Healthy Protein Foods
Choosing the right healthy protein foods is one of the keys to a healthy lifestyle. Whether you're trying to lose weight, gain lean muscle, or both, if you don't eat enough protein you will have a very hard time accomplishing your goals. We have a tendency to lose muscle mass and strength, particularly as we get older (a condition called sarcopenia). When you lose muscle mass, your body essentially loses strength and is not able to burn as many calories, which then leads to steady weight gain. Research has shown that to prevent losing muscle mass and maximize weight loss you need to take in around 90 grams worth of healthy protein foods each day for a man of average weight and around 60-70 grams for an average sized woman. For men who are looking to gain more lean muscle mass, you should eat even more protein: .75-1 gram per pound of bodyweight.
Finding healthy protein foods is not too difficult. Below you’ll find different sources of protein sources grouped according to category (Meat & Poultry, Fish, Grains, Dairy & Eggs, Beans/Legumes, Nuts & Seeds, and Fruits & Vegetables). For more information about how much food you should be eating each day from each food group, check out the The Healthy Eating Pyramid page. Without further ado, let's look at some healthy protein foods:
Meat & Poultry | MEAT/POULTRY (4 oz. serving) | Calories | Total Fat (g) | Saturated Fat (g) | | Turkey breast | 153 | 1 | 0 | | Chicken breast | 186 | 4 | .5 | | Beef eye of round | 182 | 5 | 2 | | Chicken drumstick | 194 | 6 | 2 | | Turkey breast with skin | 214 | 8 | 2 | | Beef top round | 226 | 6 | 2.5 | | Pork tenderloin | 211 | 7 | 3 | | Chicken breast with skin | 223 | 9 | 3 | | Chicken wing | 229 | 9 | 3 | | Veal sirloin | 190 | 7 | 3 | | Beef top sirloin | 220 | 9 | 3 | | Chicken drumstick with skin | 224 | 13 | 3 | | Lamb sirloin | 231 | 10 | 4 | | And below are some not so healthy sources of protein… | | Ground beef (80% lean) | 307 | 21 | 8 | | Porterhouse steak | 345 | 25 | 10 | | Duck with skin | 381 | 32 | 11 | | Beef short ribs | 532 | 47 | 20 |
Here are some other high quality, healthy protein protein foods from each food group:
Grains 
• Brown rice, 1 cup – 5 grams
• Quinoa, 1 cup – 9 grams
• Whole wheat spaghetti, 1 cup – 8 grams
• Bulgur, 1 cup – 8 grams
• Whole wheat bread, 1 slice – 3 grams
• Oatmeal, 1 cup – 5 grams
• Wheat germ, 1/4 cup – 8 grams
Dairy & Eggs
• Egg, large – 6 grams
• Egg white – 3.5 grams
• Milk, 1 cup – 8 grams
• Cottage cheese, ½ cup – 15 grams
• Yogurt, 1 cup – 10-12 grams
• Greek yogurt, 1 cup – 20 grams
• Soft cheeses– 6 grams per oz.
• Medium cheeses – 7-8 grams per oz.
• Hard cheeses – 10 grams per oz.
Beans/Legumes
 • Soy beans, 1 cup – 28 grams
• Tofu, ½ cup – 20 grams
• Lentils, 1 cup – 18 grams
• Black beans, 1 cup – 15 grams
• Kidney beans, 1 cup – 13 grams
• Chickpeas (garbanzo beans), 1 cup – 10 grams
• Baked beans, 1 cup – 10 grams
• Lima beans, 1 cup – 10 grams
Nuts & Seeds
• Pumpkin seeds, ¼ cup – 19 grams
• Peanuts, ¼ cup – 9 grams
• Flax seeds – ¼ cup – 8 grams
• Peanut butter, 2 T – 8 grams
• Almonds, ¼ cup – 8 grams
• Sunflower seeds, ¼ cup – 6 grams
• Almond butter, 2 T – 5 grams
• Cashews, ¼ cup – 5 grams
• Pecans, ¼ cup – 2.5 grams
Fruits & Vegetables
• Sweet corn, 1 cob – 5 grams
• Baked potato with skin, medium – 5 grams
• Spinach, 1 cup – 5 grams
• Peas, ½ cup – 4 grams
• Artichoke, medium – 4 grams
• Avocado, medium – 4 grams
• Swiss chard, 1 cup – 3 grams
• Asparagus, 5 spears – 2 grams
• Broccoli, ½ cup – 2 grams
• Blackberry, 1 cup – 2 grams
• Banana, large – 2 grams
Fish
 • Most fish contain around 28-30 grams of protein per 4 oz. serving...a few popular fish choices are below
• Salmon, 4 oz. - 29 grams
• Sole, 4 oz. - 28 grams
• Cod, 4 oz. - 27 grams
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