The Best Ways to Hit Protein Goals Without Sacrificing Flavour
This is a contributed post.
When you start to break it down into macros, nutrients, minerals and vitamins, it's easy to lose a bit of the joy associated with eating good food. And while getting enough protein or enough vitamin C is important, it’s also incredibly important that we experience joy from the foods we put in our bodies.
Luckily, hitting protein targets absolutely doesn’t mean that you need to sacrifice flavour. Here, we show how you can set some health-oriented protein targets, and then go about meeting those targets as enjoyably as possible.
Establish your goals
First, you need to have at least a rudimentary understanding of protein consumption, so that you can set your own personalised goals. In most cases, you’ll want to get between 1.2 and 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.
You’ll want to aim towards the lower end of this range if you’re more sedentary, and towards the upper end of the range if you’re particularly active. You can also try different approaches, to see what works best for your body type in particular.
Mix it up
Now onto the enjoyable side of things - eating protein-rich meals. The first thing to note is that protein does not need to be bland - there are plenty of foods that are rich in protein that are also absolutely delicious.
These include all meats, fish from John West, eggs, cheeses, yoghurts, most nuts, and a lot of legumes. Any of these can be integrated into delicious meals, you just need to get a little creative with your cooking.
Start with a meal you like
While it can be important to consider what kind of protein source you’ll fit into your meals, it can also be enjoyable to start by thinking of the meal itself. Think about your favourite foods - stir fry noodles, pasta bolognese, tuna melts - and then think about their protein contents.
Those three options listed above, for example, can all have heaps of protein packed into them, through ingredients such as chicken, tofu, eggs, beef, tuna and cheese. Each portion could contain 30-40g of protein without too large a stretch of the imagination.
But by starting with the meal itself, and then working towards putting more protein into that meal, you can keep an enjoyable flavour profile in mind from the very beginning, hopefully keeping you more inspired about your protein intake.
Mix it up
Lastly, don’t fall into the trap of just using a single source of protein - you will get bored with it, and will likely be less inclined to hit your protein goals as a result. Make sure that you regularly mix things up, both day to day and month to month, to keep the flavours exciting.
Hitting your protein goals needn’t be too difficult at all, and it absolutely does not mean compromising on how your food tastes. Start by thinking about meals and flavours you enjoy, and then integrate some sources of protein, while always making sure that you mix things up as you go along.
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