I'm looking for ways to get more protein in my diet. I can't really afford to buy a lot of meat; I get the big bags of frozen chicken breasts about once every two or three months, and occasionally I'll supplement it with a pound of ground turkey or something. But I'm really looking for more ways to add protein to my diet. I feel like I generally get way too many carbs and not nearly enough protein.

What are some of the best foods for getting protein?

eggs (one of the most biologically available source of protein out there) are cheap

mini lesson on protein - protein is made up of several different amino acids that combine to make protein. A "complete" protein is any food or food combination that has ALL of the necessary amino acid chains.

A biologically available protein has them in the proper ratios so there is not excess of one acid and a defecit of another. Eggs (with yolks) are just about perfect, humans can use all of the acids in the ratios provided. So if you eat 1 g of egg protein you actually USE 1 g of protein, whereas beef (for example) for every gram of protein you actually only get the benefit of 0.75g

It is not necessary to have all of the acids in the same meal to be complete, but in a 24 hour period is about right.

Eggs 100% BA
Milk 93% BA
Beef, Fish - 75% BA

Combinations can give you complete proteins for other foods

grains and beans together are complete and a darn cheap source of protein - quinoa is a very high protein grain.

cottage cheese. it's a life saver.

A few other ideas:

• Canned tuna--super cheap, I lived on it in college. These days I mix it with hummus rather than mayo. Also canned salmon or sardines, although they aren't as cheap.
• Dried beans or lentils--also very cheap.
• Non-fat yogurt.
• Kashi Go Lean cereal.

Eggs are the best! So good, so cheap... take the yolks out or maybe leave one yolk with 2 or 3 whites - low fat, great protein, and cheap! And there are many, many ways to prepare them that are quick, easy, and tasty. I may be a little egg crazy; I eat them almost every day, either for breakfast or dinner.

I love :

-- eggwhites, I have an eggwhite omelette every morning with oatmeal

-- tuna, I mix it with chickpeas and olive oil and some lemon with salt and pepper, great alone or in a pita...

-- protein powder, a lifesaver after a workout, but unfortunately not cheap only very convenient...

-- chicken breasts, marinated and BBQd

-- salmon, grilled on the BBQ also...

I have a protein at every meal because it keeps me fuller longer...

Chicken drumsticks are very cheap (about 1/5 the price of chicken breasts), and once you skin them, they are a very lean source of protein. I switched from chicken breasts to drumsticks months ago because of the cost, and I haven't gone back.

walking2lose Can you give us some of your quick easy egg suggestions? I like eggs but never know what to do with them that's quick and filling. To me the thought of having one egg and one egg white doesn't seem to filling and too many eggs means too many calories for me.

Thanks!

According to Fitday:

-- one large eggwhite has:
17 calories
0 fat
0 carbs
3 grams of protein

-- one large egg yolk has:
61 cals (I'm glad I don't eat the yolk, although there are some good vitamins in a yolk)
5 grams of fat
3 grams of protein

So without the yolk eggwhites are almost a perfect food, in my book anyways... I make omelettes with my whites plain or with veggies, usually plain because I'm rushed and lazy in the morning...

You can make pancakes, here's my super simple recipe, it can be made ahead, refrigerated and warmed up when needed...
1/3c. oatmeal
1/3c. cottage cheese
1/3c. eggwhites
vanilla and splenda to taste, use a hand blender or regular blender to blend till smooth... Cook in a pan like a regular pancake...

I also mix my eggwhites right in with my oatmeal when I cook my oatmeal.... makes like a pudding.... I mix
1/4c. oatmeal
1/2c. milk or soy milk
1/2c. eggwhites
vanilla and splenda to taste... put all in the microwave for a minute, stir with a wisk... stir every minute for 3 minutes... add some water or milk if necessary at the end, this depends how smooth you like...

Hope these help... keep us posted if you end up trying any of them...

I went through a 3 egg white omlette stage. It's basically over - for now.

Elisa, when I WAS in that stage, I would stir fry up in Pam a bunch of veggies, spinach, mushrooms, pepper and onions for example. I would make enough veggies for 5 or 6 days. I would add that to my omlette everyday. It was great having the veggies prepared already. And my omlettes were delicious. I used 3 extra large egg whites by the way.

I use a good amount of protein powder but I also try to eat lean sources of protein. Meat actually isn't the best source of protein, lb for lb but it is a good complete protein. As others mentioned, Egg whites are great and cottage cheese is awesome.

I would recommend looking over this page:
http://www.stumptuous.com/cms/displaysection.php?sid=4

As well as this one that has lots of recipes for cottage cheese:
http://www.stumptuous.com/cms/displayarticle.php?aid=23

You can also get some forms of protein from nonmeat sources such as beans, whole grains and veggies.

I just did a wee trip to the grocer where I bought shrimp, salmon, cottage cheese and egg whites.

You can buy just the egg whites?

Yes, I used to have chickens in the backyard so I didn't mind pitching the yolks or feeding them to the cat but eggs are expensive here. I buy Naturegg Simply Egg Whites. They come two little cartons in one package. It's the equivalent of 16 egg whites for about the cost of a dozen good eggs ... here ... where eggs are expensive.

Eggbeaters, and other similar products, are just eggwhites with coloring and preservatives. It depends what you pay for eggs whether it's cheaper to buy whole and throw out the yolks or buy the eggwhite products. Also depends on the rest of your family of course. My DH eats eggs several times a week.

I love hard boiled eggs, and eat either a whole hb egg, or hb egg whites for a mid-morning snack. I love the idea of pre-sauteed veggies for an omlette. Duh, why did I never think of that.

Shrimp is an excellent low calorie protein source too. I scour the meat section of my grocery all the time for shrimp on sale. I'm fussy though, I only want wild caught, not farm raised.

Oh, and the Barilla whole wheat pasta (I know, it's blended, not totally ww) has a fair amount of protein too.