All of this powerhouse nutrient’s variants that you need to set your protein into attack mode to destroy body fat, rev up your muscle gains and accelerate your performance. Your dietitian Matt Lovell, A Kinetica Sports brand ambassador and a nutritional therapist with a special interest in elite sports performance.
Eat more protein. And when you’ve finished have some more. Well, that’s what you’re told to do if your ambitions include losing weight, gaining lean muscle and becoming a better athlete.
Sadly, this vital macronutrient costs a bomb, being pound for pound dearer than almost all other food sources. Fortunately, there are budget proteins that will come as a welcome relief to your wallet.
But even if you can afford it, it’s worth exploring other options because research in the Journal of Nutrition suggests a varied diet that encompasses lots of different types of foods is best for reducing body fat and preventing metabolic syndrome.
So if your diet is stuck on the hamster wheel of chicken, beef, pork and fish, then these are the alternatives worth eating to give your taste buds and wallet a welcome reprieve while improving your health.
The forgotten proteins for muscle building and fat loss
It’s not wise to feast on the same protein every day so try adding these new sources into your diet to eat yourself leaner and larger
Tofu
Yes, it can have some connotations of lower testosterone, which are hard to prove or disprove with any kind of certainty.
However, you will definitely receive 184% of your RDA of manganese. This mineral is used to strengthen bones and metabolise carbs, amino acids and cholesterol.
Just 100g of tofu also has 24g of unsaturated (good) fats, and a study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that when people ate unsaturated fats after exercise the blood flow in their arteries increased by 45%, which resulted in more anti-inflammatory agents being rushed to the working muscles. Take-home message: tofu will help you recover from training faster.
Mussels
Seafood is under-consumed and offers a great source of lean protein, packed full of trace minerals, like zinc and selenium, as well as iron B12 and vitamin C. Cooking mussles with garlic and white wine works well, and then you can thicken the sauce with the quark (below). Soak it all up with home-made protein bread and you have a fine-dining post-workout meal.
Quark
Roughly 100g of this dairy product is filled with 13.6g of protein, making it a powerful addition to any sauce, or you can just eat it straight from the pot, since it’s very similar to cottage cheese. It’s the perfect complement to flaxseed because it can emulsify flax oil, making it far more absorbable in your body, which is great for reducing cholesterol and giving cancer a kick in the guts.
Lentils
You can get lentils for a ridiculously low price if you buy in bulk, and they keep for ages. They also contain vitamin B6, iron, magnesium and folate, plus plenty of natural fibre that’ll keep you feeling fuller for longer. Lentils can be combined in a 50:50 ratio with beef mince in chilli or bolognese sauces to make your dish even cheaper.
Sardines
Few things are cheaper than a humble tin of these tasty little fish. It’s incredibly rich in calcium, vitamin D and B12. That means you’ll get strong bones, an improved ability to burn fat and more energy.
They also offer 25g of protein per 100g, making them an incredibly worthy addition to any gym bag, especially since they can’t get squashed. If you can’t quite stomach them on toast, then try pairing it with a leafy salad, serving them on top of eggs or stuffing them into a baked potato with onions and salsa. You’ll never look at expensive fresh fish the same way.
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