Can I get some suggestions for protein choices?
 

I'm running into the problem of getting sick of eating meat. Can anyone please give me some suggestions of other forms of protein?

I know eggs, that I'm going to start working into my eating. I love bacon but don't want to eat too much, nitrates and all. Same problem with sausage. I do try to buy ground up pork and turkey, but I'm sort of getting tired of that. This is going to be come a big problem for me. I'm worried about what I'm going to do. I don't like any shell fish, so that's not an option.

Please suggest things.

Deana

What about canned tuna, or frozen shrimp, I love buying the frozen shrimp and thawing them to put in my salads. How about some cottage cheese? If I think of more I will let you know.

EDIT: And nuts at RM are great.

I do eat tuna, fortunately I still love that. I don't care for shrimp. I know strange, I just don't like it. Cottage cheese is my breakfast choice now. So glad I can eat that.

I do miss nuts, but the RM is so consumed with pasta and apples right now I have no more room available for Nuts. Nuts would have to be considered my reward wouldn't they? I couldn't use them as my protein portion right?

Thanks
Deana

Defintely eggs... maybe baked eggs with cream, baked frittatas, egg salad?

Grilled scallops, Mediterranean tuna salad made with olive oil, red pepper and olives, baked white fish of choice with cream, Parmesan and lemon...

Broiled/grilled burgers topped with anything CM.

Nitrite-free bacon and sausage. I buy the Hog Wild brand and it's sooo good.

HTH!

Oh, let's see - look around in the store at the tofu's - some of them are lower in carbs than others, maybe you could use tofu (stir-fry w/ veggies, just as a fr'instance?). I think it's the soft tofu's that are lower in carbs, but I forget. Rule #1: check labels! I'm not big on tofu, myself, personally.

Different meats - turkey, chicken, fish (salmon is in season up here, we've virtually been LIVING on salmon!), eggs, beef, lamb, venison, bison (if you can find it). That pretty much sums it up for animal proteins, I think. Oh, and cheeses, too (but I burn out on cheese pretty early in the day, I don't eat them 24/7).

There are protein powders you can get, too - You might be able to concoct a breakfast smoothy using one or two perfectly ripe strawberries (which I think are pretty low in carbs). You could look up strawberries on fitday.com to see how many carbs there are per berry.

Wow, why didn't I think of protein powders. That is sad. I've got soy and designer whey sitting in my cuboard. I can make a shake and try eating that for dinner instead of a piece of meat. I know it won't fill me up as much as meat so I will HAVE to take that in consieration with my RM. But that will definately help me at least a couple times a week.

I just can't do tofu. Tried it once and blah.

I can try and get some fish. See if I can work that in at least once a week. That will definately help.

Eggs are something I can work in. Maybe egg and chicken salad. That would be double the protein and I won't have to eat as much. LOL

Thanks for all the suggestions. If you have more keep them coming.

Deana

Deana - I've been experimenting with the Morningstar Farms products. They are really good. I like sausage but find that I can save calories if I have the Morningstar Farms "sausage" patties. The chicken patties are good too (for RM only). You may just need to experiment with different foods to find what you like. I'm the type that will try anything :)

i love this question!!!!!!!!! after about 3 days i get nauseous looking at meat. i was NEVER a big meat eater, which explains loving carbs so much, but i neve had a weight problem, until i hit 30 and had a kid. i always ate lots of carbs, so never thought that was the problem, it was just what i liked and prefered to eat. i was always athletic and full of energy eating mostly carbs. so i guess i didnt want to believe it was carbs that was making me hungry. well, i think it wastn until i hit 30 and had a kid. then it was all i thought about and was hungry all the time. anyway, this very subject is what causes me to stray from cad. i know i need to eat more veggies, i need ideas for that, i love cheese, so i think i eat to much of that and i hate seafood,with the exceptions of crab legs dipped in butter. so i feel limited also on protien choices, oh i dont think i mentioned that i am not a salad eater, i guess if i was , if i liked salad, i wouldnt have gotten overweight. can anyone help me???????? any suggestions ideas or criticisms would help. i wont get mad. i have been posting on here for so long, i know something has got to sink in sooner or later. i mean i literally gag on tuna. help please?? i know it is hard for some of you to keep trying to help me, cause i give up and dont follow through all the time and still let emotions get in my way of wanting to kick this carb addiction, but i do read and appreciate EVERYONES advice and opinions. thanks so much guys.

is it that you don't like salad, or that you don't like veggies in general? there are a lot of ways to get veggies w/o eating salad.

I make a crustless quiche with 3-4 eggs, some thawed, drained frozen spinach (a 10 oz package), and seasonings/some cheese to taste. Just puree it all together in a cuisinart, put it in an oiled loaf pan, and bake till set. (shamelessly taken from the SB book - it's tasty!). You can use LF cheese or liquid, cholesterol-free eggs if you like. It's pretty darn good with some feta cheese and oregano! I've been known to put in some sliced mushrooms, too.

Just an idea .... I don't think I could eat red meat daily, myself, although I have eggs and some cheese every day, and either chicken or fish daily. I like a little red meat, just not every single day. Maybe once or twice a month.

But I eat a lot of veggies, every single day. The variety available is amazing. You can also lightly sautee some cut-up veggies, then dress with pesto sauce - YUMMY! good cold or hot.

hope this helps you out!

and you know, tuna from a can is pretty darn strong-smelling. I don't mind it as tuna salad, but if you don't, well, try other stuff!

I like fresh fish much better - esp pacific salmon, but that's just me. Also, fresh tuna is fabulous when it's done right (kinda bland when it's done wrong, though). Unfortunately, I only know from having it in restaurants. :-(

I hear Trader Joes' has packages of pre-marinated fresh tuna - you just throw it on the grill. Has anyone tried it? I don't know what's in the marinade, though. It's supposed to be fabulous.

Tofu can be used in moderation and it takes up the flavor of whatever you're cooking. Personally, I love it deep fried or stir fried. I hated the taste too when I first tried it, but the trick of it is to let it soak up what juice/flavors your meal might have that you're cooking it with. Sometimes I even cut it up in small squares and soak it over night in chicken or beef broth. That way it absorbs all the flavor and no longer tastes like Tofu. Tofu is very porous.

Have you ever ate at a Chinese resturant Hot-N-Sour Soup? That rectangle piece of "meat" which reminded me of bologna turned out to really be tofu. It never tasted like tofu because it's soaked up all the spices and flavorings.

thank you guys so much, i like the idea of that quiche i hate spinach but when it is in soups i like it, so i guess in a quiche and in a processor i can do it.lots of veggies i just dont like, zucchini, mushrooms are the most i hate. i never tried tofu, just didnt know what to do with it, that is protien right?? i guess i just have to get more info and keep asking questions before i finally get it right. i do appreciate everyone still responding to me. oh i like salads but dont ever want to eat them, never get a craving for a good salad , i would just rather eat something else at meal times and i hate going out to a restaurant and paying so much for a good salad. i work at a deli so now i understand what goes into cutting up all the veggies for salads so i know why they are expensive. so until i change my whole attitude about veggies, i am not going to be able to make this work. oh i do love spaghetti squash. thanks again.

willbethin, just a couple of early morning ideas ... take them with a grain of salt, it's still early here! :idea:

1. instead of looking at the veggies you hate, why not make up a list for yourself, of which ones you like, and which ones you love? that will help you to decide which ones to buy at the store - no sense buying zucchini, if you can't stand it! but if you like spaghetti squash, find out how many carbs are in it per serving (and what the serving size is) and start figuring out good recipes for it that fit within your limits.

2. check labels on tofu for carbs - I always do that for processed stuff. I was surprised to find out that a can of crab meat had sugar in it (after I'd opened it to make a salad). Live and learn. "if it's been through a machine - ANY MACHINE - check the label! look both at the nutrition breakdown, and at the ingredients." (my personal motto) I have my personal list of items that I check for, like sugars, fiber, carbs, protein, trans-fats (avoid at all costs). this is just me.

3. If you like salads, but don't often have them, look at why - is it cost? trouble? You can probably make them cheaper at home, and put on the toppings you like best (thus making them tastier and more attractive to you, personally!). I always figure, when I'm at work, that my 5-6 dollars can go towards a salad, versus 4-5 on a sandwich - I'm willing to pay the difference for the leafy stuff, since it's healthier for me. But then, I love cobb salads!

If it's the trouble of making a salad, then remember that you can buy pre-washed lettuce and spinach at the grocery store. these days, you can buy some terrific salad toppers, too - crumbled cheeses, diced veggies, etc. If you get creative, you can make something you love so much, you'll eat it every day quite happily.

be well, hope this helps!

Tofu
 

another great thing to do w/ tofu, is to make a kind of dressing or dip with it in a blender or cuisinart.

Break up a block of tofu - either crumble it or cube it.

Put the juice of one lemon, about a tablespoon of soy sauce or tamari, and a cut up piece or two of garlic, into a blender. Puree to chop up the garlic a bit. Add a spoonful or two of a nut butter (sesame butter is really nice), and puree again. It will be thick, you may want to add more lemon (if you like it tart), more soy sauce (if you like salty), or just plain water - a couple of tablespoonfuls should be plenty. Puree again to blend. It should be fairly runny. Then add the tofu, a bit at a time, pureeing between additions, till it looks like the right consistency (runnier for dressing, thicker for dip). You may have tofu left over. You may have to scrape down the sides once or twice.

This is great with veggies as a dipper, or as a salad dressing.

(you don't have to use garlic - you can use curry powder or any other seasoning you want)

You can also do something similar to make a chocolate dessert - pudding stuff, with stevia/spenda, lemon juice, chocolate, blueberries, or whatever you want (try a shot of the sugarless coffee syrup if you want).

I don't make this - I don't eat soy products of artifically sweetened stuff, but tofu is really extremely versatile, and these are just a couple of ideas.

have fun, play!