17 Foods with More Protein Than an Egg to Boost Your Meals
Bump up your daily protein intake with this mix of vegetarian and animal-based options. The post 17 Foods with More Protein Than an Egg to Boost Your Meals appeared first on Taste of Home. Have you noticed how obsessed with protein everyone seems to be these days? Food manufacturers are constantly bragging about the grams of protein on the front label, plenty of people at the gym seem to be discussing their post-workout protein shake routine, and anytime someone switches to a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle everyone seems concerned about how on earth they’ll get enough protein. What’s with this fixation? “Protein helps to build and repair lean muscle mass,” says Toby Amidor, MS, RD, CDN, FAND, nutrition expert and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the forthcoming Up Your Veggies: Flexitarian Recipes for the Entire Family. “From a digestion standpoint, protein helps you feel full faster and stay satiated and full for longer.” As such, it’s recommended to include protein at every meal. Amidor says the goal is to include 20-30 grams of high-quality protein—meaning it contains all the essential amino acids—at breakfast, lunch and dinner. That equates to eating 3-4 ounces of protein per meal, which fills roughly one-quarter of your plate. “Complete proteins come from animal-based foods like lean beef, pork or eggs,” says Amidor. “If you eat plant-based protein, make sure you are eating protein combinations or a variety of proteins throughout the day.” How Much Protein Is In an Egg? According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), one large egg provides 71.5 calories and 6.3 grams of complete, high-quality protein. In fact, one egg has all nine of the essential amino acids your body needs daily: histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine. Eggs also contain magnesium, potassium, selenium, folate, choline, vitamin A, lutein, zeaxanthin and vitamin D. Egg Yolks vs. Egg Whites Egg whites, also known as albumen, account for about 66% of the egg’s liquid weight and contain about half of the egg’s total protein. The rest is found in the yolk (the yellow portion). “Close to half of the protein is found in the yolk, and as such, I do recommend eating that golden yolk and minimizing food waste,” says Amidor. And even though it’s a source of dietary cholesterol, the American Heart Association recommends one whole egg per day as part of a healthy diet. Foods with More Protein Than an Egg Eggs are an easy and complete source of protein, but considering they only have 6 grams of protein, they aren’t exactly the holy grail of protein sources. Check out these other protein-rich plant- and animal-based options that’ll boost your intake even more efficiently.
2022-11-29T11:12:46Z