High Protein Snacks/Food on a Budget? Help!

chicken, pork tenderloin, turkey are all relatively inexpensive sources - I buy the seasoned pork loins - normally between $7-10 and it feeds me for 3-4 days - the other week, they were 2 for 10, so I bought a few to stock up

make sure to check flyers for grocery stores - buy what is on sale

I agree that sales are your best bet.

You can also turn milk in to yogurt.

All the beans and legumes are fair sources of protein and inexpensive too.

also eggs are a great source of protein (but whole eggs also have higher fat) - if you can swing egg whites - I mix 1 whole egg with egg whites (egg whites are like 5g protein/0fat/0carbs for each 46g)

Lean chicken, lean pork, and lean beef are the best sources of animal protein in my opinion. However, they are expensive. You need to try and find them bulk (sometimes I can buy a pork tenderloin of around 20 lbs for $15 at No Frills) then cut and freeze.

It really is too bad you don't like protein powder, they are the quickest way to add protein. I am lactose intolerant, so I had to find a protein powder that is not made of whey, or that is lactose free (whey isolate)

I eat around 130g of protein per day, but have a really small grocery budget so I have to make really smart choices. Protein powder is expensive up front, but can certainly help you reach your goals and there are lots of options besides whey out there if you don't like the taste/texture or find it upsets your stomach.

I'm not a big fan of powder -- I've tried a few, for me it's taste more than anything -- but I do eat protein bars, with the caveat being that I can't afford them at full price. Most stores and lots of places online have a recently expired or about to expire sections, I just bought 36 bars for $27 plus tax, which is less than the normal cost for a single 12 pack of the same brand. I have a few friends who make their own bars (using powder, nuts, oatmeal etc) who average a cost of about $0.80-$1.20 per serving. There's lots of recipes online.

I eat lots of greek yogurt, grab blocks of cheese as well as cheese strings when they're on sale. You can get cans of tuna (15-25g protein depending on size) for under $1 a piece. Beans are high protein and especially if you hit a bulk place and buy dry you can get high volume for very low cost. Look for good deals on meat -- if you have a farmers market they tend to have even better deals than grocery stores and near the end of the day, they're really open to price negotiation. This works great for anything fresh really. Don't forget too that depending on your veggie choice, you can pick up a decent amount of protein too.

A lot of cost effectiveness comes down to meal prep as well; if you can plan a couple meals that use the same protein source prepped in different ways it can often be lower in cost than planning a whole bunch of unrelated meals. Chicken is awesome for that. I'll throw 4-5 good sized breasts into the oven with different seasonings on. I'll make chicken salad sandwiches or wraps with the chicken for lunches, throw it in ceasar salad for dinner, then use it again another day with just some veggies and rice or just eat it cold to round out a snack. I tend to bulk cook in the beginning of the week and then just pick my sides as I go.

Make your own Greek yogurt. A gallon of milk is $4 and it makes a lot of yogurt. PM me if you don't know how to make yogurt.

beef jerky