How To Increase Protein In Your Diet

Struggling To Increase Your Protein Intake?

Protein is a key nutrient that supports everything from muscle repair and growth to maintaining healthy skin, hair, and nails. Whether you’re omnivorous or following a vegan diet, ensuring you get enough protein can make a big difference in your overall health and energy levels. Here are some easy tips and snack ideas to help you increase your protein intake, regardless of your dietary preferences.

Why Protein Matters

Protein is essential for:

Muscle Repair and Growth: Especially important for those who are active, protein helps to repair and build muscle tissue. It’s also important to eat protein in our diet to help prevent against muscle loss as we age (combined with resistance training).
Satiety and Weight Management: High-protein foods help you feel fuller longer, which can prevent overeating and aid in weight management.
Metabolism Boost: Digesting protein burns more calories than fats or carbohydrates, giving your metabolism a slight boost.
Supporting Immune Function: Protein helps produce antibodies that protect against illnesses.

Easy Tips to Increase Protein Intake

Start with Protein at Breakfast

For All Eaters: Eggs, Greek yogurt, and cottage cheese are great protein-rich breakfast options. You can also add slices of smoked salmon to your morning meal.

For Vegans: Try tofu scramble, or overnight oats mixed with dairy free milk and a scoop of plant-based protein powder, topped with nuts or seeds.

Choose satisfying snacks

For All Eaters: Choose snacks like hard-boiled eggs, or a lower fat cottage cheese (lower fat dairy will be higher in protein) with fresh fruit or with whole-grain crackers.

For Vegans: Opt for a bean salad, roasted chickpeas – team these with an additional plant based protein shake for a protein boost.

Incorporate Protein in Every Meal

For All Eaters: Include lean meats like chicken, turkey, or fish in your meals. Adding lentils or beans as a side dish, in your meals or to your salads is another easy way to boost protein.

For Vegans: Beans, lentils, tempeh, tofu, and seitan are good sources of plant-based protein that can be added to salads, stir-fries, and wraps.

Try Protein Supplements

For All Eaters: Whey protein powder can be mixed into smoothies, oats, or pancakes for a quick protein boost.

For Vegans: There are plenty of plant-based protein powders available, such as pea protein or soy protein, that can be easily added to shakes or smoothies.

Here are some additional snack ideas:

Greek Yogurt with Nuts: Top a serving of Greek yogurt with a handful of nuts and a drizzle of honey.
Tuna: Create a mix of tuna, herbs, low fat dressing of choice and spread it on rice cakes. If you haven’t tried my Joe and the Juice Spicy Tuna dupe, this is a really tasty mix to try.
Hard-Boiled Eggs: A classic, portable snack that’s rich in protein and easy to prepare in advance.
Edamame: These green soybeans are a fantastic source of plant-based protein and make for a satisfying snack.
Protein Bars: Choose a vegan protein bar made with natural ingredients like nuts, seeds, and dates.
Protein Smoothies: Blend a scoop of protein powder with a milk of choice, and frozen fruit.

Focusing on increasing your protein in various everyday meals and snacks overtime will add up to an overall positive change. Whether you eat all foods or follow a vegan diet, there are plenty of easy ways to boost your protein with delicious meals and snacks. By incorporating some of these tips and ideas into your daily routine, you can support your health and energy levels while enjoying a variety of satisfying foods.