In transitioning from a meal plan to having to buy my own food for the summer, I've realized I've been missing something in my daily meals - "meat" of any kind. So I was just curious, if anyone happened to know - what should I be getting daily with this, in terms of protein? Just to be "generally healthy." I do eat a nutty whole grain cereal every morning, the serving of which apparently gets me 12g of protein a day, per their dietary information. Is this enough? Or should I be getting some from another source as well? Could I get away with, say, a handful of lentils every day? Or would it have to be more along the lines of a couple eggs or a few ounces of deli meat? I'm not attempting to be a vegetarian, so that isn't a concern - I'd just prefer not to eat animal products while temporarily preparing my own food, since it's an extra hassle.
12g is way too low. If you're not overly active and working out, I believe 40 to 60 is pretty normal. I'm not deeply knowledgable in nutrition, but it's important not only having protein, but having complete protein (with all amino acids) is important. You can do so from vegetarian sources, but it may be simpler and less expensive to simply use a little bit of chicken, eggs, cottage cheese, cheese, or the like.
Hi BrownCoat! It depends on how much you exercise and if you are wanting to increase muscle strength ect but generally I aim for 1g of protein per kilo as a female as I'm trying to become lean and strong if you let me know what your goals are or how much you weigh I can help also I'm a vegetarian, so I get my protein through a protein shake a day, an egg, nuts, and almond milk
0.8 gram protein/kg bodyweight is a general recommendation. Animal sources of protein normally contain all aminoacids you need in the right ratio and contain vitamin B. Vegetarian sources often lack vitamin B or do not contain enough (especially B12) and may have wrong aminoacids ratio, I either eat vegetarian 'meat' alternatives with added vitamin B or eat some animal protein or take vitamin B supplements. Best proteins (in terms of aminoacids): Tofu, Animal sources, grain based proteins and vegetarian 'meat' alternatives. Combinations like beans+maize can balance aminoacid ratio (but still look out for vitamin B deficiency). Having a varied diet will help too with aminoacids and everything else.
Thanks you guys! I'm almost wondering now, considering the grams/day recommendations you're all giving me, and how far away I am from that, if this may be the reason I've been very tired throughout the day, of late. I suppose I'll try to find the most cost-effective method of increasing intake, though I'll look first toward "grain-based" proteins since that would likely simultaneously increase fiber intake as well.
I really like 1% cottage cheese. Some places sell a 1lb carton of it for $3 around here. It has ~60g of protein, which is pretty good for that price. If you don't like eating it plain, then you can try looking up some recipes. I like cottage cheese with a tiny bit of cinnamon
