Protein Snacks

There are lots of options. On the whole-foods or lower-processed side of things there's

• Hard-boiled eggs
• Roasted chickpeas or lentils.
• Raw or roasted edamame (soy beans)
• Nuts, particularly almonds and peanuts
• Cottage cheese
• Greek yogurt

You can also go with protein supplementation in the form of powders, bars, and drinks. There is an entire galaxy of protein-supplemented snacks and products out there. Many of them can feel more like "junk foods", particularly thinks like protein chips or cheese puffs. There are different kinds of protein, such as soy or whey isolate (milk). You may find you like one better than another.

If you are focusing on macros, it's probably fine to go over on fat and under on carbs. In any case, you'll likely never get a "perfect" balance unless you're eating one of those prepackaged whole diet/ human fuel products.

badnoodle wrote: »

There are lots of options. On the whole-foods or lower-processed side of things there's

• Hard-boiled eggs
• Roasted chickpeas or lentils.
• Raw or roasted edamame (soy beans)
• Nuts, particularly almonds and peanuts
• Cottage cheese
• Greek yogurt

You can also go with protein supplementation in the form of powders, bars, and drinks. There is an entire galaxy of protein-supplemented snacks and products out there. Many of them can feel more like "junk foods", particularly thinks like protein chips or cheese puffs. There are different kinds of protein, such as soy or whey isolate (milk). You may find you like one better than another.

If you are focusing on macros, it's probably fine to go over on fat and under on carbs. In any case, you'll likely never get a "perfect" balance unless you're eating one of those prepackaged whole diet/ human fuel products.

While eggs and nuts can play an important role in a way of eating that excludes meat, neither are low fat/high protein. Both have more calories from fat than protein, and nuts have a lot more.

Not completely on point to OP's question, but might be an idea for OP to consider when evaluating protein sources:

For myself, I set a rough threshold with "protein for total calories" of a food. So, if I looked at something that had (say) 130 calories from all nutrients in the food, and 13 grams of protein, that would be 10 calories per gram of protein. I use that metric to evaluate foods in the store from what's on the labels. I can do the math roughly in my head, decide whether the food meets my criteria. (Obviously - I hope - there are other criteria I consider when choosing foods, including yum factor, but this is one.)

I think this concept could be useful for anyone trying to increase protein, but the exact number thresholds would be an individual choice.

I'm a vegetarian. I figure any single food is a reasonable vegetarian protein source if it has around 10 or fewer calories per gram of protein. If a multi-ingredient food (like a frozen entree, maybe) has 20 to sometimes even 30 calories per gram of protein, it's an OK-ish choice.

So, in snack-ville, Babybel Light cheese is 50 calories, 5 grams protein, 10 calories per protein gram. To me, good protein snack.

Peanuts have about 159 calories per 28 grams (about an ounce, maybe 15-20 peanuts depending on size), and 7.28 grams of protein, so 21.8 calories per gram of protein. To me, not a great protein snack. (That doesn't mean I never eat peanuts!)

US standard large eggs have 70 calories, 6 grams of protein, 11.6 calories per protein calories. To me, not ideal as a protein snack, but probably close enough to choose a hard-boiled egg sometimes if it sounds good. Smoosh the yoke with some plain nonfat Greek yogurt and some near-zero calorie spices and a little salt to make a deviled egg, it's probably going to cross the hurdle into really tasty and plenty close enough (since the Greek yogurt adds a smidge of protein and few calories).

I've done the arithmetic above with a calculator because why not, but in the store I'd just be doing rough math in my head. I also want to underscore that the ratios are not bright lines for me, just a quick, easy way to get a rough reading on ONE criterion for picking a food.

OP: As protein-y vegetarian snacks, I eat Greek yogurt (maybe with frozen berries and a little peanut butter powder), calorie efficient cheeses that I find tasty (usually plain, without crackers or anything - don't love crackers), dry-roasted edamame, crispy broad beans (more than 10 calories per protein gram but I like 'em), sometimes the egg, coffee with lots of hot skim milk (could add a dash of vanilla extract or some such), cottage cheese, among other things.

For sure, I'd use different values if I weren't vegetarian, because meat-y fish-y foods usually can have fewer calories than protein gram than vegetarian ones, so if I prioritized protein as an omni, I'd be looking for fewer calories per protein gram. (I also think about completeness of the protein, in terms of essential amino acid balance, and bioavailability, things that wouldn't usually be a big deal with animal-source protein.)

non-fat greek yogurt (some are very tasty)
cottage cheese
egg whites either hard boiled or in a recipe
quest protein chips (my favorite is the chili and lime - yum!)
protein drink (my abso fave sweet is syntrax sweets vanilla bean torte with non-fat milk)
protein bars (my go-tos are quest double chocolate chunk and think! chocolate fudge)
quest mini protein bars (80 calories each, 8 grams of protein when you don't want to eat a regular sized bar)
low fat string cheese sticks or low fat cheddar sticks

i find nuts and seeds are either heavy on carbs or fats, as a rule, so if i'm looking for mostly protein, i pass on them. but sometimes i heat up some edamame and riced cauliflower, add either a tangy salad dressing or a serving and a half of a low sodium soup mix, stir it up and enjoy.

I use pea protein isolate or canned light tuna as my protein snacks.