Ideas to increase lean protein

Cafe Society
1

My doctors want me to increase my protein intake significantly, up to at least ~120 grams per day. I have no dietary restrictions. I’m hopeful I can do this with tasty and relatively cheap food, rather than with protein bars or shakes (which I don’t like).

I’m already eating lots of eggs and cottage cheese (about as much as I can stomach). I have the idea to add lean ground meat of some kind to the salads, stews, and soups I eat. What are some other ideas that would be tasty and hopefully not too expensive?

2

I find the king of cheap animal protein to be pork. Leaving out arguments about taste, quality and morality of battery raised meat animals for the moment, my local Kroger frequently sells pork tenderloins on sale as BOGO (buy one get one) with a net cost of $2.49/lb. Though of course, I avoid all the pre-seasoned options.

Pork tenderloin is so lean that it needs to be cooked carefully lest it become dry, but it is neutral enough to be used in most dishes, and accepts a wide variety of additional flavors.

Center cut pork chops, if properly trimmed, as also pretty cheap - though cost, leanness and flavor vary depending on the breed and provider. I’ve had several nice duroc pork chops for less than half the cost of beef.

I’d probably look askance at most of the ground pork options, because while cheap, they run from really fatty (often sold as a sausage base) to pretty fatty (an 80/20 blend similar to a juicy hamburger option).

If I wanted a low-fat ground protein, I’d probably look at ground turkey. It’s not my favorite, and it’s not as cheap as I’d like, but it’s more reasonable than beef, and my local store has a wide variety of fat percentages, as low as 97/3 last I checked. I prefer ground chicken for the applications you mention (more neutral in flavor) but it tends to be more pricey.

And of course, there are plenty of options using crumbled firm tofu that my wife enjoys at very reasonable costs. Rather than buying “cutlet” style tofu, she’ll get a box of firm or extra firm tofu, slice it, drain it with some pressure, and then freeze it. After freezing and thawing, you’ll drop even more moisture and it’ll be very easy to crumble.

Best of luck with whatever option works best for you!

3

I’ve recently started experimenting with tempeh. It’s a complete protein, and has very little flavor, so you can use marinades and spices to get it have whatever flavor profile you like. I usually cut it into strips, marinade it, then cook it in a pan similar to how I would cook bacon.

4

Tempeh is a fine option, but in my experience it tends to be more grainy/chewy than tofu. Which works to it’s advantage if you’re trying to have something with a more “meaty” texture, but not as great for crumbles. Though the wife only really experimented with it for a few months - as the meaty texture is something she’s actively trying to avoid.

5

Canned seafood: sardines, mussels, herring/kipper. I set a limit of about $3-4/can myself.

6

If you can stand liver, it’s very lean. The least expensive places I’ve seen it is in the frozen section at Walmart ($2,82/lb) or at Asian grocery stores. I like it, but I can’t eat it very often.

I know you’re looking beyond eggs and cottage cheese, but there are lots of recipes online for “flatbread” made of blenderized cottage cheese and eggs, spread out in a parchment-lined sheetpan and baked until lightly golden browned. Baking it until browned gives it an all-new toasted cheesy flavor. You can add a little garlic or onion powder or pesto before baking. It would make a good snack on its own, or a good base for toppings.

Meatballs in soups are good. If you make your own meatballs, you can use very lean meat.

7

Depending on how fancy or not you want to go, but these are my go to. I enjoy these several times a week. Quick and easy and lots of lean protein and very good. I’m type two so I skip the rice.

Trader Joes Cod dinner

8

Canned tuna, in water.

9

What is your current typical daily diet?

Have you actually calculated your current daily protein intake, counting all foods, including ones you may not think of as high protein?

How far away are you now?

Anyway suggestions in general.

Breakfast with non or low fat Greek yogurt, a higher protein cereal like Kashi Go, and hemp and/or chia seeds added. Add some kefir if it’s too thick.

Lunch and dinners. Chicken is versatile lean and not expensive. Decent climate impact wise too for an animal protein. Yes to the sardines and I am also a fan of canned mackerel. Both cheap, and in addition to protein serve up lots of healthy omega threes. Goes with your salads nicely and sprinkle some hemp seeds on too while your at it.

Red and black rice have more protein and fiber than even brown let alone white rice.

Snacks. I get through my work day snacking on a mix of roasted garbanzo beans (aka ceci or chickpeas), roasted edamame (soybeans), almonds, peanuts, other nuts, and bit of dried fruit.

If you still come up short a little whey powder in the morning yogurt mix bumps it right up there.

10

“Cheap” and “Lean” are probably relative ideas. But if you have a Costco/Sam’s Club membership here’s what I’d suggest for low effort, high reward bulk options (which is where you save a few bucks).

  1. Rotisserie Chicken. Can’t beat the price and ease here. Probably not the leanest option if you eat the skin, but if you like roast chicken it’s a solid option when time is short. And you can shred the leftovers and add the chicken to all kinds of things like protein pasta, rice and beans, and soup. You can also use the carcass to make stock which can add protein when used in place of water or bullion in other dishes.
  2. Pork Butt. These guys are often on sale and are huge. Price per pound will vary but they can be bought in bulk, portioned and frozen. I like to make carnitas/pulled pork in an Instant Pot which is easy, fast and delicious. The cooked shredded pork can be portioned for meal prep. Add to beans and rice in a bowl and you have a killer meal. Again, how lean this is will depend somewhat on how much you trim the pork and if you drain the fat after cooking.
  3. Skirt Steak/Arrachera. They sell whole marinated skirt steaks, usually about 5 pounds, which is relatively cheap by beef standards. Again, this is a great target for periodic sales, and they can be bought in bulk and frozen. I usually potion them into 1-1.5 lb steaks and then vacuum seal before freezing. They are super easy to thaw and then cook quickly. With just salt, pepper and garlic powder they grill or broil up amazingly well in just 5-7 minutes. Again, beef is never the cheapest meat option, and it’s not super lean, but compared to ribeye or skirt steak this is an awesome bang for the buck and much leaner. Also leaner than ground beef and is sometimes comparable in price.

None of this is “diet” food but if you don’t have dietary restrictions, I see no reason to punish yourself with flavorless protein supplements or meat replacements. Adding meat/protein to other dishes is a less efficient way to up your protein intake than simply eating a whole portion of meat. One 16oz skirt steak for dinner would fulfill your entire need for the day. Also steak and eggs is a classic breakfast option. Half a roast chicken would also meet the daily requirement.

11

if you’re looking for non meat options, then legumes are a great source of low fat protein with lots of fiber.

If you have access to a local Chinese or Japanese tofu shop that does their own on premise, then there are all sorts of goodies. Tofu “milk”, various types of tofu that differ greatly from the average supermarket “firm” tofu.