4 Ways to Sneak More Protein into Your Diet

How do you sneak more protein into your diet with either feeling overly full, or like all you do is eat protein all day? I’m sharing 4 foodie tricks that I use to do just that.

You Know You Need to Eat More Protein…But Why?

If you exercise regularly and have some goals in mind for your body and health, you’ve probably heard that you need to be eating more protein. Maybe you read it in a training magazine or your nutrition coach told you that it would help you reach your goals faster.

Why? What’s so important about protein?

1. Protein boosts recovery and growth.
   
   Have you ever felt sore after a workout? You feel sore because during your workout you actually damaged muscle. Exercise – specifically lifting – creates microtears in the muscles. So when you’re sore, you’re feeling that.
   
   The idea that workouts cause damage is a bit counterintuitive but this is where protein comes in to it’s VIP role. Protein provides your body with amino acids. These are the nutrients it needs to start to repair that damage and moreover, start to build more, and stronger, muscle so that next time you workout, it can handle the load.
   
2. Protein keeps your metabolism revving on high.
   
   Muscle is metabolically active. That means that the more muscle you have, the more energy your body exerts to maintain it. More muscle = harder working metabolism.
   
   Plus, your body has to work harder to breakdown protein than it does any other macronutrient. The process of digestion requires energy (calories). So the more protein you eat, and the frequency at which you eat it throughout the day can have an effect on overall metabolism.
   
   Both of these metabolic reasons are important factors in body composition change and muscle growth.
   
3. Amino acids are key components in countless bodily functions.
   
   Protein is found throughout the body, not just in muscle tissue. In virtually every cell in every part of your body – from bone to skin to hair – you will find protein. It makes up the enzymes that power chemical reactions and it makes up the hemoglobin that transports oxygen in your blood. Whether you want to build muscle, get stronger, get leaner or you’re just looking to live your best, healthiest life – protein plays a big role.
   
   You can see that because your body uses amino acids in practically every process it goes through. In order to have any nutrients leftover for muscle building and physique transformation you have to eat more.

Eat More Protein: Heard. But How Much More?

How much protein is enough protein? Opinions vary but one thing is pretty clear: recreational athletes and physically active human beings in general do not consume enough protein to support their goals.

The bare minimum recommendation for daily intake is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight. That provides your body with enough protein to not be deficient.

But as a woman with fitness goals, the bare minimum isn’t going to get you there (at least not efficiently). Your goal, woman with fitness goals, is to shoot for 0.8-1 gram of protein per pound of ideal bodyweight.

Here’s the difference in numbers:

When following the bare minimum numbers, a 140-pound woman would eat only 50 grams of protein.
But if you switch to a fitness and physique perspective, you’re protein goal lands between 112-140 grams of protein.

How to Hit Your Protein Goal

Sounds like a lot but honestly, 112-140 grams is 100% reachable. A 3 ounce serving of chicken contains 27 grams of protein. 1 large egg has 6 grams of protein. A 1/2 cup serving of cottage cheese gives you a full 12 grams.

See? It’s pretty achievable if you have a plan (like the one below).

If you’re still feeling a bit iffy about hitting your goals, here a couple of tips you can use. These are tricks that I use to hit my own protein goal each day.

4 Ways to Sneak More Protein into Your Diet

The bulk of your dietary protein will come from clean, lean sources like chicken, fish, eggs and cottage cheese. But you might find that you to fill in the protein gaps some days. Here’s how to do that.

Add Egg Whites

A single egg white has 3.6 grams of protein and just 17 calories. That’s like…free protein and that makes it an ingredient worth taking advantage of. Plus, you can buy them by the carton at the grocery store and never crack an extra egg or waste an egg yolk again.

Egg whites on their own are a little boring (just an opinion). But using them as an added ingredient can boost your protein intake all day long. Check it out:

• Add 3 egg whites to your regular egg scramble; +10.8 grams of protein
• Stir in 2 egg whites into your oatmeal; + 7.2 grams of protein
• Blend 2 egg whites into your smoothie; +7.2 grams of protein
• Cook up 2-3 egg whites, fold them up, add them to your sandwich (Egg White BLT?!); +7.2-10.8 grams

Use Greek Yogurt

Greek yogurt is a fantastic, vegetarian-friendly source of protein. Just a 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt brings a 17 gram serving of protein. Best bet: buy local, plain, low fat Greek yogurt in a big tub. Plain yogurt gives you all the protein and all the probiotics with none of the added sugar that comes with flavored and fruit-on-bottom varieties.

You can definitely use Greek yogurt as the star of the show with parfaits or yogurt and granola. Or, you can sneak more protein in like this:

• Make frozen yogurt
• Make yogurt-based dressings like Yogurt Ranch or Yogurt Blue Cheese
• Turn heavier dips into healthier dips by subbing in 1/2 or the full amount of sour cream, cream cheese or mayonnaise with Greek yogurt
• Sub Greek yogurt in for sour cream on chili or with nachos
• Mix Dijon mustard into a dollop of Greek yogurt to smear on sandwiches and wraps

Choose Fats and Carbs that Contain Protein

There are foods that are primarily made up of protein. But there are plenty of non-protein based foods that contain protein, too. This is an especially important tip to sneak more protein in to a vegetarian diet.

High Protein Carbs

• Beans
• Lentils
• Chickpeas
• Green peas
• Protein pasta
• Quinoa
• Buckwheat
• Oats
• Milk

High Protein Fats

• Nuts and nut butters
• Seeds and seed butters
• Cheese

Protein Powder

Protein powder comes in hundreds of flavors and a variety of base-ingredients. Whey, casein and egg proteins are super high in protein. There are also vegetarian options like pea protein, hemp and brown rice protein powders as well. You can go wild with the type of protein you want but no matter what, make sure that you are buying a high quality, low-temperature processed product for the best bio-availabity and absorption.

You can always shake up a simple shake (especially post-workout), but here are 7 ways to use protein powder that you might not have thought of:

• Add it to oatmeal.
• Make protein pancakes or waffles
• Bake off some protein cookies (bake or no bake)
• Make snack bites
• Add it to your coffee or hot chocolate
• Stir it into Greek yogurt (double duty)
• Make chia pudding with added protein powder