Protein Dense Foods

Today I had lots of fiberous carbs for lunch (squash and pear bisque soup, green salad with balsamic vinegar, reb bell peppers and beets), so I was looking to get a little more protein in my dinner without adding any carbs. I had also eaten very little fat by lunch time, so I was looking for protein dense food without too much regard to fat content to fix for my dinner. Here are how my favorite protein sources lay out in terms of nutritionals:

6 oz pork loin, trimmed and roasted without oil
354 calories, 16.3 g fat, 48.5 g protein

6 oz turkey breast, roasted without skin or oil
263 calories, 5.4 g fat, 50 g protein

6 oz chicken breast, roasted without skin or oil
317 calories, 12.3 g fat, 48.2 g protein

6 oz salmon, roasted without oil
291 calories, 12.9 g fat, 40.8 g protein

6 oz halibut, roasted without oil
238 calories, 5 g fat, 45.4 g protein

6 oz ground beef, 95% lean, fried without extra oil
284 calories, 11.2 g fat, 44.6 g protein

6 oz top sirloin, lean only, fried without extra oil
360 calories, 20 g fat, 42.1 g protein

What is amazing to me is the comparison between things I had previously thought to be comparable. For instance, turkey breast and chicken breast; while chicken breast is pretty protein packed compared to other items, turkey is much leaner and has more protein!

To a lesser degree, I also lumped all fish in to the same "low calorie" category. Halibut certainly earns that label, but salmon is actually fattier than chicken with less protein. Now, I realize that salmon's fat is the "healthy" kind, but it still drives up calories, and ultimately we need to eat fewer calories than we burn in order to lose weight.

In addition, I had thought that pork was lower in fat than beef (just because it's lighter colored, I guess) but lean ground beef is actually much less fatty with only slightly less protein. In fact, extra lean ground beef is comparable in content to chicken breast!

I guess we'll be having turkey breast for dinner tonight...

Quick and easy mustard vinaigrette

This can be used to dress any type of meat, veggie or salad. Just drizzle it over anything you want to give extra flavor to! It's 63 calories per serving, mostly from the olive oil.

For enough to dress 4 servings:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

I put this on pork tenderloin that I roast (at 425 for about 30 mins) and then slice into 1 inch thick "medallions".

Lighter Breading

I got this idea from a martha stewart recipe for lighter Chinese Sesame Chicken, and I think it would work well for any meat or vegetable that you'd like to bread.

For about two servings (similar to 2~3 chicken breasts cut into 1 inch cubes): Mix together 2 tbsp whole grain flour and 1 egg white. Use this as a batter before pan frying items in a little oil as you would any other battered item. This has almost half the calories, a lot less fat, a lot more fiber, and a little less carbs and protein compared to using a whole egg and white flour. The only thing you're really missing out on is a little protein, but I think the pro's outweigh the con's!

33 Calories vs. 60
0.2g Fat vs. 2.3g
5.6g Carbohydrates vs 6.1g
0.9g Fiber vs. 0g
2.8g Protein vs. 3.6g