Top 8: Power up your diet with protein-rich supermarket foods
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So, what’s the big deal with protein? In recent years, we have become even more aware of how important it is to work on muscle tone, get rid of fat, and turn ourselves into lean machines. Most of us are not Olympic athletes, so our daily protein requirements for building normal muscle and tissue are not as high.
The European Food Safety Authority recommends 0.83 g of protein per kilogram of body weight daily. For an adult weighing 70kg, that’s 58.1g daily.
This week’s Top 8 addresses the taste of prepared foods ‘high in protein’. What was added to them to earn the term? Dairy products Skyr, Greek yoghurt, and Quark are high in protein and relatively unprocessed and natural, as are seeds and nuts. Peanut butter on good quality bread (not spongy sliced pans) makes a good snack. Home-cooked, unprocessed protein-rich foods are also ideal.
It’s hard to beat an egg for delivering a comprehensive set of nutrients – on average 5.5g protein in a medium size to 7g in an extra large. With the benefit of iron, folate, vitamins A, B12, D, E, lutein and selenium, it’s a superfood.
Meat, dairy produce, fish, peas, beans and lentils contain high quantities of protein and should be included in a daily diet for all ages.
This ready meal has tender, flavoursome diced steak with a separate section of spinach-coated baby potatoes. It serves one, has a decent 35g protein (half to a third of an adult’s daily protein requirement), and tastes good too. The 22% of beef accounts for the high protein content and compared well to other stew dishes we tested, which had 7-10% beef. A good buy. Made in Ireland.
Four 100g strawberry tubs have a good 9.2g protein in each. There’s quite a lot of sugar—7.6%—some from added sugar, some from the fruit, and some from natural sugars in milk. No additives to worry about. 0% fat results from the fat being strained off. Made in Ireland.
A long list of ingredients starts with water, followed by protein from pea protein, tapioca starch, gluten-free oat flour, and rapeseed oil. There are various micronutrients and added vitamins, with coconut sugar, sucralose, and cocoa powder for flavour. For anyone in a rush for a quick nutrition boost, this could be an option with 10g protein in half a bottle. Tasters liked its delicious chocolatiness.
This new product has 6.1g protein per tub and just needs boiling water added to make it up. There’s no difference to a regular bowl of porridge made without milk. This portion could be made with hot milk or topped with some cold to add more protein. Good to see healthier options and not processed cereals available in convenient form.
Made from wholegrain brown rice with added buckwheat, pea protein, lentil flour with a barbecue flavour from smoked paprika, dried onions, molasses extract, and dried tomato for a moreish flavour. With 24.8% protein, each cake has 2.8g, double what is found in most rice cakes. Top it with cheese, peanut butter or a hard-boiled egg, for an appetising, protein-rich snack. Good for kids (and parents) after school.
There is 27g protein in a half-litre of this vanilla-flavoured milk, which our convalescent taster liked. This amounts to a high 5.4% per litre from added casein and whey. Vitamin D3 and zinc sulphate are also added. At 1%, it’s low fat too. The added sweetener is sucralose — the original natural flavour has no sugar or other sweetener.
Basmati rice accompanies chicken breast pieces in a rich sauce of coconut, lemongrass, chilli, lime leaves, galangal, anchovy, pepper, and shallots. This full meal for one contains a fair 36g of protein from 20% chicken and 40% rice, rice flour, and rapeseed oil. It’s not much higher in protein than many dishes without high-protein claims. The sauce was nicely peppery, and tasters liked it. Made in Ireland.
This dessert in a tub has 20g protein (which could be shared) from skimmed milk, whole milk and milk protein. Cocoa powder provides a rich flavour supported by beef gelatine, modified maize starch, and emulsifiers, which keep it fluffy and light. Sweeteners (acesulfame K and sucralose) are not our favourite ingredients to see on a list, providing an edgy flavour that junior tasters didn’t like.