Eating Common Protein in Uncommon Ways

Measuring, cutting, weighing, cutting, measuring, weighing - voila! You have just spent the last 20 minutes creating the perfect portion of protein. In a fast paced world where supplement promise extraordinary weight loss and fitness clubs promise fantastic changes with just 10 minutes a day, dieters are looking for alternative protein sources to fulfill daily requirements without have to spend tons of time measuring, cutting, weighing, etc... Protein sources are more readily available today than ever before and many require no measuring at all, but provide the same benefit of lean protein sources like fish, chicken and turkey.

Protein Rich Bread - Go Veggie and Keep the Protein

Arnold's Bread Company offers a Double Protein variety with 7 grams of protein per slice. Each slice of bread is a little high in calories at 110, but there is no need to count protein grams when choosing this alternative protein source for dieting. Other Arnold varieties with high levels of protein include Sandwich Thins containing only 100 calories per roll and packing 5 grams of protein.

Protein Bars - Not Every Bar is Calorie Friendly

There are many protein bar varieties out there but not all are created for someone trying to lose weight and stop fiddling with lean meats. Bodybuilding.com offers a search engine to narrow down protein bars based on specific criteria. When searching, make sure to set protein at a minimum of 10 grams and calories below 200. This will return a long list of products falling perfectly into the low calorie, high protein category.

Some of the companies offering low calorie, high protein bars include Clif, Luna, Balance Bar, CytoSport and Detour. When studying the nutritional facts for any given protein bar product, make sure to cross the impossibles off the list. Detour Lean Muscle Bars, for instance, say they have 32 grams of protein and only 110 calories. Each gram of protein provides the body with four calories of energy. That means the minimum caloric total for a 32-gram protein bar would be 128. However, with 33 grams of carbohydrates in the Detour bar, there is no possible way the calorie total is correct.

Use the returned information as a guide and search for a main website with complete nutritional information on each bar to verify the totals. A good source of protein via a protein bar may not taste very great, but dieting is not exactly a tasty science all the time.

Okay - Maybe a Little Measuring

For dieters who want a great lean source of protein with less hassle, a measuring cup and a can of low-sodium beans is the ideal source. Beans pack a huge protein punch and they are easy to measure. Soybeans have the greatest source of protein at 29 grams per cup of cooked beans. Edamame, commonly used in salads, have 22 grams of protein per cup.

Protein powders are another fantastic source of simple protein that is low in calories and highly digestible. A few tablespoons added to a morning smoothie and a dieter can eat all the veggies they want the rest of the day without worrying about adding just the right amount of meat.