I'm really lacking protein during my first few meals/snacks of the day, and I need some new ideas for protein sources that I can bring to work.

My medical restrictions: I cannot tolerate most soy and pork, and any seafood, legumes and nuts must be in moderation.

Suggestions will be *greatly* appreciated. Thanks, everyone!

Can you do a higher-protein cereal with nonfat or almond milk? What sort of cooking resources do you have at work...a fridge? cooktop? microwave?

There are some great oatmeal protein pancake recipes here...make a batch over the weekend, bring to work, and reheat. I am partial to whey protein shakes myself, but I don't know how easy it would be blender-wise at your work.

I second the higher protein cereal idea and I am in with those protein pancakes.

Think about hard-boiled eggs. And then there's always cottage cheese. Can you handle peanut butter? Other nut butters?

Good luck . . .

It'll depend on what resources you have available to you at work, but here are my thoughts:

Hard boiled eggs
Cheese or Yogurt (low-fat of course)
Turkey bacon
Cottage cheese (yummy with fruit and a little honey)
Seitan (meat substitute made with wheat)

You can make egg cups by spraying muffin cups and lining the cups with turkey bacon (just the edges) then pop an egg in the middle and bake @ 350 for 15-20 mins. Then let them cool and freeze in portions. Then you can just pop them in the microwave at work.

*scribbles furiously* These are fantastic suggestions, everyone, and much more yummy sounding than I was expecting. Thank you so much!

As for facilities, there is a fridge and a microwave, so I can bring stuff from home and cool it/heat it, if need be.

I like Turkey Sausage! Jimmy Dean makes patties we use on our modified version of Sausage McMuffin: turkey sausage, lowfat cheese, light english muffin.

In addition to the other suggestions, try some of the meatless products made by Boca, Morningstar, etc. I tried them slowly because I was prepared to NOT like them but was pleasantly surprised by the breakfast wraps, link "sausages," and the "chick'n" patties. They also have "burger" and chili products that I have in my freezer to try. Excellent source of protein and sometimes even fiber.

Oh, yummy idea; now I'm craving turkey sausage!

Hrm, sounds tempting...do they contain soy?

Yes, they all have soy.

Hi maalisse,

Yes, I believe some of them do contain soy. Sorry I didn't pay attention to that bit in your post. But I don't know if they ALL do, so check (as I'm sure you already do) out the list of ingredients to be certain. I hope you find some tasty alternatives that you can stick with.

Mary

All Boca and Morningstar products contain soy.

I have never heard of a doctor restricting legumes. Are you on a special diet for IBS or food sensitivities? What kinds/types/amounts of soy can you tolerate?

Tempeh is often more easily tolerated by those with sensitivities to soy as compared to highly processed soy products. Rice, pea and hemp protein powders are great sources of protein and fiber. Best of luck!

A way that I increase my daughter's protein intake (we are veggo) is to make an almond and cinnamon sprinkle. I dry roast the almonds lightly and wait for them to completely cool. Then I add them to a spice grinder or a food processor and add cinnamon (as much as you like) and I also add some sesame seeds and others seeds that I have handy and grind them all up together until they form a fine powder. I add this powder on top of our morning oats, yoghurt and she also uses it to dip her fruit pieces into for snacks. I also add it to pikelets and biscuits for her

For Interstitial Cystitis. Legumes are not generally a common trigger food for IC, but they are one for me, unfortunately; I can take them if my symptoms are mild enough, or during certain times of the month, but I generally try to avoid them just in case. (As a trade off, I can eat chocolate just fine, which most people with IC can't...I think that's part of the reason I'm overweight. )

As for soy, well, I take back my "in small doses" statement; yesterday, I had less than a square inch of tofu, and I was up every 20 minutes all night. I thought small amounts were okay, but I guess not. (Funny how I'm still figuring out this food sensitivities thing 5 years later... :\)

Thanks for your suggestions; I'll give them a try.

All suggestions in this thread are greatly appreciated.

I make egg muffins. Very high in protein, low in fat. approx. 58 calories for each one.

Okay...it's one container of egg whites, 2 whole eggs, salt and pepper to taste. half a cup of low fat cheese. you can also add in 4 ounces of ham (i usually don't get around to doing that though, and it does add just a few more calories). Laddle this mixture into a muffin pans (it's suppose to make 12 but i usually get 10 out of it). Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. After they cool, i put them in a tupper ware container and grab 2 to pop in the micro wave each morning at work for breakfast.