5 foods that are not really that high in protein

Protein is finally getting the attention it deserves, however many people are not choosing the right sources and/or the right amounts.

How much protein do we really need?

Humans are resilient. No matter how much we push it, people will be able to survive on minimal amounts of nutrients, including protein. However, if you want to optimise health, you should try to get 1.2-1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of ideal body weight per day. In addition, it is recommended to distribute your protein doses throughout the day to make sure you are able to digest and utilise every single bit. There is evidence that most people should be consuming a minimum of 20-25g of protein per meal to maximise muscle maintenance/growth.

This means that if you weigh 70kg and are looking to maintain muscle mass (i.e., your ideal body weight = 70kg), you need to eat 84-112g protein per day. You could break this down into 3 main meals containing 35 grams of protein per meal for a total of 105 grams, for example.

In addition, you want most of your protein intake to be coming from good quality sources (i.e., those that contain a good array of amino acids and that are easily digestible, such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs and dairy).

1. Eggs

Yes, eggs are highly nutritious and a source of quality protein, however not in the amount people usually consume them. Many clients tell me they eat one egg on toast as a high protein breakfast or lunch option. 1 hard-boiled egg has 5-6.6 grams of protein depending on the size, not meeting the minimum of 20-30 grams for a meal and forcing you to eat a lot more protein in the rest of your meals.

2. Mushrooms

A lot of people who don’t eat meat think mushrooms are a great substitute. Culinarily, maybe. Nutritionally, no. 100 grams of common mushrooms contain 2.2 grams of protein. Compare that with the same amount of cooked Scotch fillet steak (30.3g protein), grilled chicken breast (29.8g protein) or even canned chickpeas (6.3g protein).

3. Tofu

Tofu is a great plant-based substitute to animal proteins but not all tofu is created the same. Unfortunately, not all products have the same protein content. Silken tofu contains more water and, therefore, less protein. For example, Coles Nature’s Kitchen silken tofu contains only 4.4g protein per 100g. IN contrast, their firm tofu contains 16.5g protein per 100g. However, other firm tofu contain as little as 5.35g protein per 100g. Moral of the story: read labels.

4. Cheese

Yes, similar to eggs, cheese also contains protein. However, relying on cheese to meet your protein targets for the day will carry a lot of extra calories from fat and sodium, which can be an issue for some people. A lot of my clients are used to having a cheese sandwich for lunch, which contains a grand total of 1 slice of cheese. Depending on the cheese, this could mean as little as 4g of protein. If you’d like to reach 20g of protein, you would need up to 5 slices, equalling ~260kcal.

5. Peanut butter

Yes, nuts and peanuts are nutritious foods and can contribute to total protein intake but should not be the sole protein source in a meal. For example, if you have a regular spread of peanut butter on a piece of toast, you get 2.22g of protein and 60kcal. If you eat a tablespoon of peanut butter with your porridge, you are just adding 5.55g protein and 149kcal.

Summary and recommendations

If you are at the stage of your health journey in which you are trying to optimise your protein intake, use a combination of food logging apps and nutrition labels to find out which sources have a highest percentage of quality protein and in what amounts.

[Photo by Christian Cueni on Unsplash]

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