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...