When I was losing weight, I ate around 1200-1400 calories per day and averaged around 80 to 120g of protein. I don't eat any protein bars, protein shakes, or protein powder. At less than 1400 calories per day, I needed to eat real food--those things all had far too many calories for far too small an amount of food. I also don't each much cheese, other than fat free cream cheese, again because it is so high in calories for the amount of food it provides.
For breakfast I eat 1 cup of plain, fat free, Greek yogurt with 1/2 cup cereal and fresh berries. This is over 20g of protein right there, requires no cooking, and is around 200 calories (my cereal is only 60 cal per 1/2 cup).
For lunch, I always eat 2 to 4 oz of lean protein. In some cases this is just a sandwich/wrap with lunch meat, tuna, or precooked chicken strips (again, very little cooking required). Frequently I just take 4 oz of chicken, pound it flat with a meat mallot, and saute it with a little cooking spray. Then I serve it over pre-cooked polenta (from a tube) with a sauce of some sort (low cal spaghetti sauce would work if you don't want to cook). Sometimes I add spinach, cheese, or other veggies.
Dinner always has to include 4 to 6 oz of lean protein. There are lots of options that don't necessarily involve much prep or cooking. Chicken or fish broiled and served with a sauce and side of veggies or diced and tossed in a salad, for example. There's all sorts of ready made marinades and seasoning mixes you can get to flavor the meat. Pork tenderloin is another great option; it comes pre-seasoned and you just throw it in the oven, set the timer, and forget about it until the timer dings. Chili is another great meal with lots of protein and very easy to prepare. Or tacos made with lean ground beef or 99% fat free ground turkey (have the taco meat over lettuce with pinto beans, peppers, onions, and salsa, instead of with tortillas, for a super low cal meal).
I try to make sure both lunch and dinner both include 20g of protein. So with breakfast, that's gets me to 60g and I only have to make up 20g of protein with snacks to have consumed 80g of protein for the day.
Here are some of my favorite high protein snacks (most involve little or no cooking):
- Yogurt (20g protein per serving)
- Cottage cheese (14g protein per serving)
- Tofu (7g protein per serving). Try pressing the water out and sauteing it or marinating it and then baking it. If you live near a Trader Joe's, they sell baked tofu that is fabulous and has 16g protein per serving. Or make fruit smoothies and add some silken tofu.
- Eggs or egg whites (6g protein per serving). Make yourself an egg-white omelet and add some reduced fat cheese for some more protein. Or I sometimes take a hard-boiled egg and mix the yolk with dijon mustard to make a sort of deviled egg.
- Oatmeal (5g protein per serving) or oat bran (up to 7g protein per serving, depending on the brand)
- Low carb wrap with one wedge laughing cow cheese (7.5g protein)
- Low carb wrap with refried beans (12g protein). Add a laughing cow cheese wedge for an extra 2.5g protein.
- Tuna or salmon. There are some great flavored tuna options, like BumbleBee's tuna sensations or the tuna and salmon sold in pouches. A can of bumblebee sensations sun-dried tomato tuna has 18g of protein and makes a great snack.
- Kippered herring or sardines (16g protein per serving)
- 1 tbsp SnacLite Power PB (6g protein). Stir it into your oatmeal or eat it on a slice of high fiber bread.
- Trader Joe's also sells egg-white salad that is fabulous and has 7g to 9g protein per serving, depending on which variety you buy (they have three, spicy ranchero, chive, and salmon and dill)
- Yogurt Vegetable Salad: 1/4 cup plain, fat free yogurt, 1 tsp dijon mustard, 2.5 oz diced cucumber, 1.5 oz halved cherry tomatoes (use sun-dried tomatoes or roasted red pepper if fresh cherry tomatoes aren't available), 1/4 cup chickpeas, 1 tbsp minced fresh basil or mint, sea salt and pepper to taste. Mix it all up and eat--no cooking. This makes one serving at 85 calories and 9g protein.
