Protein Sources « Back to Group Discussions

[IntuitiveJamie]

I really do believe in the power of protein, (pregnant or not), but I feel like I've not been doing a good job keeping up with it. I'm uninspired right now. What are you eating to get your protein? Give me some great protein snacks/meals you've been hitting up.

Here's my list:

Dairy

Eggs

Meat

Nut and seed butters

Beans

Whole grain rice

Nuts

Bagels

Whole grain pasta

Seeds

Here's how I'm eating them:

Nut butter or sunbutter on bagel

Boiled eggs

Nachos with beans and jalepenos

Usually meat dinners

Granola

Handful of nuts, mainly pistachios, almonds, cashews

Whole grain pasta with thick veggie sauce

Veggie pizza

Green smoothies- certain veggies like spinach have a decent amount of protein. I also started adding Gojji berries and flax seed to up the protein value by at least a few grams.

Bean burritos

Avocados on own, or added to foods

Lentil soup

Veggie sandwich with cheese

Annie Chungs packaged noodle meals like Miso, Terriyaki, Thai

It looks like a lot, but I keep feeling my blood sugar dip.  Although...if I'm completely honest, I've also been eating a lot of sugar this week for some reason. That's prob. the reason. ugh.

Also, I'm trying to minimize dairy and in a few months need to get it completely out of my diet. Both my other babes had dairy issues through breastmilk. I do not want to deal with that this time. So I'm not looking to up my dairy intake in any way.

Anyways, hit me up with some ideas to keep inspired.

Edited by IntuitiveJamie - 1/14/12 at 5:47am

[IntuitiveJamie]

I think this weekend I'll make a black bean soup. I also found a recipe for banana oatmeal smoothie that should be pretty packed with protein.

I really need more grab and go high packed protein snacks like: Puffed Quinoa balls  and Oatmeal protein cookies.

I'm also making dehydrated kale chips with nutritional yeast. 

I've been reading more and more about Nutritional yeast. It's a great source of Vitamin B and it's a complete protein! Hurray for that!

I might try to make a vegan mac and cheese with Nutritional Yeast this week.

Edited by IntuitiveJamie - 1/14/12 at 7:51am

[SomethingAnonymous]

I thought nutritional yeast was similar to MSG because it's high in free glutamate?

Artichokes, beets, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumbers, eggplant, green peas, green pepper, kale, lettuce, mushroom, mustard green, onions, potatoes, spinach, tomatoes, turnip greens, watercress, yams, zucchini all have protein.

I've been eating cucumber, mushrooms, broccoli, tomatoes, spinach, eggs, chicken for protein. I tried some beans the other day, I need to try another test to see if it's safe for me.  All dairy, nut, seed, grain, pork, and beef options are out for me. So I'll be working off that vegetable list minus the potatoes and onions, and sparingly rotate chicken, eggs and fish.  If I eat something too often I become allergic to it, so I have to be careful.

I made a fritatta with spinach, mushrooms, garlic, tomatoes in it. 

[Knitting Mama]

I'm almost positive that cucumber has like zero protein. I like to use http://nutritiondata.self.com/ to look up serving sizes and nutritional content of common foods.

[IntuitiveJamie]

SA- Thank you so much for the heads up on the nutritional yeast. I did not realize that, so I've been doing some reading on it this morning. It's seems there is some debate on the subject and it's definitely a torn topic among the vegetarian and vegan world. I'll prob. steer clear until I've come to my own conclusion. No sense in adding something in now that is potentially not good for me or my family. I've haven't been using it this long, so we won't miss it!

I'm unsure about several of the veggies you posted as being good for protein. But perhaps we have a diff. opinion of what constitutes a good protein content? I don't have a magic number, but I would say I look for things with at least say 5-6 or more grams of protein. However, I understand that if something only has 2 grams and I add quite a bit of that along with some other things, I can increase the amount of protein, altogether.

Aimee- I agree with you about cucumbers though. I thought they were like 90% water. Same with watercress. 

I do love artichokes and they do have a decent amount of protein, so I have been eating them with some regularity. Yum!  And thanks to your link Aimee, I just found out that cabbage surprised me with a decent amount of protein as well. 

[Veritas Vitae]

This list will be helpful. I've been absolutely turned off by meat, except occasionally fish, so I've been trying to get my protein other ways. 

[Knitting Mama]

Veritas Vitae, this is a very interesting article talking about getting proper amino acids when avoiding meat. You might enjoy it!

Edit: And here's a more straightforward one.

[Veritas Vitae]

Mmm, cottage cheese...I just ate a huge bowl of it.  Anyone else sick of eating?  I've had to eat so often to keep my m/s at bay...I just started crying this morning b/c I didn't want to eat anything, but knew I needed to.  

[moremadder]

Originally Posted by Veritas Vitae 

Mmm, cottage cheese...I just ate a huge bowl of it.  Anyone else sick of eating?  I've had to eat so often to keep my m/s at bay...I just started crying this morning b/c I didn't want to eat anything, but knew I needed to.  

I've been feeling this way for weeks! It's horrible. I do think it is getting better for me though. I'm 11.5 weeks, and I am feeling hungry despite the nausea right now. I hope it gets better for you soon!!

[IntuitiveJamie]

Originally Posted by Veritas Vitae 

Mmm, cottage cheese...I just ate a huge bowl of it.  Anyone else sick of eating?  I've had to eat so often to keep my m/s at bay...I just started crying this morning b/c I didn't want to eat anything, but knew I needed to.  

One of my fav. parts of being post pregnanacy is not having to focus so much on food!  Both times, it's was like, "finally! enough with the protein and this and that and this and shoving my face when everything makes my stomach hurt anyways!" lol

I totally get it!

[saffrongirl]

Originally Posted by Veritas Vitae 

Mmm, cottage cheese...I just ate a huge bowl of it.  Anyone else sick of eating?  I've had to eat so often to keep my m/s at bay...I just started crying this morning b/c I didn't want to eat anything, but knew I needed to.  

Totally agree as well.  I NEVER eat very much in "real life."  Generally kind of snack through the day and then have a sensible dinner.  This constant having to eat is making me crazy.  

IntuitiveJamie - Seems like you have a really complete list.  Maybe just finding ways to make the ingredients in different ways will help.  I like almond butter on top of a brown rice cake with some banana sliced on top for a snack.  Also there are some nice granola bars out there.  

[NewMumJoy]

Great thread..... I find that my whole day revolves around planning/worrying about what to eat next and whether I'm getting enough of a particular nutrient (especially protein and omega-3).  I'm torn because with all the meat/fish/dairy/fruits/veggies that are recommended, there lurks the dangers of antiobiotics/mercury/growth hormones/pesticides!  I can get organic produce, milk, eggs and beans at the grocery store but grass-fed meats are very hard to come by (and extremely expensive!) ...... Thus I end up going meat-less for almost the whole week and then worry that I've "starved" the baby!

For now, I end up eating almost daily:  

• yogurt with granola, quinoa, nuts, flax and chia seeds
• boiled eggs or egg salad with toast
• soups with quinoa, beans and veggies
• cheese and grapes
• smoothies with soy or coconut milk, banana, yogurt, frozen berries and frozen mangoes

.... I obviously need to be eating more than the above!

[Sol_y_Paz]

Some more ideas: 

-in the smoothie add lots of greek yogurt

-a big batch of slow cooked pinto beans (add whatever spices you like) and jalapeno cornbread for dinner (dh likes to butter both the beans and cornbread a lot)

-in organic whole wheat mac and cheese instead of butter and or milk use lots of plain greek yogurt to make it creamy but get the protein counts up

-ricotta cheese, whole wheat noodles, spinach and other veggies, and lots of pasta sauce for a filling pasta dish

-homemade jerky using smoked salmon

-fish tacos and black beans on corn tortillas

-breakfast burritos with lots of veggies and egg

-cottage cheese and celery (or sometimes Boulder brand potato chips for dipping, I can't resist)

-celery and peanut butter with raisins

-corn tortillas rolled up with a bit of cheese and beans then put in a toaster oven to crisp, add guac and pico

-veggie quesadillas with lots of black beans and veggies like spinach, add salsa and guac

-homemade veggie pizza like was said above, sometimes I will add chicken with the veggies to try to get the protein counts up, but I end up picking it off mostly

-homemade granola with lots of nuts

-cut up fresh apple dipped in either yogurt or peanut butter (slightly melted) then sprinkled with misc chopped nuts of your choice 

-tuna fish sandwich made with canned tuna, boiled egg, mustard, pickles, garlic, paparika, and guac in a whole wheat wrap

-hummus in my salad as a dressing

-hummus with fresh vegetables

-cottage cheese in my salad as dressing 

-cottage cheese sprinkled with pepper and sunflower seeds

Veritas yes, I am sick of eating so much.  Sorry you cried about all of it   Just keeping thinking about why you are doing it.  I am gaining weight even at this stage in the game because I am eating so much and often to avoid throwing up and intense morning sickness.  I try not to worry about it too much since this is just temporary and there isn't a better reason in the world for all of it.  

[IntuitiveJamie]

Originally Posted by Sol_y_Paz 

Some more ideas: 

-a big batch of slow cooked pinto beans (add whatever spices you like) and jalapeno cornbread for dinner (dh likes to butter both the beans and cornbread a lot)

-homemade jerky using smoked salmon

-fish tacos and black beans on corn tortillas

-breakfast burritos with lots of veggies and egg

Mmm...these sound great!

[texasfarmom]

I tried some Hemp protein powder to up my protein. I just mixed it with water and thought I would force myself to chug it. NOT! It was awful. I almost lost my stomach and I was so sick the rest of the day. My mw said I could mix it in brownies or something else to try to hide it. I'm going to have to try that. I thought the Hemp would be such an easy way to get more protein without having to eat something, again.

Thanks for all the suggestions ladies!

[Knitting Mama]

Put it in a smoothie!

[NewMumJoy]

Ewww, I have the hemp protein powder as well, Texasmom.... it's like sawdust!!  Hard to get down even in a frozen smoothie, but maybe it might work in some baked muffins in place of bran or other ingredients of that texture....

Veritas.... great list, thank you!

[texasfarmom]

NewMumJoy-I've bee putting a quarter serving (1 TBS) in a Betty Crocker Warm Delights bowl lately. I know it's not super healthy and only about 5 grams of protein, but I'm addicted to sweets anyway so why not get them this way! I'm afraid to add more than a quarter serving though b/c then I might be able to detect it.

[Willovia]

This is a great thread. I also find my day is overwhelmed with not only planning what I'm going to eat, but forcing myself to eat these things, because what sounded good at 7 am when I pack my lunch is NOT what looks appealing mid-day.

To be honest, I'm still on the "survival mode" diet where I haven't cooked in weeks and everything is store bought or fast food. This at least helps with the snacking component throughout the day. Thanks for the suggestions!

[ithappened]

do people have a favorite protein powder?