Protein is a huge part of the winning formula for building muscle. Packing the protein into your body and working hard in the gym will help you significantly in building muscle. Finding the protein formula can be difficult. A lot of recommendations involve foods which are not ready available in supermarket and foods which the normal everyday individual just doesn’t eat.

The list we’ve brought together tries to focus on foods which can be easily brought into the daily diet. Whether that’s at breakfast, lunch or dinner you should quite comfortably be able to bring these into your daily diet. There are other foods on the list which can be easily snacked on. You shouldn’t have any problems adding these to your diet and for me that’s what exercise should be about. It should be painless and enjoyable and that comes down to your diet too.

The top 10 list consists of foods which we found great for packing on the protein. There are plenty more available but these are some of our favourites.

1: Almonds
You don’t have to be a meat eater to get a nice intake of protein. Almonds are a great source of protein. Approximately ¼ cup of almonds contains nearly 8g of protein. A great snack to have between meals and can be eaten easily. You can grab a handful and have them at work to take the edge off your hunger as well as providing you with a high protein intake.

2:  Tuna (Canned or Tuna Steaks)
Tuna is a personal favourite of mine when it comes to protein. I tend to have Tuna every day. Why?, because Tuna is cheap , tastes amazing and is literally packed full to the rafters of protein. Yellowfin Tuna provides the most protein with 30g per 100 gram serving, or about 8g per ounce.

The beauty of Tuna is that its ready available so can be a popular choice to boost the protein intake. If you are hungry throughout the day then drain a can of tuna and snack on it. Not only does it taste nice but you get the protein boost your body needs.

3: Cottage Cheese:
This one even came as a surprise to me.  That household favourite you have at the side of your salad is absolutely fantastic for its protein intake. If you pick up the low fat variation too you will be getting an excellent source of protein which is very low in calorie intake. Perfect for those looking to introduce high amounts of protein to their body.

On average ½ a cup of cottage cheese contains a huge 18g of protein. Read the side of the label in the supermarket and you will see the benefits you can gain with cottage cheese.

4: Milk:
Not only is milk great for building healthy, strong bones but it’s also fantastic as it’s high in protein. 1 cup of Milk contains around 8g of protein, a great way to increase your protein intake. British supermarkets have recently started to stock 1% fat milk which is a tastier alternative to skimmed milk. With this you get the taste of semi skimmed milk but with less fat. As a recommendation you should drink either skimmed or the 1% fat milk. Try incorporating a glass of milk into your diet before bed or mixing it with your protein supplement to increase the protein levels.

5: Lean Ground Beef/Mince:
Red meats for those looking for weight loss are always looked upon as the devil as they contain high fat levels and calories. They do however serve as a brilliant food for those looking to bulk as the protein levels are extremely high. They say a mere 100g portion of lean ground beef can contain over 27g of protein, huge amounts for those looking for gain.

Beef also contains additional vitamins and minerals all great for the body so it’s more than just a protein boost. A personal favourite of mine is to use lean ground mince to make some great burgers.  These are extremely tasty and packed full of protein. Highly recommended.

6: Eggs:
Egg’s get the nod on my list of top proteins just because of how easy they are to consume and how they can be easily added to your diet. The fantastic thing about eggs is that they can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner and as snacks so you can really add them to your diet at anytime of the day.

Each egg contains approximately 5-6g of protein and they are low in calories. Egg protein is also considered to be the most readily utilisable and is used most efficiently for muscular growth. You can simply drop a egg into your shake mix without even tasting it or have two eggs for your breakfast on a slice of wholemeal toast. It’s really simple to incorporate eggs into your diet.

7: Peanut Butter:
Another one which is a bit of a surprise is peanut butter. The traditional US classic has a very high level of protein. They say that approximately two tablespoons of peanut butter contains around 8g of protein to make it an obvious snack choice for those looking to build muscle.

Most people see peanut butter as a snack to eat throughout the day. Having a few spoonfuls of peanut butter to curb the hunger and stack up the protein can really make a difference to your intake of protein.  Again like eggs peanut butter is so simple to eat yet has high levels of protein. An obvious choice for anybodies diet.

8:Salmon:
Fish is back on the menu with Salmon and excellent levels of protein. Salmon can be eaten as a main meal and goes fantastic with steamed veg or salad. If you a really looking to pack in the protein then have two pieces of salmon and hold any carbs with the meal other than within the vegetables. A typical portion of salmon weighing around 3.5 oz has around 27g of protein.

9: Chicken Breast:
Skinless chicken breasts are another excellent protein source. Chicken breast is also low in fat and can be literally eaten with anything. Chicken can be eaten as a snack, as a lunch time salad or as a main meal and is an excellent source of protein. Chicken also tastes great! A typical 3.5 oz chicken breast contains around 30g of protein.

10: Yogurt:
If you are looking for a desert option to increase your protein intake then yogurt is tremendous for this. A normal yogurt pot contains between 5-6g of protein. Have a couple of yogurts with some fresh fruit for an excellent after meal desert. This will fill you and also give you that protein boost in an enjoyable desert.

Summary:
If you read my recent protein packed fitness diary then you will be aware that you need at least 1-1.5g of protein per lb you weigh. By introducing the above foods into your diet you are sticking to a healthy lifestyle and also incorporating foods which have high levels of protein to enable you to match the protein intake you require.

Couple the above foods with protein supplements and you can comfortably match the amount of protein required without compromising your lifestyle too much.

Thanks for reading,

Ryan

Sources:
Askmen.com
Healthaliciousness.com
Fitbuff.com