Today’s episode covers all the lean proteins I ate while losing weight. I share tips on where to get them from grocery stores like Aldi, Fresh Thyme, Pick n Save/Kroger and more. I also cover recipe ideas and how I used them to make filling flavorful food.
Thanks for listening! Feel free to reach out at links below
Today’s episode covers all the lean proteins I ate while losing weight. I share tips on where to get them from grocery stores like Aldi, Fresh Thyme, Pick n Save/Kroger and more. I also cover recipe ideas and how I used them to make filling flavorful food.
Thanks for listening! Feel free to reach out at links below
Hi I'm Thomas welcome to the parachute advice. My life has taken a lot of twists and turns and on this podcast I will dive into those. The goal is to help everyone listening learn from my experiences and hopefully avoid some of the mistakes I've made hi welcome to today's episode of the parachute advice podcast I'm your host Thomas, so on a recent episode we discussed the idea of Quito or high protein and fat Focus diets today I thought I would follow up from that earlier episode with some of my favorite sources for lean proteins, first off quick backstory for those of you who haven't heard this, I just love cooking so much that after high school I went to culinary school and I work in the restaurant industry for over 12 years as a line cook and a chef. For me this was a God sent through this whole process because it allowed me to be creative in the kitchen and get creative with how I cooked around the rules of low-calorie and low-fat. Why do I eat low-fat it's not really because I'm worried about fat as much as I want to eat as much food as possible and feel full longer and fat doesn't really provide that as an opportunity. What do you mean you asked well let me help you understand. One gram of carbohydrates provides 4 calories 1 gram of protein provides for calories while one gram of fat provides 9 calories, this is even a way that a lot of people measure their calories instead of using just the total calorie count on the back of a food item or looking it up on my fitness pal app or some other source they simply add up, the grams of protein fat and carbohydrates to get a rough calorie estimate so let's give this quick, let's say something is made of 1 gram of fat and 3 grams of protein well that item would roughly equal 21 calories obviously this isn't perfect. But it will get you fairly close why do I give you this example in this information well it's a show you how fat is twice as calorie dense, as protein or carbohydrates so that means if you're trying to limit calories you will get twice as much food if you're eating proteins or carbohydrates than fats, this allows you to stay full longer one thing that I learned real quickly this journey is how much I enjoy changing things up. What do I mean by this well some weeks I would be protein Focus some weeks I'd be carved focused, some weeks I might go vegan some weeks I might do Asian cooking some weeks I might do European cooking all of these things were to keep things interesting and keep me focused on eating healthy and enjoying the food I was making. How at one point I spent months trying to master mapo tofu from China and then weeks on Korean cooking. To this day I love Korean cooking and I will often make trips over two hours to the closest H Mart a Korean grocery chain to get specific food items that I can cook Korean food at home. Like I said I do all of this to make cooking more exciting, for me it's a lot more enjoyable to get creative in the kitchen and simply to heat up some vegetables a lean protein and rice that's not to say some days I don't do that I usually keep rice Frozen stir-fry vegetables and precooked chicken in the freezer just for those days when I don't want to cook but most days, I enjoy the creativity in the kitchen so that said make sure your stocking your house with all of the key components you need to make a healthy meal. For me this also meant limiting snack foods in the house now that I'm on maintenance I keep some snack foods in the house but I still limit these two not very calorie dense items so it's usually things like light popcorn or pretzels, definitely don't keep sugary sweets like candy or desserts in the house because I know I'll overdo it on those. I'm lucky because I live alone so this is a lot easier than somebody who has a family where some maybe you're the only person who's trying to limit what you're eating that said if you can control it try to limit all of the snackie items in the house it'll make things a lot easier I also found having key Staples on hand. Made it a lot easier to cook a meal on the Fly. You came home from a long day at work and you're not sure what you want to make it's easy if you can just grab some rice precooked chicken and frozen vegetables out of the freezer. Or maybe you dig through the pantry and you grab out some instant Ramen preferably the air dried noodles because those are lower-calorie and maybe throw some cooked shrimp in there, either way it lets you cook and eat healthy without putting a lot of effort in on those days that you don't want to do that. Secondly knowing that I have everything I need at home to make a healthy meal limits my ability or desire to stop on the way home and pick food up or go grocery shopping, let me share this little tip with you if no one's ever told you this do not go grocery shopping while you're hungry you will make bad choices I still do to this day, all right for today's episode we're going to specifically go over lean proteins and the ones that I use predominantly in my cooking first off you've got frozen boneless skinless chicken breast. That said you can buy fresh I just predominately by Frozen because it's easy to keep in the freezer and thaw as I need them, a little trick I've started to do is for example if I'm going to do Sunday meal prep Friday night or Saturday morning I'll just throw some frozen chicken breast into a Ziploc bag with a marinade, like some vinegar some mustard maybe a little Sriracha some liquid smoke and just let them thought in the fridge over the course of the weekend while their marinating pull them out and then you can roast them in the oven, air fryer or he'll put them under your Broiler Brown them and then finish them in a 350 degree oven, the way I like to tell people is think of your Broiler in your oven as an upside down Grill get the food nice and close and sear it and then finish it in the oven, all right another item I like Purdue turkey tenderloins these Compact and plastic cryovac is the technical term and they have both plane and sees it, these are a great option they have the same calories as boneless skinless chicken breast but they're just a little bit different in flavor and texture and they're easy to keep in the freezer and easy to quickly thaw, that's sad with any Factory marinated item always make sure to read the labels I've seen portions be as low as 100 calories per portion or as high as 130 and 140 why because they probably have a higher fat higher sugar content marinade on. All right Mighty Sparks brand flavored ground chicken. This is another great option well it does have some added grounded fat making it higher than just boneless skinless chicken breasts, if you mix it with something like vegetables rice to make a taco bowl or put into a super Stu it's a great source of flavor protein and doesn't have a huge impact on your daily calories, there's also other lean ground Meats out there like simple ground turkey or ground chicken just keep in mind that some of these have added in fat, or depending on what part of the bird they came from maybe a fattier cut of meat so make sure you're looking at the label and understanding how many calories are in a Porsche, that's not to say it's a bad option just understand that maybe one package of ground turkey is 120 calories a serving another package could be 140 or 150, at that point you might as well think about getting lean ground beef or lean ground pork alright Frozen Seafood this is a great one, what do I keep in the house I like to have Cod salmon shrimp scallops and calamari I usually have a mix of almost all of these in my freezer at some point in time so that I have different options on the Fly. That said each of these definitely have different levels of calories due to fat content let's just take for example 170 gram portion of Kirkland brand salmon that would have 270 calories in it, while the same 170 G portion of Kirkland brand Cod would only have 140 calories all due to the fat content and the difference between the two. That said both are great options for protein to go into your meal I often like to keep as well raw or even cooked frozen shrimp on hand. My favorite part about the cooked frozen shrimp is you simply thaw them and throw them into your meal at the last minute to heat them up and they're ready to go. You can thaw these chop them up and toss them into a bowl of hot Ramen and they're heated up and ready to go. Maybe you just toss them in with some stir-fried vegetables and a little bit of sauce and you have a great stir fry. Or another one I do in the summer is I will chop up cooked frozen shrimp. And toss them into a salad of cucumbers and tomatoes and fresh herbs season we'll just a little bit of vinegar and maybe a touch of olive oil salt and pepper. Or you can throw in a little soy sauce or fish sauce for a little bit of an Asian Twist on that all right. Can or foil pouch package chicken and tuna these are great they have a phenomenal shelf life and what I really love about them is you can buy them on their on sale and stick them into your fridge or into the pantry and keep them on hand for when you need a quick burst of protein. What do I do with them well sometimes I just eat them plain with my lunch or I might chop up a little salary and onion put a little touch of fat low fat mayo or fat-free Greek yogurt and make a chicken or tuna salad, put on a little brat or with some crackers or even just over lettuce just remember don't buy a don't buy the items that are oil-packed those have a lot higher calories. I only buy the ones that say their water pack. Sardines this is something I grew up eating and I really enjoy it but I'm not gonna lie it's an acquired taste that said if you do want to try sardines and you've never had them before don't commit to one brand. Every brand has a slightly different taste so try a mix of them fresh thyme has some great ones chicken of the sea has some great ones there's a lot of them out there also some of them are playing in packed in oil some of them are packed and sauces like hot sauce or mustard. Try them find out what you like. How do I use these wow you can put them simply on crackers or toast as a sandwich or chop them up and put them over lettuce with a as a salad also when you're purchasing these look at the labels. I've seen some wear a 10 is 170 calories and the tin right next to it by a different brand for the same volume is three or four hundred calories I honestly don't know what's driving the discrepancy but just make sure you're keeping an eye on that. Alright like I mentioned frozen scallops another great one I'll usually get these at fresh thyme when they're on sale they're great in a pasta sauce or cooked with vegetables and like Korean barbecue sauce. Another great way I like to cook these is to saute the scallops in a tablespoon or two of butter with some Dijon mustard add a little water to thin out the sauce and then toss that with either frozen vegetables or serve it over rice or grits. All right for those of you who follow me on Instagram and see what I cook you know I love my imitation crap this is a great fat free protein options. So what is imitation crab you ask well according to an article published in the Reader's Digest while it may seem like fake processed food indicative of modern cuisine, the roots of imitation crab go back hundreds of years to a substance called surimi could be pronouncing that wrong to be honest, Serena is a paste made from minced and washed mild white fish typically Pollock but sometimes Kotter tilapia with additives to extend its shelf life the main ingredient is usually, Alaskan pollock or another type of white fish Japanese chefs originally created this product to make use of extra or leftover fish fillets it has been considered a delicacy for more than 900 years and it's still used in many popular Asian dishes such as fish cakes. Chef's eventually stabilize the recipe and introduced it to other countries in the 1970s and 80s when it gained popularity in the United States as the foundational ingredient of imitation crab. It is a unique item in that there are many variations each offers a unique taste and has usage cases. Take for example Meijer brand which has a shredded version that I love to chop up and mix with some sriracha and fat-free plain Greek yogurt to make a fat-free spicy crab for rice bowls. How do I like to eat this besides just a rice bowl well another great way to do it is make a side of sticky rice get some Nori or seaweed sheets make the spicy crab and then just serve it on a plate, kind of like make your own tacos or make your own raps there's also the long stick versions which I just love taking everyday honestly for my lunch at work as a protein source. You can also do some interesting things with it like cut it into long strips and air fry it till it's crispy to make like a seafood chip. Or another way I like to do it is to break it up by hand into long strips and added a stir fry as a noodle. The long sticks of imitation crab were often made by rolling up thin sheets. So you just cut them into chunks and then unravel those sheets and you get long thin protein noodles. Alright another great thing I love out there is boneless skinless chicken thighs. These are phenomenal they're so juicy they're so tender the level of flavor in them is beyond unbelievable but part of that is because they do have extra fat in them. Remember when we talked about chicken breasts and how 100 grams comes in at about 110 calories in 19 grams of protein well boneless skinless chicken thighs or 143 calories and 18 grams of protein. And more than twice the grams of fat that's where the extra calories are coming from bacon everyone loves bacon it's a nice thing to add in a dish is from time to time. How you cook it eat it will have a big impact on calories I always bake my bacon on a rack in the oven so that the fat drips away, listen to this the USDA entries for raw bacon and pan-fried cooked bacon note the protein per slice of Raw vs. cooked pan-fried is nearly the same, the difference results from the lab taking the average of a number of tests whereas the calories and fat grams are much lower, this indicates that the USDA labs are taking a 28 grams slice of bacon with 117 calories cooking it draining the fat and the result on average is an eleven point five grams slice of pan-fried cook bacon with 54 Cal. So think about that by cooking the bacon and draining off the fat you've cut the calories nearly in half. What do you do with that Bacon Fat I save it and I used to cook with the add flavor to other dishes for example, 1 tablespoon of bacon fat can flavor a 9 by 13 cookie sheet of baby potatoes and it only adds 120 calories which is spread across five or six portions think about that you're really only adding, 20 extra calories to a portion of potatoes but you're getting so much flavor. I also enjoy and keep on hand Gilbert's chicken sausages again this is an item I usually get it fresh time but I'm seeing more and more places like Kroger's and Myers. I'll buy them when they're on sale because they are a little pricey and stock up they have a great shelf life usually a few months but always make sure to check the packages used by date because I have seen these where they're on sale because the use by date is coming up quickly in that case I simply freeze them they usually about 100 calories per sausage, but be careful some of them are higher calories depending on what's included in the sausage so I usually stick to the bratwurst the andouille and the sweet pepper onion sometimes called the Denver sausage. Also all these has some great 70 Cal per sausage chicken sausages one of them I love is a garlic spinach they also have a great Italian one as well. Both of these are great roasted grilled or just microwave with a side dish I'll also chop them up and cook them in a dish is like breakfast skillet Sir with hash browns vegetables and eggs or with egg beaters. This brings me to egg whites or egg beaters this is a great way to get a very low calorie protein, I'll say they're similar to eggs but they're no egg replacement. When you scramble them they'll be fairly similar one trick I've shared on Instagram and what I've learned to make these much better. Is as you pour the egg whites into the final product to scramble them add a little bit of xanthan gum, it will help absorb the water that cooks out of the egg whites and cream it back in and if you Stir It Up and cook it correctly you'll end up with a rich creamy consistency without adding extra fat and not getting hard dry egg whites, with a watery liquid you can find xanthum gum very cheap at Walmart they also have another grocery stores but Walmart has the best price on it, as you've seen probably on Instagram I eat a lot of egg white Skillets it's a great way during the week to make a quick dinner that's high-protein low-calorie, and one of the small packages of egg whites will get me two meals whole eggs are another great source of protein. Just make sure you're not cooking them in a way that adds a ton of unnecessary calories like in butter or fat. This is a place where a nonstick skillet is your friend a quick mist of cooking spray and cook your eggs in there or hard boil oh all right just recently I use this product to make a New Year's Eve appetizer light spam. I know spam can be controversial but just think of spam really is ham it's just canned ham that's all it is. Again I like to use this with eggs or just seared in a non-stick for a sandwich or add it to a bowl of ramen for a little protein. Like I said I just made spam Musubi for New Year's Eve like I mentioned I used the light spam which had no impact on the taste or quality of the final meal but it saves a ton of calories and fat. It was very popular it took some convincing for people to try it but once they tried it those went fast. Smoked salmon both cold smoked and hot smoked are great ways to add protein to a sandwich and omelet or a dip even. What do I mean about dip well I like to make a dip using hot smoked salmon playing no fat Greek yogurt lemon zest and Dill, mix that up serve it with crackers or bread or even with a side salad. Again when you're buying a specially smoked salmon read the labels, what they've marinated it in season it with can have a big impact on calories I tend to avoid the barbecue or Teriyaki versions because they have a ton of extra added sugars, turkey or chicken lunch meat is another great option, but like I've said before how their flavor and how they're cooked have a huge calorie impact I have seen two packages of cooked turkey lunch meat side by side and one is 50 calories a serving in the other is 80 calories a serving. So make sure you're reading the package looking at the labels and understand what you're getting but that said. Makes a great protein source for a nice salad or sandwich or a wrap, most weekends I'll make sandwiches with turkey lunch meat low calorie low carb bread tomatoes onions and some sliced jalapenos with a little mustard. Sometimes I'll buy salami or other Italian cold cuts just be careful those have a lot more fat in them and are a lot higher calorie but they do have a lot of flavor. When you have to buy proteins and bulk especially like you like my case living alone I'd highly recommend getting a vacuum sealer. I love being able to buy large packages of chicken breasts when they're on sale, breaking them up into more usable portions vacuum sealing them and freezing them and then pulling out just one or two chicken breasts at a time and know that the last time I freezer for an extended period of time. I'll also use this to store cook proteins from holidays like if I make a beef rib roast or pork belly or roast chicken, like I said I hope all of these ideas help you and give you great ideas for proteins you can use in your diet real quick I want to discuss a few examples though and how you have to be careful. The examples I'm about to give you are all for 100 gram portions it's just to give you an example of how drastically calories to protein ratios could deviate between items. Let's take for example almond butter 100 grams of almond butter which obviously is far more than anyone would eat in one serving. Is 21 grams of protein but 614 calories due to all the fat bacon like I said 100 grams, is 541 calories and 37 grams of protein but then you look at boneless skinless chicken breast and 100 grams. Is 165 calories in 31 grams of protein chicken thighs 100 grams is 177 calories and 24 grams of protein, peanut butter everyone's favorite 100 grams is 598 calories and 22 grams of protein just so you're aware peanut butter, a serving size is two tablespoons and I'm going to tell you right now if you eat protein in your on a diet, way out your protein what you think two tablespoons is I can assure you you are eating far more than two tablespoons. Let's take tofu 100 grams of tofu is 8 grams of protein and only 76 calories pork tenderloin. 100 grams 154 calories in 27 grams of protein these are all great options. Just remember eating on a diet doesn't have to be boring or light on volume or flavor it can all be easily done. Just watch what you eat and you'll be successful on your journey to weight loss thank you for listening please join me again for future episodes. You can contact me at parachute advice podcast at gmail.com again that's all one word parachute advice podcast at gmail.com. You can also follow me on Instagram at parachute advice again thank you for listening and please like And subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Music.