Six Foods To Sneak Protein Into Your Diet
Atypical foods and their uses that will boost your protein intake
Getting in enough protein everyday can be hard. This is especially true if you’ve transitioned from an unrestricted diet to a protein-focused one.
Foods like lean meats, protein bars, and protein shakes are the common go-tos when switching to a protein-focused diet. While they’re great protein sources, we all eventually get sick and tired of eating them and need additional foods to keep meals interesting.
That’s why I’ve assembled a list of six different foods that you can add to your meals to increase your protein intake with ease. If you’re struggling to hit your protein goals then let me show you some foods that should help.
Bone Broth
Instead of just using regular broth in your meals swap it with this protein packed liquid. It’s full of nutrients like collagen and has 10g protein per cup. Use it to increase the protein in soup, chili, gravy or any other other recipe that requires broth. Try it out with this chicken tortilla recipe from one of my meal plans.
Edamame
If you want to get protein from vegetables, then this is one of your best bets. These soybeans are usually served as appetizers at Japanese restaurants and with good reason. They’re delicious and have around 18g of protein per cup. Add these as a side during your next meal or as an additional component in your next fried rice!
Protein Bread
Believe it or not, there are all kinds of bread out there that have nearly double the protein of a normal slice. Sliced bread, bagels, hamburger buns, english muffins, and more! Protein bread can have between 6-13 grams of protein per serving. It’s a simple way to up your protein when having toast or a sandwich. Here’s a great article from the Diet Chef outlining many of the available options.
Green Peas
This is the next best bet for getting in a protein boost from vegetables. Armed with 8g protein per cup and a good amount of fiber, green peas can be used in many different ways. Have it as a side dish or as additional ingredient in stews, soup, or curry. This smashed pea recipe in particular is worth a try!
Nutritional Yeast
Are you craving the taste of cheese in your diet but are lactose intolerant? Try out this non-dairy alternative with 8g protein per 1/4 cup. Add it to popcorn, salads, pasta, or in any dish that requires a cheesy or umami flavor. You can read some additional uses cases by checking out this article by Plant Centered Nutrition!
Cottage Cheese
Cottage cheese is so versatile that you could use it in hundreds of ways. With a few adjustments, you can replace ricotta with it, even though it's a bit more watery. That means you can use it in pancakes, lasagna, eggs, and the list goes on. At 13g protein per 1/2 cup, this is definitely one food to have in your protein arsenal. Here’s a cookie dough recipe I saw on TikTok that used cottage cheese.
I hope these food ideas make hitting your protein goals a lot easier. If they do, be sure to pass it along to someone else!
I’ll be releasing a high-protein muffin recipe using cottage cheese later this week that you won’t want to miss. Enjoy the rest of the week, and I’ll see you soon!
Eat Well,
Marcus Matkins