'd be surprised how your protein intake numbers go up if you incorporate more vegetables in your diet... Broccoli, peas, asparagus...

    https://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/vegetables-high-in-protein.php
  • Ck103084
    Ck103084 Posts: 139 Member
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    I'm trying to up my protein as well. What about beans? I've been using garbanzo, kidney and black beans in everything. Salad, on top of an egg, with vegetables, on their own. :)
  • smit7633
    smit7633 Posts: 182 Member
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    Ck103084 wrote: »
    I'm trying to up my protein as well. What about beans? I've been using garbanzo, kidney and black beans in everything. Salad, on top of an egg, with vegetables, on their own. :)
    If you like beans you should try adding lentils as well, they have a ton of protein!
  • katewellness
    katewellness Posts: 2 Member
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    Bulletproof makes a great collagen protein powder with 8 grams of protein per tablespoon. It has no taste, just 30 calories, and dissolves super easily. I mix into my almond milk and matcha in the morning and can't even taste it! Plus the collagen is really great for you :)
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    gebeziseva wrote: »
    Hi,

    I'm looking for meal ideas on how to incorporate more protein into my diet. I barely make it to 20% on the better days.

    Percentage doesn't matter. Ideal for weight loss plus exercise if you want to maintain muscle is about .6-.85 g/lb of healthy or goal weight (which for me is around 20%, but you should look at the grams).

    My secret for getting plenty of protein is making sure it's at all meals in adequate amounts. I love a 2-egg vegetable omelet for breakfast, but whole eggs aren't high protein and I'm not interested in egg whites only. So I add cottage cheese plus more veg or fruit (I like 1%). Sometimes I add smoked salmon, sardines, herring, shrimp, or leftover meat from dinner instead. (Yeah, I like seafood at breakfast.)

    For lunch my ideal is a salad with protein (I love chicken, but lean beef is just as good, or any fish or shrimp). I will add a starchy carb to this if I worked out just before or plan to within a few hours/before eating again.

    For dinner, I'll just decide on my meat portion based on needed protein if there's any question about meeting it and if calories are an issue cut back on fat or starchy carb to make room (or dessert, if that was planned). My usual dinner proteins easily meet the need -- pork chop or tenderloin, any seafood (I hate canned tuna so never eat it, love tuna steak, though), chicken breast with skin and bones, many cuts of beef and lamb (I like lean ground beef as much as fattier versions). I eat all these a lot and also some dinners with beans and rice or veg with tofu and rice.

    These are the meats I mostly ate before (I still fit in some pork shoulder, though), so I hope this is helpful.
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,222 Member
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    Thanks everyone for the suggestions. For some reasons I had forgotten about the legumes. I'll definitely start eating more beans and lentils. Sounds like a great way to me to get more protein!

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