The Leanest Protein Picks

As a follow-up to this weeks posting Fish Is Good; Mercury Is Bad, today's focus is on quality sources of lean protein.

While the amount of dietary protein consumed differs person to person, ideally everyone should try to incorporate a source of lean protein in to every feeding opportunity (along with 1 - 2 servings of vegetables!).

First things first. Let's actually define the term "lean protein" so we're all on the same page. According to the National Institutes of Health:

Lean protein choices have 55 calories and 2 - 3 grams of fat per serving

Very lean protein choices have 35 calories and 1 gram of fat per serving

With that out of the way, here is a list of top protein sources that you should be including in your diet:

Very Lean Protein

1 oz Turkey breast or chicken breast, skin removed
1 oz Fish fillet (flounder, sole, scrod, cod, et al)
1 oz Shellfish (clams, lobster, scallop, shrimp)
1 oz Cottage cheese, non fat or low fat
2 each Egg whites
1 oz Fat free cheeses
1/2 cup Beans - cooked (black beans, kidney, chick peas, lentils)

Lean Protein

1 oz Chicken or turkey - dark meat, skin removed
1 oz Salmon, herring
1 oz Lean beef (flank steak, London broil, tenderloin, roast beef)*
1 oz Veal, roast or lean chop*
1 oz Pork, tenderloin or fresh ham*
1 oz Low fat cheese (3 grams or less of fat per ounce)
1/4 cup 4.5% cottage cheese

* Limit to 1-2 times per week

In regards to protein supplementation, while I'm a fan of a post-workout protein shake, I feel it is extremely important to focus on obtaining the majority of macronutrients from whole foods.

While it may seem like a simple solution to toss back a few shakes each day, you'll be missing out on a whole bunch of vitamins and minerals, so try to limit supplementation to no more than 2 shakes/daily.

Train hard; stay strong.

Peace.

Susan