I'm a vegetarian and have been tracking my protein since the summer holidays. Eating in my previous diet, I would rarely get to 45g of protein daily. Now I aim for at least 80g daily and on a 'bad day' get to about 50 or 60g. I monitor using my fitness pal and journalling, reading food labels and doing calculations to double check my fitness pal as it's not always accurate.
I make sure each meal I eat has something high in protein whereas before I wasn't considering my macronutrient (carb protein fat) intake- this could be through cheese (e.g cheddar, halloumi), low fat cottage cheese, milk (I've recently moved from whole to semi skimmed from August to December and now onto skimmed end of December onwards), greek yoghurt, protein yoghurts. I try to have 20g protein in each meal or get close to this. I usually have 1 snack daily with yoghurt, milk, eggs, cottage cheese, protein shake- whatever I'm feeling and fits in my with my calorie allowance for the day- to make up to 80g daily. I tend not to have nuts or else weigh it out each time because it's calorie dense and I can't easily work out what 1 serving looks like with them. Calories wise I am doing low carb, I prioritise protein rich food and I don't monitor my fat intake as it's not a priority. Fats and protein are satiating and make you feel fuller for longer compared to carbs.
My diet has gone through different phases as I've learnt new things and through trial and error with meals and with cravings and portion control. Sometimes depending on the day and activities I eat like below and sometimes I just eat whatever I want and just add 100g low fat cottage cheese or 15-30g cheddar cheese or a cup of 200ml skimmed milk or 2 protein drinks (PhD Smart Protein or Plant Diet in strawberry - less than 100 calories for 18-20g protein) as snacks or sides in a meal.
I really recommend researching, it's changed how I think and see food for the better. Back in August I researched what a healthy diet looks like, looked at the eatwell plate, NHS Choices, BHF, WebMD, Healthline, watched Panorama Ultraprocessed People and listened to Zoe nutrition. I browsed Holland and Barratt to see what they sold as supplements and for muscle building and then researched the science behind those foods to work out what is actually needed / could be useful for me personally. I using made a list of all the foods I usually eat, what foods I enjoy, what foods are high in protein or considered healthy and looked at their protein: calorie ratio, vitamins, minerals, fibre, cost using Asda/Tesco's/Sainsbury's and learnt what foods best serve me and which don't. Since then I mentally make notes of how nutritionally valuable different foods are by checking the ingredients list and food labels and recipes and physically weighing them to see how much a suggested serving on the box vs 25g, 50g, 100g actually looks like. This opened my eyes to how calorie dense, low in protein and nutrients my diet was previously. I eat a much balanced and healthier diet now. It took to around October half term for me to work out the nutritional value of different foods quickly in my mind and honestly this initial research process was so useful because now whenever I eat new foods or see new recipies there's no difficulty in working out if I would enjoy eating something and whether it's actually good for me.
Breakfast
1 or 2 eggs with toast +/- porridge with skimmed milk. Sometimes the porridge has protein powder added in. Protein shake on the side depending on what I've had e.g. if I have Greek yogurt and granola and fruits then I'll always drink a protein shake to get to at least 20g a meal because the Greek yogurt is higher in protein to other foods but not that high compared to eggs/halloumi/mozzarella/cottage cheese/protein shake.
Protein pancakes- I'm still looking for a good recipe for this- typically has oats, eggs, cottage cheese. You can add protein powder or have it on the side as a drink.
At one point I got into making almond croissants at home using old croissants, ground almonds, almond flakes. I'd have this with greek yoghurt and fruit +/- protein shake.
Lunch
Depends on whether I'm at work or at home because I don't always have time to eat at work and often my nicely prepared lunch comes home to be eaten.
I'm really loving baked mushrooms atm - 80-100g Mushrooms with stalks removed, then add 16g Boursin cheese and 30g mozzarella and small amounts of panko breadcrumbs to this, bake in air fryer until mozzarella has melted and is golden.
Salad- feta cheese or fried halloumi, toasted pine nuts, veg or antipasti.
Something else, whatever it is I'm feeling, plus a protein shake.
Dinner
Variable family meal, not always high in protein but usually high in carbs so I add a protein shake on the side or have it as a snack earlier or later in the day.