Ten Tips to Get More Protein

Ten Tips to Get More Protein

Ten Ways toEat More Protein

Drink It.

This of course is the easy one. MRP?s and protein powders allow for the easiest way toconsume a large amount of protein above what you can get from regular wholefood. Whole food is still the best source due to other nutrients and growthfactors that are included in the raw state and sometimes lost in the processinginto a powder. Pre-mixed canned protein, or RTD?s canbe convenient, but the quality can be suspect. Having a shaker bottle on handwith a scoop or two of easily mixed protein powder, usually isolates are the best, make it easy to have quality protein on hand withouthaving to keep it refridgerated. All you have to dois find some water to mix it with.

Pop It.

I gained this one from Beverly Nutrition, whichpromotes free-form amino tablets. Again, this is something you don?t have toworry about keeping cold and can be carried around in your gym bag all day(just keep it out of extreme heat). Popping four pills with each meal, or in between meals can add up to an extra 25-30g ofprotein a day. The other benefit is that it?s easily assimilated and a completeprotein source, containing all essential and non-essential amino acids forgrowth. Once it?s a habit, it will fill in any gaps that your main protein sourcelacks when eaten with a meal and extra protein in between meals.

Chew It.

Rather then always relying on supplements forextra protein on the go. A great source is beef or turkey jerky. Grantedthere?s a chunk of salt, but after always drinking shake after shake, it?s niceto chew on something for once. I usually smuggle it into movies, instead of chowing on popcorn, and with some jerkysbeing tough, you?ll be occupied on gnawing on it for most of the film. Forthose with out a dehydrator and don?t want to incur a large amount of expenseof always buying jerky, here?s a recipe to make your own at home:

Any lean source ofprotein that can be sliced into strips.

Marinade as you desire, with all the Carb-Free marinades makes sugar free jerky easy.

Kosher salt to cureit.

Marinade roast overnight

Slice meat into 3-4?strips, about a 1/4? thick.

Set the strips directly on the oven rack witha drip tray on the bottom rack.

Set the oven on the lowest possible setting (150?, or the \"Warm\" setting will do fine)

?Dry Out? the strips alone for at least fivehours. Longer for tougher jerky.

Just remember since these aren?t heavily curedor preserved, it?ll only last a few days stored in the fridge.

Boil It.

Another way to avoid bars and shakes, and haveprotein on the go is hard-boiled eggs. A great complete protein source that?sportable. Granted keeping them cold is a concern, but you?re able to boil adozen at a time and snacking on 3-4 eggs gives you a solid 15-25g of proteindepending on if you eat the whole egg or just the white. Hard boiled eggs canalso be thrown on your salads to bump up protein content and with the eggscoring a perfectscore as far as complete protein sources go, they round out any lacking aminos of the main source of protein used.

Sip It.

Add protein to your water. There are manyflavored BCAA supplements out there, and an easy way to take them, is to use acorresponding flavor of sugar-free Kool-Aid or other drink mix. Filling youwater bottle full of the prepared drink mix and then mixing in 10g of BCAA?s into it, is an easy way to sip all day extra aminos, which both curb hunger in between meals and keepyour muscles from being catabolic.

Plain Yogurt to the Rescue

An easy way to bump up protein content is theuse of low-fat plain yogurt. With a solid 10g or more of protein per ? cup and it?s tartness, it can be used and substituted for a fewcommon things that have very little protein to begin with. It?s a greatreplacement for anything that calls for sour cream, there?s only a mild tastedifference and in Mexican recipes, you can?t even tell. Dressings can bediluted with plain yogurt, which will lower the fat content of the dressing andbump up the protein.

Flax power.

But that?s a healthy fat right? True, but whenyou use ground flax seeds, not just the oil, along with it comes a good amountof fiber and few grams of protein. In recipes, flax seed meal can besubstituted for half the amount of butter or oil called for, boosting theomega-3, fiber content and protein of the recipe.

Plan and prepare

Planning out your daily intake every day, willmake it easier to consume the amount of protein you need. If you need 200g aday and eat 5 times, you know you?ll need a solid 40g of protein in every meal.Also preparing your meals in advance, knowing that you have 40g in each andevery meal makes it simple and easy to follow. Nothing is left to chance, ifit?s already planned and prepared and ready to eat waiting for you to chowdown.

Portable Tuna.

Now that tuna and salmon,come in the very portable vacuum sealed pouches, those times for a quick highprotein meal with no fork or place to drain off the water-packed can are over.Using a food-service single packet or low-fat mayo and pickle relish,everything can be squeezed into the pouch, squished around and squeezed out.Next to nothing mess, unless you?re that uncoordinated and a solid 25-40g ofprotein depending on the pouch size. Gross you say, well I didn?t say all thesetips would be gourmet eating, but you have one more option in your arsenal toeat quality protein all day long.

It?s the Cheese

With low-fat cheeses pretty common, theprotein content is equal to or exceeds the amount of fat in a lot of cheeses.Simply adding it to your eggs or salad can boost protein content. Low-fatstring cheese can be a portable source of protein. Low-fat cottage cheeseboosts the highest protein content and a natural source of glutamine andanti-catabolic casein. Whip it up in a blender and mix it with a pudding mix,and you have a high protein dessert. Whip it up with a dab of flavored mustardand you have a dressing mix to blend into tuna or other sandwich salads thatboost up the protein content and provide a more complete protein source in themeal.

So there you have it, ten ways to make gettingthat 1g per lb of bodyweight protein requirement just a little easier.