Alright…I know that I have doctors, nurses and at least one dietician who read my blog regularly. Additionally, I know that I have at least a half a dozen or so readers who are very into healthy eating. Finally, I know that I have many mothers who read this blog, and I need your help!
My recent blood tests show that my protein and iron are both very, very low. The good news is that now I know why I am so tired all of the time. The bad news is that I hate meat, eggs, fish, cheese, peanut butter, and most other high protein foods that I know of. I like nuts okay, I guess…but do you know how much fat can be found in nuts? I have a few friends (and family members) who tell me to “Suck it up and just eat the meat and be done with it” but I am hoping that someone out there has a better suggestion for me?
So, can anyone tell me how to elevate my protein levels without having to eat a slab of beef coated with cheese?
4 comments:
Protein shakes!! I have the same problem, and I down a chocolate protein shake every single morning. Two scoops mixed with water of the kind I get actually gives you 36 grams of protein... not bad! You can also add this stuff to oatmeal, breads, etc. Let me know if you want some options! Nate has tried about everyone out there... the one I like is from SAM's so it's cheap, too!! :) Also cottage cheese with fruit is yummy! Do you like that? Or deli turkey? yum!
How about beans? Black bean soup is one of my favorite things. Chili is good too, but it does have meat in it, though we had it with ground turkey recently and that was very good. Milk has protein in it, and skim milk has no fat. You mentioned meat, so I don't know if you include chicken, turkey, or pork in that or if you just mean beef.
I don't want to tell you to just "suck it up" and eat something you don't like, but I do know you need protein and having low levels in your blood is a bad thing. Most people don't have a good grasp of portion sizes, so you don't have to eat a large serving to actually meet your requirements.
Oh, another GREAT protein source is tofu. Most folks turn their nose up at the idea of tofu, but it is really good. It takes on the flavor of whatever it is cooked with. You can make a stir fry with tofu in place of meat. You can also brown tofu with cooking spray (in the same sense you would brown ground beef) and mix it with pasta sauce and eat it over spaghetti or some other kind of noodle.
I hope I have given you some good ideas.
thanks for the comments....my doctor said I would have to eat a mountain of beans to get the amount of protein that i need. I like beans okay.... and I love black bean soup too. I tried the tofu thing....its just not so good. :(
Becky...do the shakes taste good?
I am so picky....can you all hear me whining? WAH.....
I have to carefully watch my Iron- and being aware of what helps/inhibits iron absorbtion has helped me alot. As well as consitently taking my iron rich vitamins! I don't like red meat either, but I purposely eat just a little bit every few weeks to get the job done. Total cereal is one of the best sources of non-heme iron too. Check out http://www.healthcastle.com/iron-anemia-diet.shtml
Good health & nutrition website!
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