List of High Protein Foods for Easy Meal Planning: Best Protein Sources to Build Meals Around - Page 1

List of High Protein Foods for Easy Meal Planning: Best Protein Sources to Build Meals Around - Page 1
Page content

In the kitchen, knowledge isn’t simply power; it’s a time saver. When planning meals, you want to ensure a balance of protein, fat and carbohydrate for you and your family. Being familiar with high-protein foods makes this simpler. Read more to learn some tips about planning meals using high protein foods, how much protein you really need, special tips for vegetarians and vegans, and a complete listing of high-protein foods.

Do You Get Enough Protein?

The answer is most likely yes. In the United States and other developed countries, there is no lack of protein in our diets. The average person needs 45 to 60 grams of protein per day. Refer to the protein sources listed below and notice that two servings of many animal-based proteins meet that requirement entirely. And that’s not even considering protein from other sources.

Planning Meals Around Protein

Even though it’s not difficult to eat adequate amounts of protein, it can still make sense to plan meals around high-protein foods, particularly for vegetarians, vegans, heavy exercisers, and bodybuilders.

Additionally, people battling a difficult illness, such as cancer, often need to make sure they eat protein-rich foods because they may not be consuming the same amount or variety of food as they did previously. This is especially true for people who’ve undergone bariatric (weight loss) surgery—these people know they must make every calorie count as a nutritional powerhouse.

These foods are, in general, high in protein: meats and fish; milk and cheese; eggs; nuts and nut butters such as peanut butter; dried beans and peas.

Highest Protein Sources to Build Meals Around

  • Chicken, turkey, beef, pork, ham
  • Tuna, cod, salmon, sardines, herring, shrimp
  • Yogurt, cottage cheese
  • Tempeh, tofu, edamame
  • Kidney beans, black beans, chickpeas, pinto beans, navy beans, refried beans
  • Peanuts, almonds, walnuts, pine nuts, sunflower seeds (keep in mind nuts and seeds are also very high in calories)

Meat-eaters may choose to go by the traditional meat serving, vegetable serving, or grain serving when meal planning, e.g., grilled chicken thighs with steamed zucchini and a baked potato. Vegetarians can do the same, e.g. marinated tofu cutlets with braised carrots and a biscuit. Both meals are well balanced and utilize high-protein foods.

However, vegetarians also often combine protein sources in one meal to increase the total amount of protein. For instance, in the above meal, the vegetarian might serve a peanut sauce on the tofu and change the sides to broccoli and a quinoa pilaf. The additional protein from peanuts, broccoli (a high-protein vegetable,) and quinoa (a high-protein grain) give the vegetarian more than enough protein. Getting “enough” protein isn’t generally a problem for vegetarians and vegans, despite what well-meaning friends and relatives may think.

Let’s see the lists of animal and plant sources of high protein foods.

Animal (Meat) Protein Sources

FotoosVanRobin flickr pork

Protein content is listed in grams.

Fowl

  • Chicken, boneless, cooked (3 oz.): 27
  • Turkey, roasted (3 oz.): 25
  • Ground Turkey, cooked (3 oz.): 23

Beef

  • Roast Beef, lean, cooked (3 oz.): 24
  • Ground Beef, lean, cooked (3 oz.): 24
  • Beef Sirloin, cooked (3 oz.): 24

Pork

  • Pork, roast, trimmed (3 oz.): 25
  • Ham, cooked (3 oz.): 21

Fish and Seafood

  • Tuna, canned in water (3 oz.): 23
  • Tuna, fresh, cooked (3 oz.): 26
  • Cod, cooked (3 oz.): 20
  • Salmon (3 oz.): 22
  • Shrimp, boiled (3 oz.): 21
  • Lobster, baked or broiled (3 oz.): 17

Dairy Protein Sources

cwbuecheler flickr cheese

  • Yogurt, low-fat, plain (8 oz.): 12
  • Milk (8 oz.): 8
  • Cheese (1 oz.): 7
  • Egg (1 medium): 6
  • Egg Substitute (¼ cup): 6
  • Cottage Cheese ( ½ cup): 14
  • Ice Milk, soft-serve (1 cup): 10

Plant Protein Sources

vsimon flickr drybeans

Soy Products

  • Tempeh (4 oz.): 17-21
  • Tofu, firm (½ cup): 10
  • Soymilk, plain (8 oz.): 10
  • Soybeans, black, cooked (½ cup): 14
  • Soybeans, green, cooked (½ cup): 11

Nuts, Nut Butters, and Seeds

  • Peanut butter, chunky (2 Tbsp): 8
  • Peanuts (½ cup): 19
  • Almonds (½ cup): 15
  • Pine Nuts (½ cup): 15
  • Cashews (½ cup): 10
  • Sunflower Seeds (½ cup): 13
  • Walnuts (½ cup): 10

Beans

  • Kidney beans, cooked (½ cup): 8
  • Black beans, cooked (½ cup): 8
  • Chick-peas, cooked (½ cup): 8
  • Hummus (¼ cup): 5
  • Refried beans, cooked (½ cup): 8
  • Pinto beans, cooked (½ cup): 7
  • Lentils, cooked (½ cup): 9

Grains

  • Oatmeal, instant, cooked (1 cup): 6
  • Corn (1 cup): 5
  • Pasta, cooked (1 cup): 6.5
  • Quinoa, cooked (1 cup): 8

Vegetables

  • Broccoli (1 cup): 5

Now that you’re armed with this list of high-protein foods, try making one or more these foods the centerpiece of an omnivore, vegetarian, or vegan meal. Never be at a loss again when searching for a good protein source!

References