Where to Find Protein Rich Foods
Protein is absolutely vital for humans.
Most people think of protein simply as one of the three macronutrients that occur in our foods (the other two being carbohydrates and fat), but it is also present in every cell in the body.
The components of a protein molecule are called amino acids, of which there are twenty of them in total - eight essential and twelve non essential.
These amino acids are collectively responsible for the growth and repair of many structures in the body, such as the muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments, and play important roles in carrying nutrients in the bloodstream, maintaining the immune system and helping to make the natural chemical reactions which happen inside our bodies.
So getting an adequate amount of protein is of great importance.
The majority of people seem to realise that they need to get protein in their diet, but many tend to complain that it's hard to find variety, and end up always choosing the same protein rich foods every week.
In this article, I'll give you some suggestions as to where you can find some more interesting high protein foods, which taste great, and won't break the bank.
Meat Apart from vegetarians, most people will get the majority of their protein from meat.
And for a lot of people, chicken will make up the bulk of their meat consumption.
It's easy to see why - it's cheap, tastes okay, lends itself well to many other foods and flavours, and is readily available.
Whilst I think chicken is fine every now and then, and certainly does provide a good dose of protein, at around 25g of protein per 100g of meat, I feel that there are many other meats that contain just as much protein, yet taste better and have other health benefits.
Whilst we're talking about poultry, I'll give turkey a mention.
It seems turkey is generally kept for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it needn't be.
It is slightly lower in calories and fat than chicken, and gives more or less the same amount of protein.
It makes a nice change if you're used to using chicken in a lot of dishes, and tends to be slightly cheaper as well.
I'm also a fan of using dark meat from poultry - the legs and thighs.
Whilst higher in calories and fat than breast meat, the dark meat contains the same amount of protein, and has much more flavour.
Moving on to red meat, just as with white meat, most people tend to stick to just one type of red meat - beef, with pork and lamb occasionally used.
Again, these are perfectly fine, and all will provide about the same amount of protein as white meat does - 25g per 100g, depending on the cut, but there are loads more interesting types of red meat.
A personal favourite of mine is buffalo meat.
It's not as readily available to come by as chicken or beef is, but if you have a good grocery store or farm shop near you, you're in with a decent chance of finding some.
Buffalo actually has slightly more protein than beef does, as well as being lower in fat and cholesterol, if they're issues that you're worried about.
Not only that, but because buffalo are more resistant to disease, and grow faster than domestic animals, they aren't given all the antibiotics and growth hormones that factory farmed animals often are.
Another huge benefit buffalo has is that it tastes awesome.
Venison is another great choice.
It is slightly easier to get your hands on than buffalo is, and also provides many benefits over beef.
Its protein content is almost identical to buffalo, and it too contains less fat and cholesterol than beef, along with delivering a host of B vitamins, which are very important for heart health, and have been linked with increasing energy levels.
Fish With fish, we have the same issue as with meat.
There is usually one type of fish which everyone seems to go for - tuna.
And as with chicken, I think tuna is cheap, versatile, and fairly tasty, but it can get boring pretty quickly.
Salmon is also popular choice, and has all the benefits associated with oily fish, and the omega 3 fatty acids they contain.
These Omega 3s are very important for helping to maintain the nervous system, protect the bones, muscles and joints, and when consumed in an adequate amount, have been linked with lowering a person's risk of heart disease.
So salmon is great, but there are loads of other really good quality oily fish out there - trout, mackerel, herring, pilchards, anchovies, sardines, kippers and fresh (not tinned) tuna are all classed as oily fish, and pack a large amount of protein(between 17 and 25g per 100g, depending on which fish you choose).
However, due to the fats they contain, oily fish are higher in calories than white fish.
If you're particularly worried about this, then opt for white fish instead.
Cod, halibut, sole, monkfish, mullet and plaice are a bit more interesting and tasty than canned tuna, yet all provide between 20 and 24g of protein per 100g too.
My top tip though, is to choose oily fish wherever possible.
It may be higher in calories, but it has a ton of nutritional benefits over white fish, whilst still delivering on the protein front.
Dairy Dairy products seem to go up and down in popularity within the nutrition world all the time.
One minute experts are saying that we should all be eating two to three servings of dairy a day, as the calcium they contain aids with fat loss, yet the next minute we're being told to avoid dairy like the plague.
One thing everyone can agree on though, is that dairy is a good source of protein.
Gram for gram, the best protein providers in the dairy department are cottage cheese and quark cheese.
Depending on the brand, and the type of milk used to make them, both contain between 9 and 12g of protein per 100g of product.
Whilst that is only around half of what most meats and fish contain, it is still very easy to get 15 to 25g of protein with a serving of either of these.
Next up on the list is milk.
Whilst milk is a lot lower in protein, containing only 3.
3 - 3.
5g of protein per 100ml, depending on whether you buy skimmed, semi skimmed or whole, it's very easy to have a glass of milk alongside a meal, or just as a drink during the day, helping to add to your overall protein consumption, without filling you up, or taking on a large amount of calories.
Finally, we've got regular cheese.
Clearly, there are thousands or varieties of cheese, and all have different protein contents, although on average, you can expect 100g of cheese to give you at least 15g of protein per 100g, with that rising to 25g per 100g for some higher protein cheeses.
The one downside to cheese however is the calories it contains.
Even a reduced fat cheddar can contain over 300 calories per 100g.
For those watching their waistlines, cheese should be eaten in moderation.
Plant Products Vegetarians and vegans can find it very difficult to consume an adequate amount of protein when avoiding animal products.
But there are many plant foods which are also high in protein.
A common protein source for vegetarians and vegans alike is lentils.
100g of lentils will provide you with 9g of protein, and they're also low in calories and fat.
Other popular choices are beans.
There are loads of different types of beans, which is definitely a bonus, as it allows for a lot of variety in your meals.
Kidney, pinto, black, haricot, adzuki, borlotti, mung, cannellini, butter beans, and chickpeas all contain between 5 and 8g of protein per 100g.
Finally, nuts are also right up there when discussing plant protein.
As with beans, the amount of protein differs depending on the type of nut, but you can expect most to give you between 15 and 20g of protein per 100g.
The other big advantage nuts have over other non-animal protein sources is that they contain a large amount of "heart healthy" monounsaturated fats.
Which help improve cholesterol levels, and lower the risk of heart disease.
One downside to using plant products for your protein requirements is that most of them do not supply all eight essential amino acids, so in order to make sure you do get all eight, you'll need to choose a wide variety of plant based proteins, and not just rely on one source.
Hopefully now you can see why protein is so important to the body, and that actually, it's pretty easy to have a high protein diet, without having to spend hours in the kitchen, and eating boring foods.
So next time you're out grocery shopping, put a new protein source in your basket, and think of the health benefits.
Most people think of protein simply as one of the three macronutrients that occur in our foods (the other two being carbohydrates and fat), but it is also present in every cell in the body.
The components of a protein molecule are called amino acids, of which there are twenty of them in total - eight essential and twelve non essential.
These amino acids are collectively responsible for the growth and repair of many structures in the body, such as the muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments, and play important roles in carrying nutrients in the bloodstream, maintaining the immune system and helping to make the natural chemical reactions which happen inside our bodies.
So getting an adequate amount of protein is of great importance.
The majority of people seem to realise that they need to get protein in their diet, but many tend to complain that it's hard to find variety, and end up always choosing the same protein rich foods every week.
In this article, I'll give you some suggestions as to where you can find some more interesting high protein foods, which taste great, and won't break the bank.
Meat Apart from vegetarians, most people will get the majority of their protein from meat.
And for a lot of people, chicken will make up the bulk of their meat consumption.
It's easy to see why - it's cheap, tastes okay, lends itself well to many other foods and flavours, and is readily available.
Whilst I think chicken is fine every now and then, and certainly does provide a good dose of protein, at around 25g of protein per 100g of meat, I feel that there are many other meats that contain just as much protein, yet taste better and have other health benefits.
Whilst we're talking about poultry, I'll give turkey a mention.
It seems turkey is generally kept for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it needn't be.
It is slightly lower in calories and fat than chicken, and gives more or less the same amount of protein.
It makes a nice change if you're used to using chicken in a lot of dishes, and tends to be slightly cheaper as well.
I'm also a fan of using dark meat from poultry - the legs and thighs.
Whilst higher in calories and fat than breast meat, the dark meat contains the same amount of protein, and has much more flavour.
Moving on to red meat, just as with white meat, most people tend to stick to just one type of red meat - beef, with pork and lamb occasionally used.
Again, these are perfectly fine, and all will provide about the same amount of protein as white meat does - 25g per 100g, depending on the cut, but there are loads more interesting types of red meat.
A personal favourite of mine is buffalo meat.
It's not as readily available to come by as chicken or beef is, but if you have a good grocery store or farm shop near you, you're in with a decent chance of finding some.
Buffalo actually has slightly more protein than beef does, as well as being lower in fat and cholesterol, if they're issues that you're worried about.
Not only that, but because buffalo are more resistant to disease, and grow faster than domestic animals, they aren't given all the antibiotics and growth hormones that factory farmed animals often are.
Another huge benefit buffalo has is that it tastes awesome.
Venison is another great choice.
It is slightly easier to get your hands on than buffalo is, and also provides many benefits over beef.
Its protein content is almost identical to buffalo, and it too contains less fat and cholesterol than beef, along with delivering a host of B vitamins, which are very important for heart health, and have been linked with increasing energy levels.
Fish With fish, we have the same issue as with meat.
There is usually one type of fish which everyone seems to go for - tuna.
And as with chicken, I think tuna is cheap, versatile, and fairly tasty, but it can get boring pretty quickly.
Salmon is also popular choice, and has all the benefits associated with oily fish, and the omega 3 fatty acids they contain.
These Omega 3s are very important for helping to maintain the nervous system, protect the bones, muscles and joints, and when consumed in an adequate amount, have been linked with lowering a person's risk of heart disease.
So salmon is great, but there are loads of other really good quality oily fish out there - trout, mackerel, herring, pilchards, anchovies, sardines, kippers and fresh (not tinned) tuna are all classed as oily fish, and pack a large amount of protein(between 17 and 25g per 100g, depending on which fish you choose).
However, due to the fats they contain, oily fish are higher in calories than white fish.
If you're particularly worried about this, then opt for white fish instead.
Cod, halibut, sole, monkfish, mullet and plaice are a bit more interesting and tasty than canned tuna, yet all provide between 20 and 24g of protein per 100g too.
My top tip though, is to choose oily fish wherever possible.
It may be higher in calories, but it has a ton of nutritional benefits over white fish, whilst still delivering on the protein front.
Dairy Dairy products seem to go up and down in popularity within the nutrition world all the time.
One minute experts are saying that we should all be eating two to three servings of dairy a day, as the calcium they contain aids with fat loss, yet the next minute we're being told to avoid dairy like the plague.
One thing everyone can agree on though, is that dairy is a good source of protein.
Gram for gram, the best protein providers in the dairy department are cottage cheese and quark cheese.
Depending on the brand, and the type of milk used to make them, both contain between 9 and 12g of protein per 100g of product.
Whilst that is only around half of what most meats and fish contain, it is still very easy to get 15 to 25g of protein with a serving of either of these.
Next up on the list is milk.
Whilst milk is a lot lower in protein, containing only 3.
3 - 3.
5g of protein per 100ml, depending on whether you buy skimmed, semi skimmed or whole, it's very easy to have a glass of milk alongside a meal, or just as a drink during the day, helping to add to your overall protein consumption, without filling you up, or taking on a large amount of calories.
Finally, we've got regular cheese.
Clearly, there are thousands or varieties of cheese, and all have different protein contents, although on average, you can expect 100g of cheese to give you at least 15g of protein per 100g, with that rising to 25g per 100g for some higher protein cheeses.
The one downside to cheese however is the calories it contains.
Even a reduced fat cheddar can contain over 300 calories per 100g.
For those watching their waistlines, cheese should be eaten in moderation.
Plant Products Vegetarians and vegans can find it very difficult to consume an adequate amount of protein when avoiding animal products.
But there are many plant foods which are also high in protein.
A common protein source for vegetarians and vegans alike is lentils.
100g of lentils will provide you with 9g of protein, and they're also low in calories and fat.
Other popular choices are beans.
There are loads of different types of beans, which is definitely a bonus, as it allows for a lot of variety in your meals.
Kidney, pinto, black, haricot, adzuki, borlotti, mung, cannellini, butter beans, and chickpeas all contain between 5 and 8g of protein per 100g.
Finally, nuts are also right up there when discussing plant protein.
As with beans, the amount of protein differs depending on the type of nut, but you can expect most to give you between 15 and 20g of protein per 100g.
The other big advantage nuts have over other non-animal protein sources is that they contain a large amount of "heart healthy" monounsaturated fats.
Which help improve cholesterol levels, and lower the risk of heart disease.
One downside to using plant products for your protein requirements is that most of them do not supply all eight essential amino acids, so in order to make sure you do get all eight, you'll need to choose a wide variety of plant based proteins, and not just rely on one source.
Hopefully now you can see why protein is so important to the body, and that actually, it's pretty easy to have a high protein diet, without having to spend hours in the kitchen, and eating boring foods.
So next time you're out grocery shopping, put a new protein source in your basket, and think of the health benefits.
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