If you are on a high protein diet to gain lean muscle, you may want to bump up your protein intake, so you have to look at what you are eating.
A lot of different food groups have protein in them, either a large or small level so below I have a mixture of the higher protein sources and also a few great carbohydrate sources too.
You still have to cover all bases in your daily protein diet and so by including these foods below you are getting good levels of protein, carbohydrates, fats and fibre throughout the day.
So here are 5 Lean Muscle Ingredients for your High Protein Diet.
Here are 5 Lean Muscle Ingredients for you!
1 – Beef
Beef has a high protein content and also as I have written about before in “What is Beef?” it has much more to it than just being a simple protein source.
Beef has great levels of B vitamins, calcium, iron, creatine, potassium and also levels of CLA in it too.
There is nothing like a good steak meal to help you recover and also take care of your protein needs.
I certainly notice the difference in strength and energy by bumping up the amount of times I have steak a week.
Just in case you didn’t know as I am assuming most people do, steak is beef.
How much protein is there in a normal size steak?
A 200gm steak has about 20gm of protein in it most of the time and this level can vary depending on the cut of the steak and also the type of steak it is.
2 – Brown Rice
Brown rice is a Low GI carbohydrate source that can give you sustained energy throughout your day and also you’re training too.
This is just one of the benefits of adding brown rice into your high protein diet.
Being the unrefined version of white rice, brown rice is considered a wholegrain as it still has the hull and the bran attached.
Brown rice can provide you with a bit of protein, calcium, magnesium, a high fibre level, selenium and potassium just to name a few extra benefits on top of the carbohydrate levels that are in it.
Brown rice also takes a little longer to cook and won’t go soft and fluffy like its white rice counterpart, so be prepared to chew a little longer.
3 – Cottage Cheese
Cottage cheese is an unsung hero in high protein diets as you can pretty much add it to anything.
It can also be used as a great night time protein snack and also, obviously to bump up the protein levels in your daily meals.
Being rich in casein protein, cottage cheese takes longer for your body to break it down than other proteins.
And with so many different varieties and flavours of cottage cheese in the market these days you can pick the type that best suits your needs.
There is also the choice of organic and natural types of cottage cheese as well as the low fat diet variety too.
The protein levels in cottage cheese vary with brands and types but you are looking at an average of 13gm of protein per 100gm of cottage cheese.
Make sure you read the label and you will get all the protein level per 100gm you need for the type of cottage cheese you are buying.
A meal I use fairly often is cottage cheese and tune on a whole meal rice cake.
It is an easy high protein in between meal snack to keep the muscle recovery going and the hunger pains at bay.
4 – Eggs
How can you have a list of 5 Lean Muscle Ingredients for your High Protein Diet without including eggs?
These little orbs are not only filled with nutrients they are easy to prepare and cook too.
Each egg on average has a protein count of 5gm to 6gm depending on size of course.
Eggs also contain levels of calcium, zinc, iron and good fatty acids too.
The good thing about eggs is you can use them as the main source of protein in your meal and give the beef a rest.
For me, I boil, scramble or poach the little suckers or use them in the protein pancakes I make on the weekends.
5 – Chicken Breast
Number 5 on this protein list is chicken breast.
Chicken breast I would say would have to be one of the most used protein source in high protein diets.
Chicken breast contains good levels of potassium, magnesium, vitamins and a lot more.
I have written about what is chicken before, so there is a little more in depth information on the ProteinGuy site.
On average there is 24gm of protein in a chicken breast that is 100gm in size.
Most of the chicken breasts I get usually are about the 60gm size and so they only have around the 17gm mark of protein.
Chicken breast needs to be cooked well so you don’t run the risk of getting sick and also make sure it is still fresh as you don’t want to be eating old chicken breast.
Chicken breast is easy to prepare and cook as well, you can barbeque or stir fry and then add to your meals.
It is good in the way that it is easy to eat hot or cold so you can cook a large amount to last you a few days.
I have had baked chicken breast too while on a high protein diet.
5 Lean Muscle Ingredients
So there you have 5 Lean Muscle Ingredients for your High Protein Diet to keep you on track and hitting your dietary and training goals.
Keep an eye out for another list of 5 Lean Muscle Ingredients as I’ll be putting these up soon.
Until then, eat clean and make sure you’re getting enough protein!