Protein

I had a friend mention to me that she isn't getting enough protein in her diet, and she wondered what foods were high in protein. Per her request, I am writing a post dedicated to protein. What is protein? Essentially protein is a nutrient needed to perform basic bodily functions.  Our body is partly made up of proteins.  You can read more about protein and its functions here.

How much protein do we need? You can calculate that here.  If you are a 145 pound woman like myself then you would need anywhere from 52-118 grams of protein, depending on how active your lifestyle is.

There are so many sources of protein. In my opinion, when people think protein they generally think meat.  Yes, meat provides a lot of protein.  3 ounces of lean beef has 31 grams of protein. One chicken breast contains 58 grams of protein. Animal protein is good, but you should also get your protein from other sources.

I know this week I am off dairy, but in general dairy is good in moderation. Cheese is a good source of protein. A tablespoon of parmesan cheese has 2 grams of protein.  An ounce of cottage cheese has 5 grams of protein.  A serving of greek yogurt can contain as much as 17 grams of protein.

Fish are full of protein.  A 3oz fillet of tuna, salmon, halibut or snapper has 22 grams of protein. Tilapia has 17 grams of protein.

Eggs are a great source of protein.  1 large egg has 6 grams of protein.  If you want to keep an eye on your cholesterol, you can use just the egg whites and still get 4 grams of protein.

There are also many options for those who do not do dairy or meat. 3 ounces of tofu offer 6 grams of protein. A cup of soymilk has 8 grams of protein.

Beans are a wonderful source of protein and there are a large variety of beans to choose from.  Soy beans (as I like to call Edamame) offer 29 grams of protein per cup. They make a great snack. They are really fun to peel open and pop in your mouth!  The following protein is per cup: kidney beans-17 grams, white beans-17 grams, lima beans-15 grams, fava beans-14 grams, black beans-15 grams, mung beans-14 grams. Beans are your friends! You could make a chili or bean stew and you have a high protein meal.

Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) have 39 grams of protein per cup. Most hummus is made from chickpeas, so a high protein snack could be fresh veggies and hummus. It is also really easy to make. Try this basic hummus recipe from the Barefoot Contessa.

Nuts and seeds also provide protein.  An ounce serving of either almonds, pistachios or sunflower seeds contains 6 grams of protein.  An ounce of peanuts is 7 grams.  2 tablespoons of peanut butter has 8 grams of protein.

You can also use protein powder, but be careful to look at the ingredients and nutrition facts.. Often a ton of sugar is added to protein powder.

A variety of vegetables provide protein, but a small amount. 1 cup of spinach has 1 gram of protein.  1/2 cup of steamed broccoli has 1 gram of protein.

Need some ideas for high protein meals/snacks? I have some for you!

Breakfast
Pumpkin Protein Shake at around 270 calories, this morning shake offers 30 grams of fat
Banana Oatmeal Smoothie 380 calories with 12 grams of protein
Breakfast Cookies and Bars 234 calories and 7.6 grams of protein

Snacks
Nutty Putty
1 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1 cup powdered milk

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Roll into about 16 balls with hands.  Can keep in the fridge or freeze. This makes a great snack! Each ball is 170 calories and 10 grams of protein. Be careful with this snack, though.  It can be addictive!

Trail mix--an ounce of mixed nuts is around 5 grams of protein

High-protein Portable Snacks

Larabars are great snacks, made from fruit and nuts. They contain anywhere from 4 to 6 grams of protein. Plus they can curb the sweet tooth.

Like I mentioned earlier, hummus is a good source of protein. A half cup of hummus has around 6 grams of protein.  Here are a few other hummus recipes: Green Monster Hummus, Hummus


Meals
Chili is a great way to get in protein. 1 cup has about 14 grams of protein and is very filling. I found a few different chili recipes: Easy Vegetarian Chili, 6 Delicious Chili Recipes, Turkey Black Bean Chili, Paleo Crock Pot Chili

Taco salad-using black beans and ground turkey. I like to top it with tomatoes, corn, cilantro, salsa, a little bit of cheese, and avocado.

Baked potato bar-- a baked potato has 3.5 grams of protein. Add cheese, greek yogurt, beans, sliced ham and you have around 12 grams of protein right there.

Honey Ginger Grilled Salmon  306 calories per serving and 36.5 grams of protein

Grilled Chili Lime Chicken 239 calories, 25.6 grams of protein

Maple Glazed Salmon 454 calories and 66 grams of protein


That's what I have for now. I hope this helps you out.  I plan on getting another post out soon on good snacks and food to curb cravings and keep you from going off the healthy bandwagon.  Happy eating!

-Kate, your not-too-fit guru

Clean Eating Challenge Meal Plan for Friday

Hey guys. I have come up with a meal plan for those of you who are interested in clean eating for a week.  You can go by what I am doing or come up with your own meal plans.  If you find something else that you like let me know!

Here is the Meal Plan for Friday:

Friday
Breakfast-  Peanut Butter Granola Make sure to use Natural Peanut Butter that doesn't have any additives in it. If you have a juicer, you can also make a Bright Light Green Juice. If you don't have a juicer, try out this  Get Your Greens Smoothie.

Snack- Sunshine Juice (or any other snack from the list later in this post)
Sunshine Juice recipe:
1 sweet potato
1 carrot
1 apple (cored)
1 orange (peeled)
small piece of ginger root

Rinse all ingredients. Then juice.  It is really tasty. I made some today and it was really refreshing.







Lunch- Quinoa Vegetable Salad with Lemon-Basil Dressing

Snack- Nuts and Dried Apricots

Dinner- Stuffed Pitas without the cheese. Looks good!


List of Healthy Snacks
Fresh fruit--bananas, apples, grapes, peaches, pears, strawberries, raspberries, watermelon, cantalope, oranges, clementines, etc.
Frozen fruit--grapes, bananas
Dried Fruit--apricots, raisins, dates (be careful that no extra sugar has been added)
Apples and Peanut Butter
Nuts--pecans, walnuts, almonds, peanuts, pistachios, cashews
Raw veggies with hummus (cucumbers, carrots, celery, bell peppers, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower,etc)
Sunflower seeds
Baked apples (filled with a little bit of pure maple syrup and cinnamon)
Guacamole with fresh veggies or Triscit type crackers (remember 5 ingredients or less!)
Larabar (these are made with 5 ingredients and all natural fruits and nuts!)
Edamame

Drink LOTS of water! I would say at least 10 cups of water. You can also drink herbal teas. I really enjoy mint tea. My mom is a nutrition coach and her advice is to also sip on warm water throughout the day. Nothing in it. Just plain old good warm water.

Eating clean doesn't mean starving yourself! Or depriving yourself of tasty food. If you try these recipes let me know how you liked them. I am excited to try all the meals out. Hopefully I will be able to put the rest of the week's meal plans out on Friday. Happy cleansing!

-Kate, your not-too-fit guru

Clean Eating Challenge

I have not been eating well. I want to eat well. I tell myself I am going to eat well. But then I want those Pepridge Farm Mint Milano cookies. Or I want Junior Mints. Or I want to make naughty homemade chocolate chip cookies. It is really hard to eat well these days, but I REALLY want to.

It is time to challenge myself. I think baby steps are in order to make a healthy change.  I am going to start myself off with a week long challenge. I am going to eat clean for one whole week, starting today. What does that mean? I am not going to eat processed foods. If it comes in a can or a package, it has to have less than 5 ingredients in it, and those ingredients can't be chemicals.  I will eat fruits and vegetables, I will drink only water and herbal tea. I will not have any dairy for the week.  I will eat whole grains and brown/wild rice and quinoa. I will eat beans. Eggs are ok.

I WILL NOT EAT: candy, chocolate, cheese, milk, chips, cookies, crackers (unless they are whole grain less than 5 ingredients with no chemicals), butter, sugary things.

I am putting this in a post so I will be held accountable.  I need to make a change! So from today to next Thursday I am clean eating. Who will join me in this challenge? I would love to have a friend in this.

This morning I made a green juice in my juicer: spinach, zucchini, celery, carrot, apple. It was NASTY! But it was healthy.  I am going to the store this morning to get some more fruits and veggies. I will log my meals so you can get an idea of some healthy but tasty clean eating meals.