Some unexpected sources of protein come packed with all kinds of other goodness as well. This list could be quite long so instead I am only going to list a few.
Top of my list is going to be Greek Yogurt. If you haven't tried it, or if you have and didn't like it, know that not all greek yogurt is the same so give another brand or type a try until you find one you like. My favorite is Fage (pronounced fa yeh). I use it as breakfast, snack and dessert (see grapes/walnuts recipe: Healthy Yummy Recipes), a sour cream substitute, in smoothies.... Yes, it can be kind of tart if you are used to a sugar yogurt, so if you want to work into it try combining it with your sugar yogurt and then reducing the ratio of sugar yogurt to greek yogurt until you are all Greek ;-) You can also add some honey to it. Another brand I like is Athenos. A cup of greek yogurt provides you with 20g of protein and almost no sugar!
Aside from going Greek with my yogurt, I love to flax! Flaxseed in my opinion goes with anything and my husband will tell you I have put it in just about anything at one time or another. Flaxseeds are a great source of fiber if in the seed form and omega-3s if in ground form. However you flax, it has a great protein benefit with 3 TBL being about 9g of protein.
Chia seeds can be put on cereal, salads, used as a thickener as the seeds absorb liquid and acquire a gel like texture. One TBL of these nutty tasting seeds has about 2g of protein, as much fiber as a bowl of oatmeal with the added benefit of calcium, omega 3s, and iron.
Quinoa is an awesome complete protein as it contains all of the amino acids in their tiny little granuals that cook up like rice. They absorb whatever flavor of what you are cooking/combining with it so you don't even have to season it. I use it as a grits and rice substitute. It is great in a stir fry or gumbo. For about 1 cup cooked you have 8g protein and 5g fiber!
Top of my list is going to be Greek Yogurt. If you haven't tried it, or if you have and didn't like it, know that not all greek yogurt is the same so give another brand or type a try until you find one you like. My favorite is Fage (pronounced fa yeh). I use it as breakfast, snack and dessert (see grapes/walnuts recipe: Healthy Yummy Recipes), a sour cream substitute, in smoothies.... Yes, it can be kind of tart if you are used to a sugar yogurt, so if you want to work into it try combining it with your sugar yogurt and then reducing the ratio of sugar yogurt to greek yogurt until you are all Greek ;-) You can also add some honey to it. Another brand I like is Athenos. A cup of greek yogurt provides you with 20g of protein and almost no sugar!
Aside from going Greek with my yogurt, I love to flax! Flaxseed in my opinion goes with anything and my husband will tell you I have put it in just about anything at one time or another. Flaxseeds are a great source of fiber if in the seed form and omega-3s if in ground form. However you flax, it has a great protein benefit with 3 TBL being about 9g of protein.
Chia seeds can be put on cereal, salads, used as a thickener as the seeds absorb liquid and acquire a gel like texture. One TBL of these nutty tasting seeds has about 2g of protein, as much fiber as a bowl of oatmeal with the added benefit of calcium, omega 3s, and iron.
Quinoa is an awesome complete protein as it contains all of the amino acids in their tiny little granuals that cook up like rice. They absorb whatever flavor of what you are cooking/combining with it so you don't even have to season it. I use it as a grits and rice substitute. It is great in a stir fry or gumbo. For about 1 cup cooked you have 8g protein and 5g fiber!
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