12 High-Protein Foods That Pack a PUNCH 👊🏼

Welcome to the day after tax day! If you’re a tax accountant reading this, go back to sleep. You deserve it.

The rest of you? Let’s talk about protein.

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Now, protein. We’ve talked in prior posts about:

• The importance of protein (here): muscle, satiety

• And the importance of muscle (here): metabolism, function, longevity

Today’s newsletter is a very tactical post about how to get that oh-so-tasty, muscle-building protein—and sometimes for cheap!

The protein basics

As a reminder, scientific literature would generally recommend consuming 0.5 to 1.0 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight (or ideal bodyweight) per day. Definitely aim for the upper end of this range if you’re active, exercising, trying to gain muscle and/or lose weight, or an older adult.

Research suggests that we need about 20–30+g of protein in a single meal (or “bolus”) to reach the “leucine threshold” (an essential amino acid) that turns on our muscle-building processes (aka muscle protein synthesis). The exact amount depends on your body size as well as the quality of protein. Takes more if you are heavier or if it’s a plant-based protein.

Evidence also suggests that we can use about 0.25g of protein per pound of bodyweight per meal to actively build muscle. An amount over that will still be digested and metabolized. Not wasted, per se, but the muscle building benefit may level off over this amount at any one sitting. A couple hours later, you’re good to go with another “dose” again.

A basic example: Say Shawn weighs 200 pounds. He’s active and trying to maintain or build muscle while losing some body fat, so he’s resistance training several days a week. He should ideally aim for 200g of protein per day. Difficult? Maybe. Possible? For sure. One of the more ideal ways for him to consume 200g a day would be to spread it out over 4 meals each containing approximately 50 grams of protein.

The first and last meals of the day are especially important, because they kick off muscle building for the day and keep it going through the night. Try to always get at least 25 or 30% of your daily protein in your first and final meals of the day.

Alright, alright, enough sciency stuff. 🧪 Down to business. I’ll start with a simple, screenshottable list, then go into detail about each item below.

1. Fairlife milk. This milk is ultra-filtered, giving it a higher protein density (13g per 8oz. vs. regular milk’s 8g). I’ve always loved good ole milk and typically drink 12–16 ounces at once, which alone provides 20–25g of protein when it’s Fairlife! Their chocolate milk is also delicious and has just as much protein.

   Price: A bit expensive. Probably $4–5 for the 52 oz. But it’s one of my simple pleasures.

2. Tuna and salmon packets. Do NOT sleep on these! You can get packs of tuna in like 1,000 different flavors for about a dollar each. My current fave is Aldi’s sweet & spicy flavor. Most packs have 14–18g of protein and are under 100 calories, so I love having 2 or 3 with crackers for a good high-protein snack. They also make salmon packs in 2.5 and 5oz. servings; the latter has like 31g of protein! Great way to get those omega-3s on-the-go as well.

    Price: Cheap. $1, maybe $2 for the fancier ones

3. Greek yogurt is delicious and nutritious. Oikos has mastered it. They have one called Triple Zero, which has 15g protein and 0g of sugar or fat. But I prefer Oikos Pro, which has 20g of protein and just a few grams of sugar and fat and tastes much better. Check the labels first, because many greek yogurts have lots of added sugar (aim for less than 50g total added sugar per day).

    Price: Decently cheap. $1–$1.50-ish

4. Chicken breast and thighs. A classic, and every bodybuilder’s favorite. Breast has more protein per ounce, but thighs are often a bit cheaper and have more fat and flavor. I recently found a way to cook chicken breasts that has been life-changing. So delicious. Expect 24-ish grams per 4oz. (pre-cooked weight) serving.

    Price: Not bad. Depends on quantity and quality, but maybe $2.50–$5 per pound

5. Organic, grass-fed ground beef. I wrote a couple weeks about how the quality of your meat matters. So when possible, I opt for better beef. Very high quality meat with ~19–25g protein per 4oz. serving depending on the leanness.

    Price: Can get a bit pricey, but at places like Sam’s Club and Aldi, you can still often find it for $5 per pound. In this economy?!

6. Cottage cheese. Not everyone’s cup of curded tea, but I’m loving it right now. Goes pretty good on spinach, in my opinion. You’ll get around 13g protein per serving.

    Price: Pretty cheap, just like your greek yogurt. They’re shelf buddies, so grab both next time you’re in the neighborhood :)

7. Overnight oats with protein powder. This isn’t a singular food you can buy, but it’s a true breakfast/lunch gamechanger. Here’s my go-to recipe, which packs a staggering ~70 grams of protein (which I’ll quantify in parentheses): 1 cup oats (10g), 1 cup Fairlife milk (13g), one serving greek yogurt (15–20g), 1 serving vanilla whey protein powder (25g protein), 1 serving psyllium husk, 1 serving chia and/or flax seeds (5+g), honey, frozen berries on top. Mix all ingredients along the way, except berries, which sit on top. Refrigerate overnight then mix to eat. You’ll be full until next Tuesday!

    Price: Not bad. I haven’t calculated the cost, but probably ~$4-5 bucks tops for this pretty huge portion.

8. Berry smoothie w/ protein powder. A close cousin to overnight oats, and just in time for summer. My recipes are almost exactly the same, except I don’t put oats in the smoothie. Sometimes I’ll add greens. Easily 40–50+g protein with these ingredients.

    Price: same as above lol

9. Protein pasta. Okay, vegans! Your time to shine! Do we have any here? If you’re craving pasta but don’t want the big carbohydrate hit that comes with it, protein pasta seems to be a great call. I’m still pretty new to the game, but your local store will probably have different pastas made from soybeans, lentils, chickpeas, etc. A recent box I got had 100g of protein in the whole box!

    Price: Decently cheap, but a little pricier than regular flour/wheat-based pasta

10. Ground turkey. Thanksgiving or your midday sandwich isn’t the only time for turkey! I love meal prepping with a few pounds of ground turkey. A little olive oil, salt, pepper, and possible garlic, onion, and paprika make it tasty. 19+g protein per serving, depending on leanness. Pairs great with bell peppers or air fryer diced sweet potatoes!

     Price: Not too shabby. Can be 2–3 bucks a pound if you get a good size

11. Core Power Elite Protein Shakes. These things are next level. A whopping 42g of protein in a 14oz. bottle. Made by Fairlife, the GOATs of cows. My flavor ranking: Strawberry (seriously incredible) > vanilla (yum) > chocolate (kinda yum). The catch—these are hard to find, and expensive when you do.

     Price: Expensive. Like $3+ each. But considering the convenience and price per gram of protein, not terrible if you wanna splurge.

12. Eggs. I debated putting these on the list, because they’re probably not quite as high in protein as most of us think they are (6g per large egg), but I couldn’t skip em. Eggs are so nutrient-dense and great for you, especially pasture-raised ones. The fat content can add up if you’re eating several, but don’t worry about your cholesterol (only 20% of your blood cholesterol is attributable to dietary cholesterol). I love a breakfast with 2–4 eggs, some turkey bacon, greek yogurt with blueberries, and a glass of Fairlife milk. That’ll be 50 or more grams of protein, easy!

     Price: We all know these have gone up lately. But when you consider the nutrient and satiety punch they pack, they’re worth their weight in gold. 🍳 

Protein doesn’t have to be a budget buster! There are plenty of ways to get enough without throwing your grocery budget to the wind.

✅ Take Action

Every newsletter's Take Action section will invite you to take small steps to improve your health. Recognizing that we all have different capabilities, I'll offer three different levels of action you can choose to take.

Level 1: Check out those nutrient labels on your food! Look at what’s already in your fridge and pantry and see how much protein they actually contain (and how big a serving size really is). Some may surprise you—for better or worse!

Level 2: Buy one of two of these foods on your next shopping trip and try them out. Let me know what you think!

Level 3: Try one of my overnight oats or smoothie recipes, or come up with your own! I’d love to hear a go-to if you have one.

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✍️ Drew's Picks:

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• Podcast: “How to keep your brain young and healthy” on The Dr. Gabrielle Lyon Show. I was very pleased with this episode and learned new tidbits, like the importance of minimizing overhead lights at night.

What did I miss? What’re your favorite easy and/or cheap high-protein foods? Reply to this email and let me know!

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Keep moving,

Drew

The content in Move to Improve is meant to be informative in nature, but it should not be taken as medical advice. It is always a good idea to consult with a trusted health professional before making any major lifestyle changes that could have a significant impact on your health. This is not a medical resource, and any opinions and articles are not intended for use as diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatment of health problems. They are not substitutes for consulting a qualified medical professional. Please think critically and take what I say with a grain of salt (aka don’t sue me).