Can I eat high protein on a budget? Ideas please?

[Bookaholic73]

I’ve decided to start increasing my protein intake, as I’ve heard it keeps you fuller for longer and helps repair muscle after lifting weights.

The problem is that meat, eggs & fish have all become quite expensive, and I can’t eat beans or lentils because they flare up my IBS.

Can I still eat a high protein diet on a budget? If so, what kinds of meals should I be eating?

Patently not true. The vegan food that is pretty much everywhere now (much harder to find vegetarian food in pubs and restaurants) has barely any protein in it. At a meal out last weekend I was served root veg in a vegan pastry with sprouts, parsnips, carrots and potatoes. As a high protein low carb eater it was the complete opposite of what I needed. (I had asked if they could add some cheese to the pastry thing but apparently this was beyond them.)

I work away a lot. It’s near impossible for me to get enough protein eating out - I travel with tinned tuna and mayo.

Legumes and pulses are relatively new foods in the human diet. It’s not uncommon for people to struggle to digest them because we haven’t evolved to. They can cause all sorts of issues and inflammation. I feel much better when I avoid them but need to supplement my protein and dairy-based protein affects me more so 🤷🏻‍♀️.

If dairy and eggs caused me issues then I would have digestive issues on keto where I eat eggs and dairy everyday. I was vegan for almost 3 years and felt very ill during that time. I was given the same advice as you had for op: wait it out and increase fibre slowly. It just didn't work for me. I'm a keen cook and wasn't relying on processed vegan food.

Sorry op don't mean to derail your thread! This is not an anti veganism or meat vs vegans as some people seem to do well on veganism just that not everyone can handle beans and lentils even if they give it years. Some of us genuinely feel better on meat.

Whilst I think that is true for the majority, I have bowel issues and the consultant's advise is to eat a low residue - i.e. very low fibre diet. He said for a distinct group of people - fibre is really awful for IBS and other bowel issues - and should be avoided at all costs.
I can only cope with small amounts of rice. Pasta, potatoes, bread, quinoa, pulses, beans, root veg are highly problematic for me. I also can't eat soy which rules out a lot of vegetarian foods.
I eat high protein - eggs, fish and buy large quantities of chicken to keep the cost down and freeze. Add in lots of green veg.

If it's to generally increase your protein intake then try adding boiled eggs to lunch and take them around with you as a snack. Don't eat the yolk if you want to keep the fat content low. I also buy frozen chicken and make chicken bites in the air fryer. A lot of the things people have suggested as also high in carbs so you need to have a little research.
If it's about the gym then you need to do your research. It's not a simple case of increasing your daily protein but you need to tread carefully if you are going to start on protein powders.

Aldi do chocolate mousse with 20g protein and it's delicious!

They are actually much better sources of nutrition than animal foods, as they are high in protein yet also contain fibre which is essential for a healthy gut. It's also incredibly hard to be deficient in protein as it's in pretty much every thing we eat.

Hard to know where to start with that, other than to say that every word of it is ideological driven and not fact based.

One thing about eating more good protein (which is best from animal products) is that you don't need all the 'trimmings' in such quantities. You have a 3 egg omlette and that will keep you full for at least 4 hours just on it's own, you don't need anything else - that is a very cheap meal on anyone's scale.

I usually just eat the protein piece with some good fats - so a steak with some cheese on top, maybe an egg. Nothing else with it. I am never hungry. Seems expensive - but that meal is a fiver - which actually isn't too bad when you consider what you might spend on a lasagne with chips and garlic bread.

Also on the cost thing - if you up your protein with good quality protein, you will be less hungry and not spending money on snacks.

I never ever buy snacks

Thanks for the advice.

Eating beans and lentils is not something I’ll consider. From 20 years of experience, my body cannot adjust to them.

Lidl seems to be really good at prices, especially with eggs and meat.

Im aiming for about 130g of protein a day, as I left weights 3x a week and also run a little bit.
I might also cut my carb intake slightly, but mainly just bread to be honest.

Rubbish. As a species we eat too much protein and too little fibre. Why do you think so many people suffer with gut issues?

Because they destroy their gut biome eating too much sugar and highly processed, nutritionally poor foods.

You can get high protein yoghurts, which are expensive for yoghurts but have a LOT of protein eg 18g a pot for the Lindahls ones. Also Tempeh is really high protein. How about tvp? Dried mince stuff. It’s fine in say a veggie curry.

I enjoy eating tofu and tempeh, especially in stir fries.
TVP also upsets my IBS unfortunately.

I’ll keep a look out for those yogurts, thanks.

130 g/day. Wow.

Does anyone think I got math wrong here? Mostly Tesco prices. Says that chicken thighs would be the cheapest protein, lentils the dearest. But not a lot of difference for most budgets.

Are you sure that the protein per 100g lentils refers to the dry weight, or is it when cooked?

whatever the supermarket summary is. I assume it's Dry weight. So you'd have to eat a lot of lentils (volume, fibre) to get 130g protein that way. OP already knows she wouldn't.

@Bookaholic73 I have the same issue with lentils/chick peas/ legumes etc . I can eat them tinned, as the constituent in them that causes IBS is diluted in the liquid in the can. So always drain the liquid away. Cooking using dried items means very high levels of this compound.
It's worth googling the Fodmap diet to investigate the cause of your IBS.
@Crunchy, sensitivity to Fodmaps ( Monash University) is a common cause of IBS. It's nothing to do with eating an unhealthy diet.

Lentil and veg soup
Chick pea and vegetable soup
Cottage cheese
Hard boiled eggs
Greek yogurt
Beef mince and kidney bean chilli
Hummus
Peanut butter

Lots of people recommending cottage cheese. Thanks. I’ve never actually tried it before, so will give it a go.

Hard boiled eggs (yolk removed) will definitely become a staple I think!