Increased Protein on a Budget

Hey, all!

When I started using MFP and saw my nutritional breakdowns, it became apparent right away that I wasn't getting anywhere near enough protein in my daily diet. While there are lots of good tips on how to increase your protein consumption on the forums, one of the problems I ran into was cost. Meat can be the most straightforward way to increase your protein consumption, but fresh cuts of meat are expensive where I live.

Over the past few weeks, I've been working to find ways to incorporate more protein into my diet while sticking to a tighter budget. I'd love to hear what other peoples' strategies are for this, so we can all get the protein we need without breaking the bank.

1. Bulk lentils. While tinned beans have always been a staple in our house, neither my partner or I were raised eating lentils and neither of us were sure how to add them to our diet. A little bit of research made us realize that we had been missing out. Brown lentils hold their shape well, and can be used for fresh-tasting lentil salads or curried with veggies for a delicious side. Green lentils can be added to curries, or even more excitingly subbed in for half your ground beef or pork in a shepherd's pie or bolognese sauce. They make those dishes so much more filling, while also cutting down on the amount of expensive meat you have to use. We've had success making red lentils into savoury pancakes, and are excited to make them into daal as well! Walking out of a bulk shop with a huge bag of lentils you bought for $2 with 9g of protein per 100g is truly one of life's pleasures.

2. Slow-cooking and portioning larger amounts of meat. My slow cooker has been a godsend in finding ways to make protein more affordable. At our local grocery store, a pack of two chicken breasts tends to sell for around $12CAD. A whole raw chicken, on the other hand, rarely costs more than $10 and contains at least twice as much meat. Popping the whole chicken/pork roast/etc in the slow cooker, portioning it out, and using it in meals throughout the week has helped us cut down on our meat costs dramatically while still enjoying all that yummy protein.

3. Making our own beans in the slow-cooker. If you're anything like me, boiling your own beans is about as enjoyable as standing in line to get your passport renewed. I've always hated having to monitor pots of boiling beans, and have bought them tinned for years to avoid all that hassle. Lately, however, posts like BudgetBytes's (Not) Refried Beans and How to Kick the Can (Of Beans) have made me realize that I can make my own refried beans, black beans, and chickpeas in the slowcooker with no hassle whatsoever. Beans are a great source of protein, and this method has made them much more affordable in our household. (Please note that not all types of beans can be reconstituted in the slow cooker; some of them need to read a certain boiling point. Check out the 'how to kick the can of beans' link for more info.)

4. Buying Greek Yogurt in those HUGE intimidating containers. At our local grocery store, a 750g container of Greek yogurt goes for around $7.50CAD -- while the enormous, 'how can I possibly finish that' containers of 1.75kg are only $10-11CAD! Switching our regular yogurt to Greek and buying the bulk containers has really helped us get more protein into our mornings -- and our 'after dinner sweet snacks' as well!

5. Protein powder. There's a lot of debate on MFP about whether protein powder is necessary, or whether you're able to get all the protein you need in your regular diet. I can safely say that without protein powder, I'd almost never be able to meet my daily protein goals without going way over budget on meat. For $30-35CAD, I can purchase a container of vanilla protein powder that will give me 25g of protein every day for a month; for the same amount of money, the amount of meat I could buy is pretty pitiful. It works for me as a way to incorporate protein into my diet at a relatively low cost.

If I liked eggs at all, I'm sure they would make this list -- but since I don't, they're sadly absent. These examples won't pertain to everyone, and the costs will obviously be quite different depending on where you are, but they've definitely helped my family get more protein into our diet at a relatively low cost.

What about you guys? Any tips for lost-cost protein that can be added to your diet without relying on more pricey items like chicken breasts and steak?