Protein Rich Diet Ideas

Eating. It’s fun, and being human, necessary. But isn’t it a pain? Eat too much and you don’t fit in your jeans, too little and you have problems.

I love food!

But I am often hungry at work. Or I was. Now I try make some preplanned choices about what I will be eating in order to get the maximum out of my food and day, without raiding the local shop for Freddos at 3pm.

Here’s what I eat. It might help you. I buy everything at ASDA and our shopping costs £50 for 2 of us a week. Let me know if you want our shopping lists!

#1 – Protein Shake.

I started having protein after my boyfriend bought it. I find it really fills me up. I use

No added sugar juice – alternating between cranberry, acai, blueberry and so on.Frozen fruit – alternating between summer fruits/ blueberries/ cranberries

A banana per shake, sometimes plain porridge oats

Chuck the lot in the blender and a to go cup, and drink it on the way to work. Yummy!

#2 – Edamame Soya Beans. Salty but tasty with 40g of protein per 100g. They taste really nice and really fill you up! Just £1 a pack at asda too.

#3 – Avocados- Sliced with a dash of salt. Very tasty and filling, full of good fats.

#4 – Egg and ham on bagels. 3 eggs, not whites, eggs won’t kill you, plus good ham and a wholewheat bagel (or plain if you prefer.) Very tasty.

#5 – Tuna with sweet chilli sauce. Mix together and season. Put in a Tupperware and eat it whenever, or on a cracker, bit of toast or Ryvita.

#6 – Fruit . Tonnes of it! I take a Satsuma and an apple to work, plus the banana and blueberries in my smoothie, I’m well on to 5 a day.

#7 – Chocolate – Not very proteiny, I admit, you need some. I eat muller corners which have chocolate (and carbs) but also a large portion of yoghurt, which helps it stick around for longer. It might be filled with sugar, but Greek yoghurt isn't really a treat, is it?

#8 – Meat and Beans. I eat a lot of them. Dinners include Chicken breasts in sauce with wholegrain rice and corn on the cobs (all chucked in the oven to cook) Jacket potatoes with mince and mixed beans, bean enchiladas with mixed beans, grated carrots and onions in wholewheat wraps topped with good quality cheese, stirfrys with tuna and hoi sin sauce, fajitas, good quality sausages in a casserole, grill steaks...Fish, salmon, turkey - Plenty of meat but also, I eat meals that beans can be used in. I often cook up a curry with a broccoli but add in a tin of beans to bulk it up, the same with fajitas or tacos. I know this is a ‘dinner’ point- but eat well at night and the next day doesn’t domino into disaster.

#9 – Soup. I eat a Baxters healthy soup with rice and sweetcorn, a reduced salt tomato soup, or a low sodium soup, usually with some sort of carb in it (pasta/rice) this sticks for longer so you don’t get 3pm munchies!

#10 – Finally - every day is treat day. If I want a cake, I eat a cake. If I want a chocolate bar, I have one. Food is not good or bad, it is just food. The calories will dispappear if you take care of yourself. Plan to eat healthfully, eating as much fresh stuff as possible, and the rest will take care of itself. If I eat out at KFC or MCD I go for chicken, grilled in a wrap, like a twister at KFC, or at Mc Donalds I have chicken dippers or a chicken subway. At subway I also have chicken with lots of veg, no cheese, but a dash of lite mayo. (I love subway!) However, if i want a big mac- I get one. That’s the only secret I can see about being satisfied with what you eat - eating what you want in moderation. Sorry not to have a better secret!

Happy eating!