Most of us who are at least somewhat concerned about remaining healthy will have a range of strategies to consume enough protein throughout the day.
Protein shakes are a common go-to, but they’re not exactly culinarily-inspiring. If you’re looking for some alternatives, then we’re pleased to say that you’ve come to the right place – here are our three favourite protein-rich foods to replace shakes with.
- Eggs
Eggs are one of the healthiest ways that you can replace your protein shake. They’re affordable, you can eat 1 or 6, they’re very quick to prepare, and can be integrated into any number of different meals.
You can fry your eggs and have them with some roasted vegetables, boil them and pop them in a Tupperware box to have later, or make a delicious omelette with your favourite herbs and some pieces of porchetta.
The protein you find in eggs is incredibly bioavailable, meaning that your body can use it much more easily than, say, the protein you’d find in peas. It also has a whole host of vitamins – a seriously good alternative to a boring protein shake.
- Tuna
Tuna is another highly convenient, versatile, healthy and affordable source of protein to replace your protein shakes with. If you’re feeling fancy, you can opt for some fresh tuna, but you can just as easily stock up on tinned tuna from somewhere like John West.
You can eat it alone, put it in a tuna melt sandwich, mix it into a salad, or have it with a baked potato – the options go on. It’s also incredibly easy to store for long periods of time, and easy to take to work or to a picnic, just make sure that the people you work with aren’t too easily offended by faintly fishy smells.
- Chicken
Lastly, no protein-oriented food guide would be complete without chicken. There are around 27 grams of protein in 100 grams of chicken, and it’s quite low-fat, making it a great base from which to launch your protein-rich meal.
Chicken can be integrated into a whole host of different meals – you can fry it in breadcrumbs and make a katsu curry, leave it in the fridge in honey, soy sauce and ginger for a while and then pan fry it, or roast it in oil and herbs in the oven.
Chicken has the added benefit of being quite affordable, and will keep for months if you pop it in the freezer; a great staple to have lying around for when you eventually need it.
It’s important to note that while these are all great options, you need to make sure that you continue to mix things up. Don’t get stuck with a single ingredient or meal; you’ll likely get just as sick of it as you will of protein shakes after a long enough time period. Never stop exploring, and never reduce the food you eat to something as simple as a macro nutrient: it needs to also stay enjoyable.
