S3 2013 Habit 2: Eat Lean, Protein Dense Foods with Each Meal

Week 2's habit is focused on getting your body what it needs to manufacture enzymes, hormones, and antibodies, replace worn out cells and build new cells. Without it the machine can't operate at full capacity. Protein. The team over at Precision Nutrition has done a great job telling us what protein is and why it is so important to eat. You can't live without it, really! Read "All About Protein" Here. There are so many more choices out there than just chicken and fish. Have you checked out the PPW3 shopping list on our sister site ThePPWKitchen.com yet? There are Forty-Two different protein sources on that list alone - 42!How Much Protein? A good rule of thumb is this: Look at the palm of your hand. If you are a woman, your portion per meal should be about the size of your hand. This will be between 20 and 30 grams. Men, double that portion per meal, or 40-60 grams. The fact is that most of the time you are not going to want to get the food scale out every time you sit down to eat (although that is  great idea for a week or two until you get good at eyeballing portions), and the palm method is easy and portable! :) Here are just a few examples of lean protein sources. The amounts listed will provide approximately 20-30 grams of quality protein, which is what we would consider a women's portion.  Guys, do a little multiplying and double it. High quality protein. 3-4 oz of cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish 1 cup of cooked seafood 4-5 egg whites 2-3 large eggs 6 oz. cottage cheese 6 oz. of plain greek yogurt (1 container) 2 oz of part skim cheese 1 scoop of protein powder 1 cup cooked lentils or beans 3-4 oz of tempeh or tofu 1 small veggie burger Now it can be noted that some of these foods, particularly the dairy, have some carbohydrates as well, which is why we talk about protein dense foods.

Let me give you an example. We all love peanut butter, but is peanut butter a good source of protein? Let's look at peanut butter from a well known store - Trader Joe's. I actually love Trader Joe's peanut butter. Peanuts and Salt. That's it. And if I look at the nutrition label (you do, right?) you will see that 2 Tablespoons, or 1 serving, has 8 grams of protein. Not TOO bad you might be thinking. But the % of protein in Peanut Butter is actually quite low, in this case around 17% of total calories. (Hint - it's mostly fat) Make sense? Here are other "protein sources" that you'll want to avoid: Bacon Lunch Meats Sausages Pepperoni Protein in “fast food” restaurant meals (chinese take out, etc.) These are low quality proteins, most of which are high in fat, sodium, and sugar, contain nitrates and a lot of other nasty preservatives. So how do you score your daily point starting in Week 2 (Monday April 22)?By doing S3 Habit 1 and 2 S3 Habit 1: Eat 4-5 meals each day S3 Habit 2: Eat lean protein with all those meals Here's a handy dandy chart to help you get pointed in the right direction: Quality Protein Fibrous Carbs Compliments

Chopped Hard boiled Egg mixed with tuna

Served on a bed of salad greens

Slice of avocado

Stir fry pork

Add fresh or frozen veggies to meat while cooking

1 teaspoon minced ginger root and 2 Tablespoon soy sauce

Shrimp cooked with minced garlic cloves and chili sauce.

Add frozen stir fry veggies while cooking

Sesame seeds sprinkled on top before serving

Heat pinto, navy, or kidney beans mixed with an ounce of Monterey jack cheese

Shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, jalapeño peppers,

Salsa

Grilled Chicken

Served on a bed of salad greens

½ chopped apple, 1 Tablespoon walnuts chopped, olive oil with a squeeze of lemon juice for dressing

Browned ground beef

Stir in tomato sauce, serve over stir fried zucchini, summer squash, and carrot strips

Italian seasonings in with the sauce and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese before serving

Baked BBQ chicken

Sautéed green beans

Serve with coleslaw

Cold Three bean salad

Thinly sliced beef add tomato sauce

Sautéed onion and Green peppers, serve with a side salad

Sprinkle with chopped green onions and sesame seeds

Brown ground beef, taco seasonings

Serve over lettuce, top with tomatoes

Refried bean, olives, guacamole, salsa

Baked sliced chicken tenders coated with almond meal and parmesan cheese

Spinach salad, and cooked baby carrots

Olive oil and vinegar for salad dressing

Naked Greek Hamburgers

(no bun) mix feta cheese and olive slices into patties

Lettuce, tomato, red onion

Fresh broccoli salad

Ketchup, mustard

The possibilities are endless, so get out of the drive through, put on that Chef's hat and Make It Happen!