As many of us are now well aware, consuming adequate amounts of protein in our diet is extremely important. Our bodies depend on protein for vital processes - including muscle growth, immune function, nutrient transport and hormone synthesis. Eating a diet rich in protein can therefore offer numerous benefits, particularly for metabolic health.
Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend that adults consume around 0.75-1g of protein per kg per day in order to meet their basic protein needs, and to prevent things like muscle loss. However, if you’re relatively active or have special needs, your optimal protein intake increases to around 1-2g per kg per day. Hitting these targets may seem unattainable, especially if you’re time-poor, don’t like eating meat, or want to stick to a realistic grocery budget.
Fortunately, there are plenty of simple, cost-effective and most importantly, enjoyable, ways to add more protein to your diet!
Here are my 4 favourite tips:
Load up at breakfast to start the day strong
The easiest way to get more protein into your day is to start early and set yourself up right! While many conventional breakfast foods are low in protein, including toast and cereals, there are plenty of options for higher protein alternatives or tricks to boost your favourite breakfasts.
For example:
- Simply switching from cereal to oatmeal could add an extra 5g protein per serve to your breakfast
- Going savoury and starting the day with a 3-egg scramble or omelette could provide up to 19g of protein
- For those of us short on time, adding protein powder to our smoothies or cereals can easily add 30g protein with minimal effort required!
- For early-risers or those who need a quick ‘first breakfast’ before training, grabbing a high protein yoghurt or one of our Better Being Protein Bars for something quick and on-the-go will ensure you’re still getting at least 10g protein in nice and early!
Pick snacks with added protein
Research shows that spreading your protein intake throughout the day by including high-protein snacks between meals is an effective way to reach your protein intake goals, and to more optimally support muscle growth, blood sugar levels and appetite regulation.
Fuelling yourself between meals with a snack offering at least 5-10g protein per serve is a great place to start. This could be your favourite flavour Nourish Bites, 1-2 protein balls made using our Protein Ball Mixes, or a high-protein baked good using one of the many recipes we have in our Journal. If you don’t have a sweet tooth, I'm also a big fan of snacks like boiled eggs, avocado and Vegemite on rice cakes, or cottage cheese and/or hummus with crackers or veggie sticks.
Meal prep & make it convenient
If you want to add more protein to your diet, it’s important to be intentional about it! Ideally, you should aim for 30-40g protein per main meal - which can require some planning!
I suggest prepping some high-protein meals in advance so you know you’ll be getting an adequate amount of protein in these meals, even when life gets busy or chaotic. If you prefer making meals fresh, at least have your fridge well-stocked with some easy protein sources that you can readily throw into your meals.
Certainly, if you’re struggling to eat enough protein throughout the day, a lack of accessible options might be contributing to the problem. Keeping easy-to-use sources of protein on hand can make meal and snack time easier and can help you eat more protein throughout the day.
This is why I also love prepping some high-protein sweet options or baked goods as a back-up for those times where we want a sweet treat, but aren’t craving a full meal or anything savoury. Following one of our recipes, or adding protein powder, Greek yogurt, and seeds to baked goods can easily boost their protein content - and still satisfy your soul a little!
Don’t forget plant based sources
When we think protein, we often think of meat or fish as our only options - which, we get it, can feel pretty uninspiring or unappealing to eat all day every day. This is why we love using plant-based protein sources for variety!
Legumes, including beans and lentils, are amongst the richest sources of protein you can eat, they’re affordable and versatile. A ½ cup serving of cooked beans can provide 6 to 15 g of protein!
Nuts and seeds are also a convenient, ready-to-eat source of protein that can be enjoyed on their own as a snack or added to dishes like salads to boost their protein content. This is why we pack our bars with nuts like cashews to easily boost the plant-based protein content.
Just remember, if you don’t eat meat, you will have to pay closer attention to whether you’re consuming enough complete proteins. Since most plant proteins are incomplete, you will need to mix and match your protein sources to ensure you are getting all the amino acids you need to increase your performance. You can easily combine incomplete protein foods and create “complementary proteins” - these are proteins that, when eaten together, include all essential amino acids. Some good examples of this include peanut butter on whole-wheat bread, or rice and beans.
Steph's take home message: For most of us, eating enough protein or increasing our protein intake is crucial for our health, wellbeing and longevity. Achieving optimal protein intake doesn’t need to be expensive, boring or time-consuming, in fact, it can be so simple, quick and enjoyable once you try some of our above suggestions!
Steph's Top Snack Picks
