@jharsh

Hi,

I always buy organic skinless chicken breasts and organic chop meat to use in a variety of vegetables. We have a brand of chicken sausage here that I like so I will roast them along with potatoes and any vegetable I happen to have on hand. I eat fish and am partial to Baramundi and Salmon….neither of them farm raised.

Beans and nuts are a good source of high protein. I use almonds and walnuts in salads and any baked goods or dishes such as chicken piccata. Always snacking on pistachios and peanuts.

I don’t eat too many beans but I do make lentil or pea soup on occasion. One of my favorite snacks is to take a can of chickpeas, rinse and then coat with olive oil, sal and pepper and roast until golden brown. They taste like nuts .Another snack is edamame.

There are high protein vegetables you may already be eating like Brussels sprouts. You can goggle a list and select your favorites. I am partial to kale and spinach and sweet potatoes and squash and often use spaghetti squash as pasta.

One thing I do is use chia seeds a lot… very high in protein (not cheap) and I sprinkle in salads or whatever and have made chia pudding as a desert. I also use ground flax seed.

Low fat dairy products like yogurt…I eat plain Greek yogurt topped with fruit and a sprinkle of nuts or granola for breakfast or avocado toast. I eat eggs and keep hard boiled on hand to throw in salads or make egg salad.

I try to eat gluten free as much as I can and buy and keep in the freezer any gluten free hamburger rolls, English muffins and bagels. Gluten free products are not cheap but I try to avoid as much wheat as possible. The pasta that I do eat is Dreamfield which has more protein.

I make a fair amount of soups because you can put just about any good protein in them.
I have a lot of seasonings and oils and vinegars in my pantry along with a boatload of chicken and beef bone broth. If a recipe calls for water I will substitute one of the bone broths instead because it tastes better depending on the recipe. The sipping bone broth is a good drink in the afternoon .

If you are already a cook you won’t need a special high protein cookbook. Goggle the high proteins for seniors and pick your favorites. If you feel you need more you can always supplement with a daily protein shake but watch the grams of sugar listed. And remember to translate grams into teaspoon to get the real idea of how much sugar there really is in the product.

I avoid canned foods except for San Mariano tomatoes and chickpeas, try to get as much organic as I can in vegetables (not necessary for hard skinned vegetables like avocados) and organic chicken, meat and fresh water fish.

I like to cook and eat lol so this is long. I have a healthy appetite and weigh 108 on my 5ft 6 inch frame. If I want a pizza or a good steak I go for it.

There is a recipe discussion on this forum somewhere that was fairly active for a while.

FL Mary

Depending on any restrictions (self chosen or medically required), animal proteins are very rich in protein. I eat meat, as lean as possible, and chicken, trying to focus on fish - especially fatty fish high in antioxidants, like salmon, sardines, tuna and others. (Catch there, is that to avoid toxins like mercury, one can be forced to pay much extra for "wild caught" as farmed fish is somewhat contaminated.)

I've been getting a lot of mileage lately out of canned salmon, which I use in green salad (I'd never have thought it would taste good but it does) , croquettes, salmon salad. The bagged salmon now available is very tasty, and handy for carry around snacks (doesn't require refrigeration). Both are economical too.

Sardines are surprisingly cheap, though it's getting harder to find inexpensive wild caught sardines. They're super handy as snacks to carry around, though.

As for non-meat based protein, eggs,: cheese (I like lower fat cheese too) and softer cheeses and milk products like ricotta, cottage cheese, yogurt (I LOVE the thicker kinds low/no fat or not). I used to make it, in fact, which I learned how to do from my former Turkish by marriage family.

Haven't used artificial meat products much, but I hear some are good substitutes though they're not as much cheaper than meat as I'd expect. May also be high in salt.

If you consume other non animal based protein, you can make many things out of tofu - it can be a meat substitute, especially with spices. (There are some really intriguing recipes on line turning tofu into fabulous stir fry and other ways of utilizing it in mixed dishes). Also, seitan and combination legumes/grains (some "ancient" for variety). Just make sure, you are getting all the amino acids you need so they are "whole proteins" at least, in combination.

I don't know as much as I'd like to about whether one needs to consume these partial proteins in one meal or whether it works getting them during the day in separate meals or snacks.

Protein powders (watching out for sugars or other unhealthy contents) can be very handy for healthy smoothies especially if you don't worry - I do - about high fructose ingredients like ripe bananas.

Whole grains (including whole grain bread) with other ingredients can be delicious (I love hummus, falafel and
tabouli - bulgur especially with whole grain pita.) The whole grain is not higher protein, but healthier because of fiber and other ingredients,

There are MANY references on line about protein sources. If you sign up for "My Fitnesspal" and enter your meal ingredients, it will let you know how many grams of protein you're getting. (It will also tell you fat content, which you say you need to know). Excessive protein WILL turn into fat if you don't exercise enough to burn it up, though.

I like nuts, have gotten a bit addicted to roasted almonds (healthiest are salt free, overall ). There are a LOT of delicious flavored kinds, which can be treacherous for calorie counters. Soy flavors, smoked, a Thai "lime leaf" and more. Trader Joes carries a great variety ) . They contain protein, fat and fiber. I'm trying to cut down, though! Some nuts (and nut pastes) are high in protein, but you need to familiarize yourself with their ingredients to compare (pistachios, hazelnuts and cashews are very high fat.)

If you acquaint yourself about high protein foods you like, it will be easy to get enough protein without excessive nit-picking (listing every single calorie source!). One critical ingredient to success, is to find foods you enjoy which provide needed ingredients. Then you won't feel deprived. If you like curry, you have a head start.

Good luck!

BTW noticing again that you need to get to 1700 calories, there are MANY carbs (healthiest is high fiber, unrefined) to fill you in.

Some vegetables are pretty high in calories (and some contain notable protein) - suggest: baked potatoes (with the skin), corn, eggplant, avocados (yes, high in unsaturated fat but very healthy). Again Dr. Google will be helpful there.

I can't for the life of me understand why broth was suggested for your overall dietary needs, as broth (especially low fat) contains scarcely any calories. Bone broth does contain protein, but - heck, it's suggested for weight loss.

If you are allowed carbs, fruit can be quite high calorie - personally, I love mangos, which are high calorie and high fiber.

Hi, jlharsh! As to protein, I start my day with a whey protein isolate powder shake. Due to MCAS-GI (diarrhea), I now leave out the organic cacao powder and organic Ceylon cinnamon powder since they're both high histamine. I buy unflavored protein powder (don't want those artificial flavors/sweeteners) so add some organic stevia, 1 T of organic extra virgin olive oil and some filtered water before shaking. The other 3 T of EVOO? I just spoon them into my mouth. (Bear in mind, I want the heart/artery benefits of olive oil and am trying to gain weight.)

Recently I've had a victory with my GI problems! Cautiously, I added some plain Greek yogurt to my diet in the morning, increasing a bit three days in a row. Zero bad reaction! So, today I had a full serving of yogurt instead of that protein shake described above. Again, no reaction!!! From now on, I can alternate between the protein shake and the full serving of yogurt.

For lunch, I have a protein cookie or two and perhaps a handful of macadamia nuts.

Dinner might be boneless, skinless chicken breast or a wild caught salmon filet.

Throughout the day, I snack on macadamia nuts if feeling a bit "peckish."

I do know eating more than 30 grams of protein at a sitting can be a waste since most stomachs contain only enough acid and digestive enzymes to process 30 grams at a time. Another factoid? Space those protein servings at least two hours apart so your stomach has time to produce more/enough stomach acid and enzymes to process your next meal or protein snack.

Last tidbit of info: How much protein do you need? Based on your weight (or your ideal weight). Take your weight in pounds and divide by two. That's how many grams of protein you need to maintain those muscles and more. So, someone who weighs 120 pounds needs 60 grams of protein per day.

There are vegetarian sources, too. I was a lacto/ovo vegetarian for years yet had low cholesterol. Totally vegan sources would be rice combined with beans. You can research for more info on that and other vegan alternatives.

Wishing you the best!

Just remembered something else I've added to my diet recently--for protein. Quinoa. I confess I buy a convenience food at Aldi that comes in two flavors: A Mediterranean Quinoa Chicken Bowl and a Southwest Quinoa Chicken Bowl. Of course you can make hot entrees with quinoa as the base or create a chilled salad that includes quinoa. Many recipes on the Internet or get creative and come up with something unique that pleases YOUR palate. Just reading recipes can inspire you!