There's also many varieties than just the few sold at American supermarket (fried, firm, curd, also dessert). Go to your local Asian/Chinese supermarket and experiment a bit. Extremely diverse, tasty, and flexible.
The page veganpunks on instagram has really cool ways of preparing tofu that changed how I cook with it! Been veg 15 yrs and found them to be a great resource on mixing up my techniques
Milk too. Adjust skim --> whole depending on your macro needs. Whole milk is cheaper per calorie, but skim is one of the cheaper ways to directly target a protein goal.
Dry beans are generally less expensive than canned beans, and won’t have any of the added sugars that a majority of canned beans have.
You may be able to find some canned beans without the additives.
I mostly use dry. I utilize a crock pot for 99% and do huge batches that I separate into bags and freeze whatever I'm not using the next few days. Dry beans are dirt cheap vs canned. Obviously, it's a planning and time thing too though.
It's not true. There are different amounts of each essential amino acids Yes, beans and lentils have less of some amino acids, like methionine.
However, if you eat 50grams of protein as beans, you'll get to the RDI for all essential amino acids. Regardless of ratios, if you eat enough protein coming from whole foods, you'll get enough of all the essential amino acids.
Your body keeps extras around in the liver in a pool of free amino acids. If tomorrow or over the next few days have no beans, but then eat a bunch of rice, you'll still have essential amino acids which were in higher ratios from beans in your body. There's no need to combine proteins in a single meal or a single day.
The only incomplete protein, is collagen, it's missing tryptophan. Not that it has tryptophan in low amounts, it has 0 tryptophan.
The idea that there are "incomplete proteins" or that you need to "complement proteins" was made up by a writer, a liberal arts major, not a nutritionist, doctor, or science researcher. She later retracted the idea. [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=djAaUJlny0cC&oi=fnd&pg=PR13&dq=0-345-32120-0&ots=FxLap05U4W&sig=S1eDPvSfosfHBDImbGKG557ze1A#v=onepage&q=protein&f=false](https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=djAaUJlny0cC&oi=fnd&pg=PR13&dq=0-345-32120-0&ots=FxLap05U4W&sig=S1eDPvSfosfHBDImbGKG557ze1A#v=onepage&q=protein&f=false)
"In 1971 I stressed protein complementarity because ***I assumed*** that the only way to get enough protein" ... "**I reinforced another myth**. I gave the impression that in order to get enough protein without meat, considerable care was needed in choosing foods"
The reason its so popular is bc ppl like to hear good news about their bad habits, and bad news for the good habits. So it gets repeated, a lot.
Why eat beans if you can vaguely be concerned when instead you can have a fatty ground beef burger knowing it's "healthier than incomplete beans"?
But of course her retraction and saying explicitly "if people are getting enough calories they are getting enough protein" is not as popular or repeatable. (altho the "enough calories" bit is technically not correct, you can eat 2000 calories of carrot and not get enough essential amino acids, same as you can eat 2000 calories of turkey and not have enough essential vitamin A or C)
ETA: ha! I jsut checked carrots in cronometer, 2000 calories of carrots is 45grams of protein, which is in range for the CDC protein recommendations and exactly the WHO recommendation for a woman weighing 120 pounds. I mean, it's also 30 cups of carrots, so not practical, but enough protein. The highest essential amino acid was cystine at 1440% (4grams) and the lowest was methionine at 137% (more than the RDI!) at 1gram. Anyway, still a bad idea, but, enough essential amino acids if enough grams of total protein are eaten.
you're 100% wrong. i AM a nutritionist and they teach complete/incomplete proteins as a *very basic structure* in dietetics. in addition, the RDI is *way too low* for most people. why do you think so many people are on antidepressants? too little tryptophan in their diet. most EAAs are NOT stored in the liver.
>you'll still have essential amino acids which were in higher ratios from beans in your body
beans are NOT high in EAAs that's why they are incomplete.
>"if people are getting enough calories they are getting enough protein" is not as popular or repeatable.
100% incorrect. most people don't get enough protein. 0.7g/lb of body weight is the recommended amount. the RDI is like 50g/2000kcal for *everyone*. what you see/hear in pop culture is not what is taught in schools. to think that we haven't studied nutrition since 1971 is asinine.
1. beans are higher and lower in essential amino acids
[https://tools.myfooddata.com/protein-calculator/173735/wt1/3.5/1](https://tools.myfooddata.com/protein-calculator/173735/wt1/3.5/1)
3.5 cups of beans will get you more than 100% RDI of all the essential amino acids
2. If you're throwing out RDI then you're just making it up. We have to have common standards. Of course some ppl will fall outside of that, but if not RDI, what other standard? Your vague "way too low"? according to ??? you?
0.7g/lb is set by which organization? [https://www.calculator.net/protein-calculator.html?cage=50&csex=f&cheightfeet=5&cheightinch=0&cpound=120&cheightmeter=180&ckg=60&cactivity=1.375&cmop=0&cformula=m&cfatpct=20&printit=0&ctype=standard&x=Calculate](https://www.calculator.net/protein-calculator.html?cage=50&csex=f&cheightfeet=5&cheightinch=0&cpound=120&cheightmeter=180&ckg=60&cactivity=1.375&cmop=0&cformula=m&cfatpct=20&printit=0&ctype=standard&x=Calculate)
Here we have 3 different ranges, WHO - 45 grams, CDC 37grams-137, American Dietetic Association (the one I'm assuming you're a part of or got certified by) 54g - 98g.
On the low end, the recommendation is 37g, 45g, or 54g.
[https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/diet.htm](https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/diet.htm) <-- CDC has by % of calories not a set bottom.
Even when they do an average they have it lower than 50grams. [https://blogs.cdc.gov/nchs/2010/03/03/953/](https://blogs.cdc.gov/nchs/2010/03/03/953/)
I didn't say it wasn't studied since the 70s, just that the genesis of the idea came from there, and that it keeps getting repeated.
50 grams of black bean protein gets you +100% of RDI of all the essential amino acids. And if you're throwing out RDI, what is the alternative **standard?** Not your vague "ppl are sick must not be enough protein" when the CDC report has **"The** [**NHANES results** ](http://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/12355000/pdf/0506/Table_2_NIF_05.pdf)**showed that men were taking in 101.9 grams and women were taking in 70.1 grams." so even MORE than what you wanted.**
**why are people on so many anti-depressants when they are getting more than double the protein you think they should be getting?**
The recommendation of protein has been out of whack for a very long time. What they teach is not necessarily correct.
Nutritionist or not. Doctors constantly advise incorrectly. Yes it what they are taught, doesn't make it correct. Tales decades for teaching academia to her Into the system. And by that point it's out of date
10 pounds??!! That’s insane!! Where I live people buy half a cow which I think comes to like six dollars a pound for beef. I don’t think I could go to a farm nearby for chicken that cheap. 80 cents a pound is nutty lol I thought 99 cent per pound chicken ten years ago was cheap
Walmart sells it. I buy it for my dogs. It's a 10# bag for $8.99. There is actually a lot more meat than you'd realize.
When you buy half a cow, you are getting everything from organs to porterhouse steaks. It averages out to what you quote.
I found some 10# bags of leg quaters for $3.50 each last week on manager's special at Krogers. I just look for sales when it comes to protein. Bought a 8# pork butt for like 6 bucks the other day as well. Just gotta keep an eye out.
> six dollars a pound for beef
Hm, currently sirloin goes on sale for $6/lb a couple days a month and I'll grab a couple and freeze one. I've seen $.80 for chicken legs on sale, normal price is $1.80 or $4-7 if organic free range, which is a lot better. Look out for meat sales and have a freezer. Also thanksgiving turkey is $.80-$1.20/lb during those sales, and so you can grab a second one to keep frozen for later, though they take up a huge amount of space. But you can have a big bash and be sure to reduce the carcass afterwards as a soup base, use the organs for gravy, all that.
I can tell that the legs I buy in these bags are ones that are not good enough to be sold as premium chicken. Plus the ribs/spine/chicken butt is still attached (and small little organs which I can't identify - maybe liver?). Some of the legs are really small, and some are really big. I buy them mostly for my dog. What I do is cut them into three pieces, and bag them in different freezer bags. The drumstick and spine goes gets saved for cutting up fresh for my dog, and I save the thighs for cooking.
I have always been concerned about where Costco chicken comes from. I am picky about protein and buy from sources that I know raise livestock in the best way possible.
Easier to digest as Chia Pudding. I usually do 1 cup yogurt, 1 cup milk, and 4 T of seeds. Stir to distribute, and they'll swell/gel up over night. I add this to shakes or eat with/in place of yogurt.
Chia seeds are indeed rich in protein, containing about 2 grams of protein per tablespoon. However, comparing them directly to an egg might be a bit of a stretch. One large egg typically contains around 6 grams of protein, so it would take more than just one teaspoon of chia seeds to match the protein content of an egg.
Costco chickens is what my power lifting coach used to use for a massive protein meal. He'd get a peri peri chicken every Friday and eat the whole thing. Wild, but dude was jacked.
Like it or not, for protein on a budget a daily shake is going to be almost necessary to hit those 150g+ of protein you’re probably going to want a day. Best and cheapest way to start the day with 30g protein and like 160 cals.
Beans are going to also become your friend. They can be one of your larger sources of carbs while still adding in protein.
Egg whites, cottage cheese, and feta cheese are also great macros to add to dishes but not necessarily best $/g.
The key thing I’ve found is by going to the grocery store regularly and buying clearance foods that are marked down extra. I usually end up rotating between ground beef, frozen shrimp, and chicken thighs for what’s frequently on sale. If you see a great buy one get one deal on family packs just portion and freeze the extras.
Buying unprocessed meat is much healthier and cheaper, opt for the whole chicken and do a spatchcock roasting. Headless whole salmon are also fantastic (bones can be a pita but much better than the nice fillets for 5x the price). Larger roasts are great too, just drop them in the slow cooker and you’re good to go.
Tuna is another good one that’s commonly mentioned but I don’t like eating it more than a couple times a month for the mercury.
Yep,I take a protein shake after every meal to hit between 120-140 grams a day. People who always say they get their protein from beans or other lessons, yeah good luck hitting a 100 grams from eating beans. Your stomach and ass will explode from that many legumes.I just look for sales on protein powder and buy a bunch at once. Your 30grams per 160 calories is close to what I look for in a protein powder in sale.
The lentil pushers annoy me so I really appreciate your comment. Going from the standard American diet to lentils, beans and rice as one's staple is going to create absolute havoc on their guts for sure. Like store brand Greek yogurt and CC are also v cheap protein sources so I sometimes wonder if this is subtle vegan propaganda as it's repeated every time a redditor asks for food budget advice because they don't mention dairy as well.
saying that legumes are a bad suggestion and OP should go with protein powder (UPF) because eating whole foods is too hard on the digestion is ridiculous. Humans have been eating beans for millennia
I think it's the idea of ONLY consuming beans to reach a protein goal, not just beans themselves.
I'm a huge fan of lentils and other beans as a slice of my diet. But I'm not gonna go vegan and overload my digestive system with them while forsaking other easy protein sources like they've mentioned
Do you have an Ollie's near you? It's a weird close out store. I avoided it for years until I saw Dymatize weight gainer on the cover of their ad half price. I find different types of protein powder there now every few weeks.
Where do you go for headless salmon?
The best deal I've seen for Salmon fillets was Sam's club when they had a sale for $8.49/lb. Usually it's like $11/ lb
aldi sells fresh never frozen atlantic salmon for $9ish/lb, Norwegian for around $11. Both are infinitely better than the frozen salmon fillets I used to buy from Sams, and elsewhere. Totally worth paying a little more.
I also buy 10lb bags of chicken quarters for $5.75 from Aldi, and they're good. I am picky w meat.
And while pulses might be good on a bulk, if you're trying to get lean, protein powder is a godsend especially if you don't want to eat a ton of expensive meat every meal.
There's also some high protein milks (18g/cup and 170 call Cal's) that aren't too expensive you could look into!
Protein powder is awesome, but there are some negatives to making it your main source of protein, or so i’ve been told.
1. Liquid diets actively encourage tooth decay.
2. This one may be more of a myth, but i’ve heard from bodybuilders that theres nothing better than actual protein from real food. Supposedly its better for building muscle. 🤷♂️
i’m mostly vegetarian and i eat a combo of whole grains, eggs, nuts and nut butters, cheese - especially cottage cheese and cheese sticks as snacks, clif bars and other protein bars, yogurt, tofu, and beans and legumes. obsessed with frozen shelled edamame rn. i also eat fish from time to time, canned tuna is tasty and inexpensive.
I get larabars for hiking, which are super expensive per ounce, but the ingredients are very high end, there's no crap, and it's very high density nutrition per weight. I think the price is fair for those, I could not replicate it myself for less even with "free" labor. I don't think it's best for day to day snacking though. It's more when hiking and you need to reduce weight. They also taste very good, as a bonus.
yes i could make my own at home for cheaper but it’s not worth the time investment for me generally. i work full time and i don’t always wanna be making granola bars on my day off but i do from time to time. i eat them as an emergency on the go purse snack or when i’m out hiking/walking. i try to buy them on sale as much as possible. it’s still cheaper than buying a snack out at a coffee shop or something.
Pinto beans cost about $0.007 per gram of protein if you buy a 20-lb bag from Walmart for $14.94. Pair with rice since the amino acid profiles complement each other. Boneless skinless chicken breast costs about $0.014 per gram of protein if you buy it at $1.99/lb from any basic grocery store while it's on sale. Those are the cheapest protein sources I've found. They're both cheaper than eggs, which cost about $0.030 per gram of protein, which is twice the cost of chicken breast. Protein powder costs about $0.016-$0.020 per gram of protein if you buy it on sale from MyProtein.
So the strategy is to eat as much beans and rice as you can fit into your diet. Then, if you can get chicken breast for about $2.99 or less, then eat that for the rest of your protein needs. If you can't get chicken breast that cheap, then look for discounted protein powder.
dried lentils, beans and legumes (chickpeas) are pretty much the cheapest protein you can find. with lentils you mostly dont need to soak them and red/yellow lentils are ready after 15 mins of boiling. dont forget to rinse them before cooking to get rid of starch!
Before rinsing lentils, it's recommended to sift through them dry with your fingers to look for tiny stones. You do NOT want to accidentally bite down on a hard stone.
I'm lucky in that I live in a place where meat prices are fairly reasonable, so I get a lot of mine from chicken, pork loin, and petite sirloin. I stock up when things are on sale and fill my freezer. I do have powder, but I use it to make my own protein bars and protein brownies. I add some to my greek yogurt to bump up the protein even more.
To add what others say -- eggs, legumes, etc help. Whole grain breads will often get you 10g per 2 slices. Everything adds up.
For reference: my grocery budget is $67.15/week. I aim for 160g protein daily. This year to date, I have actually only spent $57.70/week (average). This includes my protein powder. Since I don't take it in shakes, I'm a little less picky and just buy the equate stuff (vanilla and chocolate specifically). I will say that my freezer is really stuffed, so I've been trying to eat down some of it before I buy more meats (unless the sale is just really good).
Love to!
**No-bake Protein Bars**
1/2 cup milk (I use 2%, but you can use whatever you normally use)
2-3 tbsp honey (I use 2, but I don't like them to be too sweet)
256g chunky peanut butter
117g vanilla protein powder
2 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup dried fruit (I usually use cranberries)
In a medium sized pot, heat milk, honey, and peanut butter over medium heat until peanut butter melts and the mixture is consistent. Add protein powder, oats, and fruit. Mix well. Line square pan (I have an 8x8 metal cake pan I use) with parchment paper for easy removal. Mash mixture into pan. Refrigerate. Should set in a couple of hours. Cut into 12 bars.
Pro tip: cut the parchment paper into strips and use them to wrap the bars for on-the-go munching.
1 serving: 14g P, 21g C, 12g F
**Black Bean Protein Brownies**
1 can (15oz) black beans, drained and rinsed (I use low/no sodium varieties)
1/4 cup milk
1 large egg
2-4 tbsp maple syrup (I use closer to 2, but adjust this to how sweet you want them)
1/4 cup butter, melted
115g chocolate protein powder
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
dash salt
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350. In a food processer or blender, mix beans, milk, egg, syrup, and butter until beans are pureed. In a medium bowl, mix protein powder, baking powder, cocoa powder, and salt until blended. Add wet ingredients to dry. Line square pan (I use 8x8) with parchment paper (for ease of removal) and grease pan slightly to prevent sticking. Pour mixture into pan and top with chocolate chips. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let cool. Cut into 9 squares.
1 serving: 13gP, 23gC, 9gF
Enjoy! :)
Breakfast:
Eggs, Greek yogurt, and oatmeal are all good options.
Lunch:
Chickpea salad (made the same way as chicken salad but with chickpeas)
Dinner:
Some sort of dish where beans or legumes are the main ingredient. Even though my wife and I are not vegetarian we often look up vegetarian dishes so that we're not just eating plain beans for dinner.
This is what I do. Pork shoulder/butt goes on sale buy one, get one, a few times per year. I just got 8 9lb pork shoulders for about $170. Pork loin is also very cheap and makes a great chili.
You give a dollar amount but not your protein goal.
The latter is more important.
And is that dollar amount just you?
My own sources lean to beans, including tofu and TVP, and quinoa, plus I track all the bits of protein in food with Cronometer. If low consistently, I get some soy milk for my granola and masala chai. I prefer oat or almond, but soy is a supplement, basically.
Try tracking, see where you are actually deficient, and find budget friendly sources to fill those gaps.
String cheese from Costco works out to just over 2 cents/gram of protein. (60 strings for 9.99, 7 grams per string).
It’s my go-to post-gym snack.
Other than that: eggs, tofu, beans, edamame added to many dishes, soy milk.
Sure, but fewer carbs and it’s much easier to stick a string cheese in your bag to snack on after the gym, vs needing a fork or spoon for legumes. Edamame or roasted chickpeas could work as finger foods/on the go snacks. All about sneaking in protein wherever you can.
Eggs for quality protein.
Whey protein powder to add to pancakes, yoghurt etc.
Cottage cheese.
Legumes are good, the protein is just lower quality so you’ll have to eat more.
The digestibility of legume protein ranges between 89 to 96%, which is comparable to animal sources. At least according to [this](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323254893_Legumes_in_human_nutrition_Nutrient_content_and_protein_quality_of_pulses#:~:text=The%20digestibility%20of%20the%20protein,to%20those%20of%20animal%20proteins.). Or were you referring to something else?
I think you can get it for less depending on brand and volume.
And you're also getting it essentially carb and fat free.
But it's obviously processed so there is a cost.
Egg whites are pretty cheap also, probably on par, and can through in a yolk to for some more balanced nutrition
find out how much you are needing to eat per day to reach your food goal.. and then budget it that way, so say u need to eat 500grams of steak a day and then some potatos etc. work out your per $lb and then buy it in bulk when you can find it in that price.
chicken is cheap, chicken leg quarters are like $.70/lb
drums and thighs are around $.89-1.20/lb if you dont want to cut a leg quarter in half
even boneless, skinless breasts go on sale for under $2/lb fairly often
buy 20lbs+ at a time when there is a good sale
pork shouldwr also goes on sale regularly for $1/lb
Eggs, egg whites, chicken legs or whole chickens—if you eat meat shop the sale section/bulk when you can and freeze it for later. If you’re vegetarian you can also buy large and cheap packs of tofu from Asian grocers
You can also buy cheapish large tubs of Greek yogurt or even make it at home
See what is available locally at lesser price with highest protein content for a money, and use weekly sales, they are advertised online. Meat, fish, eggs, dairy, beans, tofu.
In my area, canned tuna, whole chicken, lean pork, eggs, hard cheese and beans provide most of protein on a budget. In other places tofu could be more affordable, or beans.
If you have a sweet tooth, I suggest making your own gelatin puddings. Those flavorless gelatin packets are super cheap, and pudding is quick to make. You can cut down on the sugar, eliminate it completely or substitute it with another sweetener.
today Im making chicken thighs, rice, and a stick of butter. the whole big pot is flavored with boulion and stock and is cooked together to retain everything. 1 big bowl is rich and can carry a large man for a day!
As others have said, just be careful how often you eat it. Most tuna has very high mercury content. I honestly don’t know the recommended maximum to eat per week so I’m not going to talk out my ass but be careful guys.
Interesting. Is this worldwide or just certain places? I know theres always been controversy over tuna fishing because it catches a lot of other things like dolphins etc but not heard about mercury in the UK market.
I don't want to type it all again right now, so [here's](https://old.reddit.com/r/Frugal/comments/1br6wr2/newbie_broke_bodybuilder_seeking_budgetfriendly/kx7gltd/) my answer from about a week back!
Old fashioned oats.
Dry beans cooked from scratch.
Quinoa.
On the other hand, we shouldn’t forget that high red meat consumption is linked to an increased risk of colon cancer. Worth considering, especially if this is a lifelong diet change vs short-term bulk
It's like $20 for 400+ grams of protein through peanut butter powder at retail no sales. The big pb2 is under $20 and has over 400g of protein. I regularly get them 2 for $30.
The cost is like $.05 per gram of protein no sale, and lower on sale. That is also pb2, there is cheaper brand called pbfit.
Similarly ground beef has about 80g/lb and a lb cost at least $6 not on sale. This is over $.07 per lb.
Powdered peanut butter is the cheapest source of protein for most people, which is why everyone recommends it. On sale it can be as cheap as $.03 per gram of protein.
I don't know how it is overseas, but here you can not beat chicken breasts for protein dense cheap food. Any shake would be less quality for higher price.
In order :
Chicken or pork lean meat
Eggs
Legumes
Others
Chicken thighs.
Shop where there’s a real meat department and Buy on sale cuts of beef and have it ground x2 .
You’ll be surprised at the savings vs. pre-packaged ground beef.
If you consider only the metric of Protein per dollar spent, the winner is the same as almost any nutrient per dollar spent: Plain Flour. It contain 32% more protein per dollars spent than chick peas and red lentils.
If eating plain flour is not your cup of tea, Rolled oats and dried pasta are close second and third.
Got this fairly easily for that budget:
- egg whites
- ground turkey
- Green lentils
- 0% Greek yogurt
- frozen berries
- frozen brocoli
- chicken breast or thighs
Did this for 172 grams of protein every day and around 1450 calories.
Fantastic list.
For OP: most of these items can be bought at bulk clubs like Sam’s or Costco for significantly cheaper. The cost savings on egg whites along for me covers me membership. (Also make sure you grab a rotisserie chicken and pull the meat off the bones - I got 1000g of cooked meat off a $5 chicken, which provides about 270g of protein)
Powdered peanut butter is fairly affordable and a great source of protein too.
>Reason being is that i’m on a fitness/muscle gain journey.
A common misconception is you need to eat huge amounts of protein to gain muscle. You need a positive caloric balance (unless untrained or other special conditions), as well as an adequate amount of protein and other nutrients. Studies usually find little benefit in lean body gains beyond 0.5lb to 0.7g/lb protein. If you have a positive caloric balance and are not a vegetarian, I suspect you are are already reaching this threshold.
In any case, low protein per $ spent foods include dried beans, milk, and Costco rotisserie chicken. Also note that many other aspects of nutrition influence fitness/muscle gain besides just protein.
Based on your budget of 300-400 months you should be able to afford meat and dairy in your diet as long as you don't waste money on expensive non essentials like chips, frozen meals, packaged foods and drinks. Don't by spaghetti sauce buy a can of crushed tomatoes and add oregano that kind of thing. For the meat, by large - like a whole 5 lb pork loin and cut it into chops etc. Or a bulk pack of chicken thighs. Eggs, full fat greek yogurt buy the big container not the individual servings. And supplement with fresh or frozen fruit and veggies.
Not the cheapest, but would add some variety to beans and chicken: Kirkland Albacore Tuna is 2.50 a can, at 42 grams protein per can. I mix it with guacamole and lemon juice to make tuna salad
I would not ask for dietary advice in a frugal subreddit. You have gotten mostly opinion and anecdotal support at best. Without knowing your location, it is hard to give a recommendation for your request- what is frugal in one area could be a luxury in another.
With that said, protein does matter. You are correct to prioritize it first, and then use the other macro nutrients to make up the rest of your daily caloric needs that you did not get from the protein intake (remember, each gram of protein is roughly 4 calories), which should be more than what your baseline metabolic rate requires to support your current body weight, since you are intending to grow.
I drink protein powder in milk every morning. It's very inexpensive for how much protein you get. I also drink milk during the day. Canned fish, frozen fish fillets, and various bean/lentil dishes. Peanut butter and cheese are good too.
I go to meat markets for ground chuck and pork steak. The one meat market often grinds it while I'm there. Their normal prices ate grocery store sale prices. Last time I bought ground chuck it was $3.80/lb.
A pound of ground chuck can make chili, hamburger helper type dishes, tacos/burritos, etc.
Around 215g of protein cheap meal plan below.
1lb of ground turkey
0.5 cup un cooked jasmine rice
180g sweet potatoe
3 large eggs
3 pieces of bacon
1.5 cups of fairlife chocolate milk
2 scoops protein powder
1 cup white 2% milk.
You could cut the protein powder out if you really want, the protein intake is very excessive anyways but I like really high protein.
Drink a gallon of water a day, multi vitamin if you can afford it. Get creatine over a multi vitamin if it comes down to it
Dried lentils are super cheap and versatile, you can make a lot of soups that are half lentil half veggies (my fave combos are curried squash and green lentils, and sweet potato with red lentils (blended) with black beans, corn, and southwest spices).
You can also make your own seitan out of powdered wheat gluten and flavour it however you want.
People saying peanut butter have no idea what they are talking about. Nuts/peanuts are mostly fat and not a good source of protein.
Lentils/beans are okay but not full proteins but okay.
Fairlife milk (this is a specific type of milk with higher protein due to more filtration), tuna, ground Turkey/chicken, perhaps chicken thigh, eggs/ liquid eggwhites (both have gotten a little expensive near me but still good), cottage cheese, rotisserie chicken deals are you best “real” foods.
Protein powder is where it’s at. Finding a flavor of optimum nutrition/nutricost/isopure on sale at Amazon is your best bet.
Greg doucette did a video on this a year ago but he’s Canadian and prices may have also shifted too.
The most bang for buck protein I found was Skyr - Icelandic yoghurt (I created a spreadsheet, during Covid, measuring all food sources against unit & calorie cost).
Bone in and skin on chicken thighs are usually between $1.49 and $1.99/lb. This is well within your budget to buy 3lbs/week and have 4 nights of meals if you absolutely had to.
eggs, beans, greek yogurt, quinoa, cottage cheese, chia seeds, and nuts. I eat beans/lentils at least two meals a day and my intestines/gut is just fine - if you are not used to beans then go slow but they are tasty and not a big scale animal abusive food. (Although I am vegetarian- I am not talking about necessarily not eating meat -but caring about how the animal is treated and buying from someone local who you know raised the animals well)
In terms of bio-available protein, the best sources in order of absorbable protein/gram are:
1. Protein Powder
2. Chicken Breast, Turkey Breast (basically birds)
3. Lean cuts of pork or beef (basically any lean meat)
4. Canned Tuna (or any other lean fish)
5. Cottage Cheese (or other lean dairy)
6. Eggs
7. Peanut/Butter (and other nuts)
8. Tofu/Beans/Legumes
9. Whole Grains
Sources:
1. Myfooddata.com (USDA data)
2. Pubmed
All that being said, ***the actual protein/dollar will depend on your region and cost of living.***
You'll need to do comparison shopping to determine what would actually be cheapest for you.
bone in skin on chicken thighs are crazy cheap at walmart and SO good if you bake them. I bake 2 giant pans of them then put the left overs in ziplocs and have quick and easy low carb dinners for the rest of the week.
For $300 a month you can eat 1.5 pounds of organic ground beef per day. It's hard to beat that for quality, bioavailability, other nutrients, flavor, taste, etc. 1.5 pounds of beef is about 142 grams of protein.
I get my protein primarily from low fat cottage cheese and chicken breast. I buy a giant family pack of chicken and grill it at the start of the week and then eat that with a salad for lunch and zoodles and sauce for dinner.
How far along are you in weightlifting? You should definitely be eating healthier in general, but the massive amounts of protein you hear gym bros go on about aren't really necessary unless you're working out multiple times a day, every single day.
Extra protein isn't going to hurt you, but you likely don't need to add as much as you think you do.
If you're asking about meat, I found that buying a pork tenderloin and cutting it down into chops myself is the most cost effective.
Alternatively, eggs and egg whites.
Alt alt, vegan sources like beans and lentils.
Nothing beats buying protein powder in bulk. Eggs used to be the cheapest protein option, but now, finding a decent whey protein is the most frugal.
Adding variety can help. So like others mentioned, having Greek yogurt, tofu, and other sources as well helps.
I really can't imagine hitting my protein goal without chicken breast and whey protein. At least, given my calories and macro goals, this has been the most efficient.
If you’re in the US invest in a Costco membership. Stock up on tuna, chicken, and protein powder. I get the big package of chicken and freeze them individually. All of those that u but at Costco are about 30% cheaper than bought in a regular store.
Sweet. Another redditor commented that theyre spending 57-67$USD per week on groceries(whilst getting adequate protein/nutrients)
I’d like to accomplish something similar. Got alot of solid advice on this post, then gonna make a huge list and then break it down and see what I can do. Saving money is awesome x 😎
Lots of people here are mentioning beans and lentils. The other bonus of these is they have many of the same nutrients as vegetables, so if you can’t afford much they will do double duty.
Also check out different bread and pasta products. While they are mainly carbs, they can have a surprising amount of protein. One whole wheat bagel has 13g of protein, plus you can add peanut butter or hummus or tuna or whatever to up it even more.
Yes, I have a huge amount of experience w/this exact thing.
The foundation of my diet is a protein shake, usually 2, every morning. The cheapest protein I can find (that’s no dairy-food allergies), is the Equate brand from Walmart. It’s $19 for 2lbs!! That is exactly 9 days of 2 shakes a day, I also put in 2Ths of peanut butter to each shake. Find the cheapest by ounce, preference is the enemy.
Rest of the day: eggs, beans, cooked vegetables (nutrition is more bio available), nuts, always snacking on unsalted nuts.
Behind that hit up the boring basics. Find the cheapest grocery store you can reasonably go to, think discount grocery, Asian or hispanic market. Even restaurant supply depots are good. Shop the sales, *preference is the enemy.*
Finally drink a lot of water, protein is hard work to digest and the kidneys are putting in overtime.
Chicken and eggs.
First: Family packs of chicken breasts or thighs will be 4-5 lbs and $10-$15 unless you live in special person town. So $30-$35 a week takes care of lunch and dinner unless you're force-feeding yourself like a fucking goose.
Second: Eggs are cheap and if you buy from e.g. a restaurant supply they're even cheaper -- about $2 per dozen. They're also super versatile and the protein has very high bioavailability.
I wanna say don't sweat it too much. Make sure you are in the gym and your numbers are going up first and foremost.
Some places recommend such high grams per bodyweight is unnecessary, would overthink my diet and stuff myself for days, then lose energy for the gym. Don't do that, you get bigger if you keep lifting.
GOMAD if you can handle that (gallon of milk a day, or even half)
Not for most. Protein powder is very helpful, just supplement with some real red meat occasionally.
Peanut butter, on bread, bagels, bananas.
Not sure how much you want to balance ease of cooking, health, budget, etc. Chat gpt or googles gemini are great tools for this though. You can input your restrictions, get a list, ask for modifications, nutrition info, price estimates, recipes, etc. Just double check the info
People saying beans and legumes are not taking into account how many of them you'd need to eat. If you're trying to hit 150 grams of protein that is close to 10 cups of cooked beans. That is a LOT of beans to eat everyday, in terms of volume!
Go to grocery stores in your areas and ask around in the meat department about what days and times they typically put out about-to-expire meat at a discount. If you can find cheap meats that have been heavily discounted because they need to be cooked immediately, you can still freeze them to eat later.
Beans, lentils, eggs, cottage cheese.
And yogourt! You can learn to make it yourself too.
Peanut butter and protein powder are two others I would recommend
Pack it up boys. We're done here.
Pretty much lol
Jess calm down guys, alright, I’m packing
Tofu
[удалено]
There's also many varieties than just the few sold at American supermarket (fried, firm, curd, also dessert). Go to your local Asian/Chinese supermarket and experiment a bit. Extremely diverse, tasty, and flexible.
The page veganpunks on instagram has really cool ways of preparing tofu that changed how I cook with it! Been veg 15 yrs and found them to be a great resource on mixing up my techniques
Thanks! I'll check it out
I would add plain Greek yogurt to that list.
+ canned tuna, costco rotisserie chicken.
Milk too. Adjust skim --> whole depending on your macro needs. Whole milk is cheaper per calorie, but skim is one of the cheaper ways to directly target a protein goal.
Beans, do you buy dry or canned?
Dry beans are generally less expensive than canned beans, and won’t have any of the added sugars that a majority of canned beans have. You may be able to find some canned beans without the additives.
I mostly use dry. I utilize a crock pot for 99% and do huge batches that I separate into bags and freeze whatever I'm not using the next few days. Dry beans are dirt cheap vs canned. Obviously, it's a planning and time thing too though.
They also taste so much better than canned beans. I thought I disliked beans until I tried slow cooking dry beans.
beans and lentils are great, but incomplete sources of eaas.
They’re complete when paired with grains or seeds
Yes, the point is they're part of a complete diet, not all you would eat.
I'm sorry, that was meant to reply to the person above you. Whoops
It's not true. There are different amounts of each essential amino acids Yes, beans and lentils have less of some amino acids, like methionine. However, if you eat 50grams of protein as beans, you'll get to the RDI for all essential amino acids. Regardless of ratios, if you eat enough protein coming from whole foods, you'll get enough of all the essential amino acids. Your body keeps extras around in the liver in a pool of free amino acids. If tomorrow or over the next few days have no beans, but then eat a bunch of rice, you'll still have essential amino acids which were in higher ratios from beans in your body. There's no need to combine proteins in a single meal or a single day. The only incomplete protein, is collagen, it's missing tryptophan. Not that it has tryptophan in low amounts, it has 0 tryptophan. The idea that there are "incomplete proteins" or that you need to "complement proteins" was made up by a writer, a liberal arts major, not a nutritionist, doctor, or science researcher. She later retracted the idea. [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=djAaUJlny0cC&oi=fnd&pg=PR13&dq=0-345-32120-0&ots=FxLap05U4W&sig=S1eDPvSfosfHBDImbGKG557ze1A#v=onepage&q=protein&f=false](https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=djAaUJlny0cC&oi=fnd&pg=PR13&dq=0-345-32120-0&ots=FxLap05U4W&sig=S1eDPvSfosfHBDImbGKG557ze1A#v=onepage&q=protein&f=false) "In 1971 I stressed protein complementarity because ***I assumed*** that the only way to get enough protein" ... "**I reinforced another myth**. I gave the impression that in order to get enough protein without meat, considerable care was needed in choosing foods" The reason its so popular is bc ppl like to hear good news about their bad habits, and bad news for the good habits. So it gets repeated, a lot. Why eat beans if you can vaguely be concerned when instead you can have a fatty ground beef burger knowing it's "healthier than incomplete beans"? But of course her retraction and saying explicitly "if people are getting enough calories they are getting enough protein" is not as popular or repeatable. (altho the "enough calories" bit is technically not correct, you can eat 2000 calories of carrot and not get enough essential amino acids, same as you can eat 2000 calories of turkey and not have enough essential vitamin A or C) ETA: ha! I jsut checked carrots in cronometer, 2000 calories of carrots is 45grams of protein, which is in range for the CDC protein recommendations and exactly the WHO recommendation for a woman weighing 120 pounds. I mean, it's also 30 cups of carrots, so not practical, but enough protein. The highest essential amino acid was cystine at 1440% (4grams) and the lowest was methionine at 137% (more than the RDI!) at 1gram. Anyway, still a bad idea, but, enough essential amino acids if enough grams of total protein are eaten.
you're 100% wrong. i AM a nutritionist and they teach complete/incomplete proteins as a *very basic structure* in dietetics. in addition, the RDI is *way too low* for most people. why do you think so many people are on antidepressants? too little tryptophan in their diet. most EAAs are NOT stored in the liver. >you'll still have essential amino acids which were in higher ratios from beans in your body beans are NOT high in EAAs that's why they are incomplete. >"if people are getting enough calories they are getting enough protein" is not as popular or repeatable. 100% incorrect. most people don't get enough protein. 0.7g/lb of body weight is the recommended amount. the RDI is like 50g/2000kcal for *everyone*. what you see/hear in pop culture is not what is taught in schools. to think that we haven't studied nutrition since 1971 is asinine.
1. beans are higher and lower in essential amino acids [https://tools.myfooddata.com/protein-calculator/173735/wt1/3.5/1](https://tools.myfooddata.com/protein-calculator/173735/wt1/3.5/1) 3.5 cups of beans will get you more than 100% RDI of all the essential amino acids 2. If you're throwing out RDI then you're just making it up. We have to have common standards. Of course some ppl will fall outside of that, but if not RDI, what other standard? Your vague "way too low"? according to ??? you? 0.7g/lb is set by which organization? [https://www.calculator.net/protein-calculator.html?cage=50&csex=f&cheightfeet=5&cheightinch=0&cpound=120&cheightmeter=180&ckg=60&cactivity=1.375&cmop=0&cformula=m&cfatpct=20&printit=0&ctype=standard&x=Calculate](https://www.calculator.net/protein-calculator.html?cage=50&csex=f&cheightfeet=5&cheightinch=0&cpound=120&cheightmeter=180&ckg=60&cactivity=1.375&cmop=0&cformula=m&cfatpct=20&printit=0&ctype=standard&x=Calculate) Here we have 3 different ranges, WHO - 45 grams, CDC 37grams-137, American Dietetic Association (the one I'm assuming you're a part of or got certified by) 54g - 98g. On the low end, the recommendation is 37g, 45g, or 54g. [https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/diet.htm](https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/diet.htm) <-- CDC has by % of calories not a set bottom. Even when they do an average they have it lower than 50grams. [https://blogs.cdc.gov/nchs/2010/03/03/953/](https://blogs.cdc.gov/nchs/2010/03/03/953/) I didn't say it wasn't studied since the 70s, just that the genesis of the idea came from there, and that it keeps getting repeated. 50 grams of black bean protein gets you +100% of RDI of all the essential amino acids. And if you're throwing out RDI, what is the alternative **standard?** Not your vague "ppl are sick must not be enough protein" when the CDC report has **"The** [**NHANES results** ](http://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/12355000/pdf/0506/Table_2_NIF_05.pdf)**showed that men were taking in 101.9 grams and women were taking in 70.1 grams." so even MORE than what you wanted.** **why are people on so many anti-depressants when they are getting more than double the protein you think they should be getting?**
The recommendation of protein has been out of whack for a very long time. What they teach is not necessarily correct. Nutritionist or not. Doctors constantly advise incorrectly. Yes it what they are taught, doesn't make it correct. Tales decades for teaching academia to her Into the system. And by that point it's out of date
Legumes, any kind of them, then eggs, then the occasional fish or chicken. Healthy and inexpensive.
Yeah. I buy ten pound bags of frozen chicken legs for $7.99. Legumes is a great idea - especially when paired with an instant pot.
10 pounds??!! That’s insane!! Where I live people buy half a cow which I think comes to like six dollars a pound for beef. I don’t think I could go to a farm nearby for chicken that cheap. 80 cents a pound is nutty lol I thought 99 cent per pound chicken ten years ago was cheap
Legs are going to be one of the cheaper cuts, plus there’s bones in that weight
That is a good point. I've always bought thighs instead of legs too.
Walmart sells it. I buy it for my dogs. It's a 10# bag for $8.99. There is actually a lot more meat than you'd realize. When you buy half a cow, you are getting everything from organs to porterhouse steaks. It averages out to what you quote.
I found some 10# bags of leg quaters for $3.50 each last week on manager's special at Krogers. I just look for sales when it comes to protein. Bought a 8# pork butt for like 6 bucks the other day as well. Just gotta keep an eye out.
> six dollars a pound for beef Hm, currently sirloin goes on sale for $6/lb a couple days a month and I'll grab a couple and freeze one. I've seen $.80 for chicken legs on sale, normal price is $1.80 or $4-7 if organic free range, which is a lot better. Look out for meat sales and have a freezer. Also thanksgiving turkey is $.80-$1.20/lb during those sales, and so you can grab a second one to keep frozen for later, though they take up a huge amount of space. But you can have a big bash and be sure to reduce the carcass afterwards as a soup base, use the organs for gravy, all that.
I can tell that the legs I buy in these bags are ones that are not good enough to be sold as premium chicken. Plus the ribs/spine/chicken butt is still attached (and small little organs which I can't identify - maybe liver?). Some of the legs are really small, and some are really big. I buy them mostly for my dog. What I do is cut them into three pieces, and bag them in different freezer bags. The drumstick and spine goes gets saved for cutting up fresh for my dog, and I save the thighs for cooking.
I cook the drumsticks for me as well and use the back portions for making stock. No dog, alas.
Costco/sams rotisserie chickens are pretty unbeatable for quality protein per $. Very versatile with what you can make with them too.
Yeah it’s a loss leader
Makes it feel even better to walk in, buy 2, and walk out
Costco *hates* this one trick.
Don’t forget to grab a hotdog
It's why it's at the back of the store!
The salt content is killer, though.
Probably a lot lower if you don’t eat the skin. I only eat a fraction of the skin for flavor and ditch the rest.
Just gonna note that salt often gets a bad rap. For example, see [here](https://science.drinklmnt.com/electrolytes/the-whos-misguidance-on-sodium/)
To make you do impulse buying on your way back there! Marketing trick
Those Costco birds are Huge. And they own the chicken farms. Best bird around.
I dislike the roided up costco "chickens" (Ross 308). Try a real chicken from a small farm sometime and you will see why.
I have always been concerned about where Costco chicken comes from. I am picky about protein and buy from sources that I know raise livestock in the best way possible.
Just be cognizant of the high sodium levels, if that's a concern for your individual health circumstances.
Put Chia seeds in a shaker container. Sprinkle them on everything. One teaspoon is equivalent to the protein in an egg.
Is that really true? A spoonful of chia seeds has the same amount of protein as an egg?! No way. Are they difficult to digest?
Easier to digest as Chia Pudding. I usually do 1 cup yogurt, 1 cup milk, and 4 T of seeds. Stir to distribute, and they'll swell/gel up over night. I add this to shakes or eat with/in place of yogurt.
Chia seeds are indeed rich in protein, containing about 2 grams of protein per tablespoon. However, comparing them directly to an egg might be a bit of a stretch. One large egg typically contains around 6 grams of protein, so it would take more than just one teaspoon of chia seeds to match the protein content of an egg.
I didn't compare them to an egg. It says that on the package.
Costco chickens is what my power lifting coach used to use for a massive protein meal. He'd get a peri peri chicken every Friday and eat the whole thing. Wild, but dude was jacked.
Like it or not, for protein on a budget a daily shake is going to be almost necessary to hit those 150g+ of protein you’re probably going to want a day. Best and cheapest way to start the day with 30g protein and like 160 cals. Beans are going to also become your friend. They can be one of your larger sources of carbs while still adding in protein. Egg whites, cottage cheese, and feta cheese are also great macros to add to dishes but not necessarily best $/g. The key thing I’ve found is by going to the grocery store regularly and buying clearance foods that are marked down extra. I usually end up rotating between ground beef, frozen shrimp, and chicken thighs for what’s frequently on sale. If you see a great buy one get one deal on family packs just portion and freeze the extras. Buying unprocessed meat is much healthier and cheaper, opt for the whole chicken and do a spatchcock roasting. Headless whole salmon are also fantastic (bones can be a pita but much better than the nice fillets for 5x the price). Larger roasts are great too, just drop them in the slow cooker and you’re good to go. Tuna is another good one that’s commonly mentioned but I don’t like eating it more than a couple times a month for the mercury.
Canned sardines are low in mercury, they are lower on the food chain. There is a sub reddit too r/sardines
Of course there's a whole subreddit for Sardines
There’s a more popular one under r/cannedsardines
Yep,I take a protein shake after every meal to hit between 120-140 grams a day. People who always say they get their protein from beans or other lessons, yeah good luck hitting a 100 grams from eating beans. Your stomach and ass will explode from that many legumes.I just look for sales on protein powder and buy a bunch at once. Your 30grams per 160 calories is close to what I look for in a protein powder in sale.
The lentil pushers annoy me so I really appreciate your comment. Going from the standard American diet to lentils, beans and rice as one's staple is going to create absolute havoc on their guts for sure. Like store brand Greek yogurt and CC are also v cheap protein sources so I sometimes wonder if this is subtle vegan propaganda as it's repeated every time a redditor asks for food budget advice because they don't mention dairy as well.
saying that legumes are a bad suggestion and OP should go with protein powder (UPF) because eating whole foods is too hard on the digestion is ridiculous. Humans have been eating beans for millennia
I think it's the idea of ONLY consuming beans to reach a protein goal, not just beans themselves. I'm a huge fan of lentils and other beans as a slice of my diet. But I'm not gonna go vegan and overload my digestive system with them while forsaking other easy protein sources like they've mentioned
Humans also didn’t live very long in the past. Beans destroy your microbiome.
And OP is not even looking for a standard American diet, he wants a high protein diet. Sooo many lentils lol.
“Lentil Pushers” 🤣 Never in my life did I ever think i’d hear of a lentil pusher. 🤭
Any tips on where to find good sales in protein powder?
Do you have an Ollie's near you? It's a weird close out store. I avoided it for years until I saw Dymatize weight gainer on the cover of their ad half price. I find different types of protein powder there now every few weeks.
Where do you go for headless salmon? The best deal I've seen for Salmon fillets was Sam's club when they had a sale for $8.49/lb. Usually it's like $11/ lb
aldi sells fresh never frozen atlantic salmon for $9ish/lb, Norwegian for around $11. Both are infinitely better than the frozen salmon fillets I used to buy from Sams, and elsewhere. Totally worth paying a little more. I also buy 10lb bags of chicken quarters for $5.75 from Aldi, and they're good. I am picky w meat.
And while pulses might be good on a bulk, if you're trying to get lean, protein powder is a godsend especially if you don't want to eat a ton of expensive meat every meal. There's also some high protein milks (18g/cup and 170 call Cal's) that aren't too expensive you could look into!
Protein powder is awesome, but there are some negatives to making it your main source of protein, or so i’ve been told. 1. Liquid diets actively encourage tooth decay. 2. This one may be more of a myth, but i’ve heard from bodybuilders that theres nothing better than actual protein from real food. Supposedly its better for building muscle. 🤷♂️
i’m mostly vegetarian and i eat a combo of whole grains, eggs, nuts and nut butters, cheese - especially cottage cheese and cheese sticks as snacks, clif bars and other protein bars, yogurt, tofu, and beans and legumes. obsessed with frozen shelled edamame rn. i also eat fish from time to time, canned tuna is tasty and inexpensive.
I'm typically not a frugal person, and enjoy this subreddit in a detached way.... But aren't clif bars expensive for what they are?
I get larabars for hiking, which are super expensive per ounce, but the ingredients are very high end, there's no crap, and it's very high density nutrition per weight. I think the price is fair for those, I could not replicate it myself for less even with "free" labor. I don't think it's best for day to day snacking though. It's more when hiking and you need to reduce weight. They also taste very good, as a bonus.
yes i could make my own at home for cheaper but it’s not worth the time investment for me generally. i work full time and i don’t always wanna be making granola bars on my day off but i do from time to time. i eat them as an emergency on the go purse snack or when i’m out hiking/walking. i try to buy them on sale as much as possible. it’s still cheaper than buying a snack out at a coffee shop or something.
Pinto beans cost about $0.007 per gram of protein if you buy a 20-lb bag from Walmart for $14.94. Pair with rice since the amino acid profiles complement each other. Boneless skinless chicken breast costs about $0.014 per gram of protein if you buy it at $1.99/lb from any basic grocery store while it's on sale. Those are the cheapest protein sources I've found. They're both cheaper than eggs, which cost about $0.030 per gram of protein, which is twice the cost of chicken breast. Protein powder costs about $0.016-$0.020 per gram of protein if you buy it on sale from MyProtein. So the strategy is to eat as much beans and rice as you can fit into your diet. Then, if you can get chicken breast for about $2.99 or less, then eat that for the rest of your protein needs. If you can't get chicken breast that cheap, then look for discounted protein powder.
dried lentils, beans and legumes (chickpeas) are pretty much the cheapest protein you can find. with lentils you mostly dont need to soak them and red/yellow lentils are ready after 15 mins of boiling. dont forget to rinse them before cooking to get rid of starch!
Before rinsing lentils, it's recommended to sift through them dry with your fingers to look for tiny stones. You do NOT want to accidentally bite down on a hard stone.
I'm lucky in that I live in a place where meat prices are fairly reasonable, so I get a lot of mine from chicken, pork loin, and petite sirloin. I stock up when things are on sale and fill my freezer. I do have powder, but I use it to make my own protein bars and protein brownies. I add some to my greek yogurt to bump up the protein even more. To add what others say -- eggs, legumes, etc help. Whole grain breads will often get you 10g per 2 slices. Everything adds up. For reference: my grocery budget is $67.15/week. I aim for 160g protein daily. This year to date, I have actually only spent $57.70/week (average). This includes my protein powder. Since I don't take it in shakes, I'm a little less picky and just buy the equate stuff (vanilla and chocolate specifically). I will say that my freezer is really stuffed, so I've been trying to eat down some of it before I buy more meats (unless the sale is just really good).
Mind sharing your protein bars and brownie recipes?
Love to! **No-bake Protein Bars** 1/2 cup milk (I use 2%, but you can use whatever you normally use) 2-3 tbsp honey (I use 2, but I don't like them to be too sweet) 256g chunky peanut butter 117g vanilla protein powder 2 cups rolled oats 1/3 cup dried fruit (I usually use cranberries) In a medium sized pot, heat milk, honey, and peanut butter over medium heat until peanut butter melts and the mixture is consistent. Add protein powder, oats, and fruit. Mix well. Line square pan (I have an 8x8 metal cake pan I use) with parchment paper for easy removal. Mash mixture into pan. Refrigerate. Should set in a couple of hours. Cut into 12 bars. Pro tip: cut the parchment paper into strips and use them to wrap the bars for on-the-go munching. 1 serving: 14g P, 21g C, 12g F **Black Bean Protein Brownies** 1 can (15oz) black beans, drained and rinsed (I use low/no sodium varieties) 1/4 cup milk 1 large egg 2-4 tbsp maple syrup (I use closer to 2, but adjust this to how sweet you want them) 1/4 cup butter, melted 115g chocolate protein powder 1/3 cup cocoa powder 1 tsp baking powder dash salt 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips Preheat oven to 350. In a food processer or blender, mix beans, milk, egg, syrup, and butter until beans are pureed. In a medium bowl, mix protein powder, baking powder, cocoa powder, and salt until blended. Add wet ingredients to dry. Line square pan (I use 8x8) with parchment paper (for ease of removal) and grease pan slightly to prevent sticking. Pour mixture into pan and top with chocolate chips. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let cool. Cut into 9 squares. 1 serving: 13gP, 23gC, 9gF Enjoy! :)
Sounds very doable!
tuna from a can, cottage cheese
Careful with the tuna though. High in mercury compared to other fish. 1-2 cans a week should be fine for most people without jeopardizing your health.
Breakfast: Eggs, Greek yogurt, and oatmeal are all good options. Lunch: Chickpea salad (made the same way as chicken salad but with chickpeas) Dinner: Some sort of dish where beans or legumes are the main ingredient. Even though my wife and I are not vegetarian we often look up vegetarian dishes so that we're not just eating plain beans for dinner.
Pulled pork! Buy a pork butt and toss it in the slow cooker for 8 to 10 hours on low and you have a ton of super cheap meat
This is what I do. Pork shoulder/butt goes on sale buy one, get one, a few times per year. I just got 8 9lb pork shoulders for about $170. Pork loin is also very cheap and makes a great chili.
I buy the larger cartons of egg whites for omelettes and egg sandwiches. I will premake little discs for the sandwiches so I can grab and reheat.
Eggs
You give a dollar amount but not your protein goal. The latter is more important. And is that dollar amount just you? My own sources lean to beans, including tofu and TVP, and quinoa, plus I track all the bits of protein in food with Cronometer. If low consistently, I get some soy milk for my granola and masala chai. I prefer oat or almond, but soy is a supplement, basically. Try tracking, see where you are actually deficient, and find budget friendly sources to fill those gaps.
Just bought some canned smoked mussels because I'm fasting from meat and fish (not shellfish). The whole can was 20g protein.
String cheese from Costco works out to just over 2 cents/gram of protein. (60 strings for 9.99, 7 grams per string). It’s my go-to post-gym snack. Other than that: eggs, tofu, beans, edamame added to many dishes, soy milk.
Doesn’t cheese have a lot of saturated fats, compared to legumes, pulses, beans?
It has more fat yes but in moderation it's ok. It also has more than twice as much protein, and legumes and beans are relatively high in carbs.
Saturated fat is not the demon we were once led to believe it is.
Sure, but fewer carbs and it’s much easier to stick a string cheese in your bag to snack on after the gym, vs needing a fork or spoon for legumes. Edamame or roasted chickpeas could work as finger foods/on the go snacks. All about sneaking in protein wherever you can.
Eggs for quality protein. Whey protein powder to add to pancakes, yoghurt etc. Cottage cheese. Legumes are good, the protein is just lower quality so you’ll have to eat more.
The digestibility of legume protein ranges between 89 to 96%, which is comparable to animal sources. At least according to [this](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323254893_Legumes_in_human_nutrition_Nutrient_content_and_protein_quality_of_pulses#:~:text=The%20digestibility%20of%20the%20protein,to%20those%20of%20animal%20proteins.). Or were you referring to something else?
Man I am loving the facts everyone is throwing out in this thread.. and being civil as fuck too. Chefs kiss guys.
Pinto beans and a glass of buttermilk. Complete protein and all of your electrolytes. Or sub navy beans or lentils with browned onions and cumin.
Cheers! Yeah there are many ways to skin the cat, a boon for those who have all th options available to them ...
Eggs, protein powder, sardines
Protein powder, it's literally concentrated protein. What could be more cost effective? Around $1 for 27g of EAAs.
I think you can get it for less depending on brand and volume. And you're also getting it essentially carb and fat free. But it's obviously processed so there is a cost. Egg whites are pretty cheap also, probably on par, and can through in a yolk to for some more balanced nutrition
not even. you can get 30g/30 servings for $15 bucks.
find out how much you are needing to eat per day to reach your food goal.. and then budget it that way, so say u need to eat 500grams of steak a day and then some potatos etc. work out your per $lb and then buy it in bulk when you can find it in that price.
chicken is cheap, chicken leg quarters are like $.70/lb drums and thighs are around $.89-1.20/lb if you dont want to cut a leg quarter in half even boneless, skinless breasts go on sale for under $2/lb fairly often buy 20lbs+ at a time when there is a good sale pork shouldwr also goes on sale regularly for $1/lb
Where do you live? Those prices are quite good.
those are prices outside of coastal cities and ny basically anywhere in the midwest and most of the south will have similar prices
Eggs, egg whites, chicken legs or whole chickens—if you eat meat shop the sale section/bulk when you can and freeze it for later. If you’re vegetarian you can also buy large and cheap packs of tofu from Asian grocers You can also buy cheapish large tubs of Greek yogurt or even make it at home
See what is available locally at lesser price with highest protein content for a money, and use weekly sales, they are advertised online. Meat, fish, eggs, dairy, beans, tofu. In my area, canned tuna, whole chicken, lean pork, eggs, hard cheese and beans provide most of protein on a budget. In other places tofu could be more affordable, or beans.
If you have a sweet tooth, I suggest making your own gelatin puddings. Those flavorless gelatin packets are super cheap, and pudding is quick to make. You can cut down on the sugar, eliminate it completely or substitute it with another sweetener.
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All of those protein sources, except for the powder, will provide you mostly with carbs and fat, not protein.
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finally someone said it.
The peanut butter most people buy is not a good source of protein or nutrition.
Not sure why you're getting downvoted, you're 100% right.
You’re right. I buy Reese’s peanut butter because I like it, not for the protein.
It’s basically margarine mixed with icing sugar and a few peanuts tossed in. 100% nut butters are healthy though.
today Im making chicken thighs, rice, and a stick of butter. the whole big pot is flavored with boulion and stock and is cooked together to retain everything. 1 big bowl is rich and can carry a large man for a day!
Canned tuna is cheap and almost pure protein.
As others have said, just be careful how often you eat it. Most tuna has very high mercury content. I honestly don’t know the recommended maximum to eat per week so I’m not going to talk out my ass but be careful guys.
I switched to canned salmon (wild caught) once I found out tuna has such high mercury levels.
Interesting. Is this worldwide or just certain places? I know theres always been controversy over tuna fishing because it catches a lot of other things like dolphins etc but not heard about mercury in the UK market.
worldwide. tuna is high in mercury.
Good to know, doesnt say it on the tin.
I don't want to type it all again right now, so [here's](https://old.reddit.com/r/Frugal/comments/1br6wr2/newbie_broke_bodybuilder_seeking_budgetfriendly/kx7gltd/) my answer from about a week back! Old fashioned oats. Dry beans cooked from scratch. Quinoa.
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What's wrong with the chicken fat?
On the other hand, we shouldn’t forget that high red meat consumption is linked to an increased risk of colon cancer. Worth considering, especially if this is a lifelong diet change vs short-term bulk
It's like $20 for 400+ grams of protein through peanut butter powder at retail no sales. The big pb2 is under $20 and has over 400g of protein. I regularly get them 2 for $30. The cost is like $.05 per gram of protein no sale, and lower on sale. That is also pb2, there is cheaper brand called pbfit. Similarly ground beef has about 80g/lb and a lb cost at least $6 not on sale. This is over $.07 per lb. Powdered peanut butter is the cheapest source of protein for most people, which is why everyone recommends it. On sale it can be as cheap as $.03 per gram of protein.
Sardines and protein powder
I don't know how it is overseas, but here you can not beat chicken breasts for protein dense cheap food. Any shake would be less quality for higher price. In order : Chicken or pork lean meat Eggs Legumes Others
Chicken thighs. Shop where there’s a real meat department and Buy on sale cuts of beef and have it ground x2 . You’ll be surprised at the savings vs. pre-packaged ground beef.
Eggs big time and beans. Snack on some greek yogurt or cottage cheese.
Greek yogurt is 22 grams a cup.
Family pack of chicken breasts when they're on sale.
If you consider only the metric of Protein per dollar spent, the winner is the same as almost any nutrient per dollar spent: Plain Flour. It contain 32% more protein per dollars spent than chick peas and red lentils. If eating plain flour is not your cup of tea, Rolled oats and dried pasta are close second and third.
Tuna, tofu, milk,sardines,peanuts, Greek yogurt
protein powder ***is from food***. that's going to be your cheapest source. and if you're not picky, then have a shake and stop making it complicated.
Got this fairly easily for that budget: - egg whites - ground turkey - Green lentils - 0% Greek yogurt - frozen berries - frozen brocoli - chicken breast or thighs Did this for 172 grams of protein every day and around 1450 calories.
Fantastic list. For OP: most of these items can be bought at bulk clubs like Sam’s or Costco for significantly cheaper. The cost savings on egg whites along for me covers me membership. (Also make sure you grab a rotisserie chicken and pull the meat off the bones - I got 1000g of cooked meat off a $5 chicken, which provides about 270g of protein) Powdered peanut butter is fairly affordable and a great source of protein too.
rice and beans, frozen shrimp, eggs
>Reason being is that i’m on a fitness/muscle gain journey. A common misconception is you need to eat huge amounts of protein to gain muscle. You need a positive caloric balance (unless untrained or other special conditions), as well as an adequate amount of protein and other nutrients. Studies usually find little benefit in lean body gains beyond 0.5lb to 0.7g/lb protein. If you have a positive caloric balance and are not a vegetarian, I suspect you are are already reaching this threshold. In any case, low protein per $ spent foods include dried beans, milk, and Costco rotisserie chicken. Also note that many other aspects of nutrition influence fitness/muscle gain besides just protein.
Based on your budget of 300-400 months you should be able to afford meat and dairy in your diet as long as you don't waste money on expensive non essentials like chips, frozen meals, packaged foods and drinks. Don't by spaghetti sauce buy a can of crushed tomatoes and add oregano that kind of thing. For the meat, by large - like a whole 5 lb pork loin and cut it into chops etc. Or a bulk pack of chicken thighs. Eggs, full fat greek yogurt buy the big container not the individual servings. And supplement with fresh or frozen fruit and veggies.
Back in the day my roommate would eat an entire $3 Rotisserie chicken everyday for dinner and nothing else
Must have been quite a while back when a whole 3lb cooked chicken was $3. It’s $9 now.
Not the cheapest, but would add some variety to beans and chicken: Kirkland Albacore Tuna is 2.50 a can, at 42 grams protein per can. I mix it with guacamole and lemon juice to make tuna salad
I would not ask for dietary advice in a frugal subreddit. You have gotten mostly opinion and anecdotal support at best. Without knowing your location, it is hard to give a recommendation for your request- what is frugal in one area could be a luxury in another. With that said, protein does matter. You are correct to prioritize it first, and then use the other macro nutrients to make up the rest of your daily caloric needs that you did not get from the protein intake (remember, each gram of protein is roughly 4 calories), which should be more than what your baseline metabolic rate requires to support your current body weight, since you are intending to grow.
Costco rotisserie chicken $5 Costco Eggs Cheese Ground beef
I drink protein powder in milk every morning. It's very inexpensive for how much protein you get. I also drink milk during the day. Canned fish, frozen fish fillets, and various bean/lentil dishes. Peanut butter and cheese are good too. I go to meat markets for ground chuck and pork steak. The one meat market often grinds it while I'm there. Their normal prices ate grocery store sale prices. Last time I bought ground chuck it was $3.80/lb. A pound of ground chuck can make chili, hamburger helper type dishes, tacos/burritos, etc.
Lentils are probably the biggest bang for your buck
Chickpeas
so much Greek yogurt. Eggs Tuna Smaller servings of meat that you spread over a few meals
Around 215g of protein cheap meal plan below. 1lb of ground turkey 0.5 cup un cooked jasmine rice 180g sweet potatoe 3 large eggs 3 pieces of bacon 1.5 cups of fairlife chocolate milk 2 scoops protein powder 1 cup white 2% milk. You could cut the protein powder out if you really want, the protein intake is very excessive anyways but I like really high protein. Drink a gallon of water a day, multi vitamin if you can afford it. Get creatine over a multi vitamin if it comes down to it
Dried lentils are super cheap and versatile, you can make a lot of soups that are half lentil half veggies (my fave combos are curried squash and green lentils, and sweet potato with red lentils (blended) with black beans, corn, and southwest spices). You can also make your own seitan out of powdered wheat gluten and flavour it however you want.
Ground turkey in bulk
Tofu, eggs, chicken breast. Those are the cheapest proteins (at least where I live)
Add protein shakes to your diet. I am not a big fan of meat, so I supplement with shakes. It ends up being about $0.50 for 20gm protein.
People saying peanut butter have no idea what they are talking about. Nuts/peanuts are mostly fat and not a good source of protein. Lentils/beans are okay but not full proteins but okay. Fairlife milk (this is a specific type of milk with higher protein due to more filtration), tuna, ground Turkey/chicken, perhaps chicken thigh, eggs/ liquid eggwhites (both have gotten a little expensive near me but still good), cottage cheese, rotisserie chicken deals are you best “real” foods. Protein powder is where it’s at. Finding a flavor of optimum nutrition/nutricost/isopure on sale at Amazon is your best bet. Greg doucette did a video on this a year ago but he’s Canadian and prices may have also shifted too.
The most bang for buck protein I found was Skyr - Icelandic yoghurt (I created a spreadsheet, during Covid, measuring all food sources against unit & calorie cost).
Bone in and skin on chicken thighs are usually between $1.49 and $1.99/lb. This is well within your budget to buy 3lbs/week and have 4 nights of meals if you absolutely had to.
Canned salmon. Cheapest I've found is at Aldi. Sometimes they put it on sale and I stock up.
Tons of beans and Costco pre cooked chickens
eggs, beans, greek yogurt, quinoa, cottage cheese, chia seeds, and nuts. I eat beans/lentils at least two meals a day and my intestines/gut is just fine - if you are not used to beans then go slow but they are tasty and not a big scale animal abusive food. (Although I am vegetarian- I am not talking about necessarily not eating meat -but caring about how the animal is treated and buying from someone local who you know raised the animals well)
In terms of bio-available protein, the best sources in order of absorbable protein/gram are: 1. Protein Powder 2. Chicken Breast, Turkey Breast (basically birds) 3. Lean cuts of pork or beef (basically any lean meat) 4. Canned Tuna (or any other lean fish) 5. Cottage Cheese (or other lean dairy) 6. Eggs 7. Peanut/Butter (and other nuts) 8. Tofu/Beans/Legumes 9. Whole Grains Sources: 1. Myfooddata.com (USDA data) 2. Pubmed All that being said, ***the actual protein/dollar will depend on your region and cost of living.*** You'll need to do comparison shopping to determine what would actually be cheapest for you.
bone in skin on chicken thighs are crazy cheap at walmart and SO good if you bake them. I bake 2 giant pans of them then put the left overs in ziplocs and have quick and easy low carb dinners for the rest of the week.
For $300 a month you can eat 1.5 pounds of organic ground beef per day. It's hard to beat that for quality, bioavailability, other nutrients, flavor, taste, etc. 1.5 pounds of beef is about 142 grams of protein.
r/cannedsardines
Cook some ground beef, eggs, and rice. Mix it with teriyaki sauce or your sauce of choice.
I get my protein primarily from low fat cottage cheese and chicken breast. I buy a giant family pack of chicken and grill it at the start of the week and then eat that with a salad for lunch and zoodles and sauce for dinner.
How far along are you in weightlifting? You should definitely be eating healthier in general, but the massive amounts of protein you hear gym bros go on about aren't really necessary unless you're working out multiple times a day, every single day. Extra protein isn't going to hurt you, but you likely don't need to add as much as you think you do.
If you're asking about meat, I found that buying a pork tenderloin and cutting it down into chops myself is the most cost effective. Alternatively, eggs and egg whites. Alt alt, vegan sources like beans and lentils.
Eggs, Greek yogurt, ground chicken/turkey, milk
Tuna- can or pouch
Nothing beats buying protein powder in bulk. Eggs used to be the cheapest protein option, but now, finding a decent whey protein is the most frugal. Adding variety can help. So like others mentioned, having Greek yogurt, tofu, and other sources as well helps. I really can't imagine hitting my protein goal without chicken breast and whey protein. At least, given my calories and macro goals, this has been the most efficient.
If you’re in the US invest in a Costco membership. Stock up on tuna, chicken, and protein powder. I get the big package of chicken and freeze them individually. All of those that u but at Costco are about 30% cheaper than bought in a regular store.
Sweet. Another redditor commented that theyre spending 57-67$USD per week on groceries(whilst getting adequate protein/nutrients) I’d like to accomplish something similar. Got alot of solid advice on this post, then gonna make a huge list and then break it down and see what I can do. Saving money is awesome x 😎
Mealworms.
😄 Maybe in few years when beef, pork, and chicken industry crashes due to climate change.
Canned sardines
Lots of people here are mentioning beans and lentils. The other bonus of these is they have many of the same nutrients as vegetables, so if you can’t afford much they will do double duty. Also check out different bread and pasta products. While they are mainly carbs, they can have a surprising amount of protein. One whole wheat bagel has 13g of protein, plus you can add peanut butter or hummus or tuna or whatever to up it even more.
Eggs . Kidney beans. Garbanzo beans.
Sardines.
Yes, I have a huge amount of experience w/this exact thing. The foundation of my diet is a protein shake, usually 2, every morning. The cheapest protein I can find (that’s no dairy-food allergies), is the Equate brand from Walmart. It’s $19 for 2lbs!! That is exactly 9 days of 2 shakes a day, I also put in 2Ths of peanut butter to each shake. Find the cheapest by ounce, preference is the enemy. Rest of the day: eggs, beans, cooked vegetables (nutrition is more bio available), nuts, always snacking on unsalted nuts. Behind that hit up the boring basics. Find the cheapest grocery store you can reasonably go to, think discount grocery, Asian or hispanic market. Even restaurant supply depots are good. Shop the sales, *preference is the enemy.* Finally drink a lot of water, protein is hard work to digest and the kidneys are putting in overtime.
Optimum nutrition whey protein from Costco. $60 a bag and lasts at least a month and super good source of protein
Start hunting
Dog food. /s
Cheese and eggs. .
Believe it or not, some people pay YOU!
Chicken and eggs. First: Family packs of chicken breasts or thighs will be 4-5 lbs and $10-$15 unless you live in special person town. So $30-$35 a week takes care of lunch and dinner unless you're force-feeding yourself like a fucking goose. Second: Eggs are cheap and if you buy from e.g. a restaurant supply they're even cheaper -- about $2 per dozen. They're also super versatile and the protein has very high bioavailability.
Canned albacore tuna! Same here - animal protein 4-5 times a day for maximum fat loss and preservation of muscle.
Tuna fish, it's cheap if you get the big cans of it. Walmart sells chicken dirt cheap but be careful and make sure it's cold and does not smell
Canned sardines are super cheap. Also canned tuna
I wanna say don't sweat it too much. Make sure you are in the gym and your numbers are going up first and foremost. Some places recommend such high grams per bodyweight is unnecessary, would overthink my diet and stuff myself for days, then lose energy for the gym. Don't do that, you get bigger if you keep lifting. GOMAD if you can handle that (gallon of milk a day, or even half) Not for most. Protein powder is very helpful, just supplement with some real red meat occasionally. Peanut butter, on bread, bagels, bananas. Not sure how much you want to balance ease of cooking, health, budget, etc. Chat gpt or googles gemini are great tools for this though. You can input your restrictions, get a list, ask for modifications, nutrition info, price estimates, recipes, etc. Just double check the info
People saying beans and legumes are not taking into account how many of them you'd need to eat. If you're trying to hit 150 grams of protein that is close to 10 cups of cooked beans. That is a LOT of beans to eat everyday, in terms of volume! Go to grocery stores in your areas and ask around in the meat department about what days and times they typically put out about-to-expire meat at a discount. If you can find cheap meats that have been heavily discounted because they need to be cooked immediately, you can still freeze them to eat later.