You can get your protein from a variety of sources, which I cover in this section.
Fresh meat, fish, and poultry
Unless they are frozen, meat, fish, and poultry do not keep very well. You should buy these items the day you plan to eat them. They are, of course, the most expensive way to get your protein. To keep the fat low, remove the skin. When you cook them, don’t use breading. Also, be sure to keep your intake of goose and duck to a minimum because they are so fatty.
If you’re going to eat beef, get the lean variety, with less than 15 percent fat. Also, buy “choice” or “select” grades of beef rather than “prime” because prime has the most fat. Purchase lean ham, lean pork, and lean veal, but remember that even lean ham has a lot of sodium.
Meats that are especially lean (and unusual) include emu, buffalo, and ostrich. They are low in fat and saturated fat. Wild game is also better than farm animals because it is much less fatty.
Canned fish
Fresh fish is a great way to get your protein, but let’s face it: You can’t go to the grocery store every day, and fish just doesn’t last long in your refrigerator.
Canned fish is an excellent way to have fish available at any time. The best are canned salmon and canned tuna fish. Make sure you check the food label for the amount of sodium and for packaging in water. Oil-packed canned fish is very high in calories. The other thing you want to check the label for is the number of servings per can. Just because the can is small does not mean it is one serving. More often it contains two servings, so you have to share or save the other half for another day.
Canned fish offers the same health benefits as fresh fish. The oily fishes are protective against heart disease. Canned albacore tuna has the most omega-3 fatty acid, the substance that is protective. When you drain the water, the oil remains in the fish because the oil and the water don’t mix. Tuna packed in oil is a different story, however. The oils in the tuna mix with the added oil, and if it is drained, some of the omega-3s are lost.
Canned salmon also provides plenty of omega-3s. Look for boneless, skinless varieties and the more tasty King salmon. Make sure the salmon is wild, not farmed. This way you can have wild salmon all year, not just during the salmon season.
Dairy products
Dairy products, including milk, cheese, and yogurt, keep longer than fresh meat, fish, or poultry and are a good source of protein. Just be sure to stick to low fat varieties.
If you can’t drink cow’s milk because of the lactose, soy milk is a very good substitute. An added bonus: It keeps a lot longer than cow’s milk.
Eggs
Eggs had a bad reputation for a long time. Ever since people started checking their cholesterol, they have avoided eggs because each egg contains about 300 mg of cholesterol. But eggs are also a great source of protein, and they keep very well in the refrigerator.
An egg has only about 75 kilocalories and is packed with nutrients. In addition to the protein, you get choline, folate, iron, and zinc. You can reduce the cholesterol easily by getting rid of one yolk and eating two whites for each yolk.
There are countless ways you can use eggs in your diet, from the morning omelet to a seafood souffle. Just stay away from the additions that make eggs so high in calories, like Hollandaise sauce.
If you have concerns about egg safety, rest assured that properly cooking eggs makes them very safe. Bacteria are killed as the egg cooks. Make sure no liquid egg is left when your eggs are cooked, and you will have destroyed any bacteria that were hanging around.
Beans
“Beans, beans, the musical fruit — the more you eat, the more you toot!”
I learned that rule when I was about 5 years old and confirmed it the first time I had beans to eat. Beyond that, beans are a great food.
Beans are an excellent way to get your protein. They are low in fat and high in protein. They contain a lot of fiber, which lowers cholesterol and slows the uptake of carbohydrates. Dried beans are available all year and are inexpensive. They have to be soaked for six to eight hours, so you have to plan ahead. They taste bland by themselves but take on the taste of whatever food they are mixed with, such as tomatoes.
Canned beans, which are precooked, are immediately available for a speedy, delicious meal. But watch out for the extra sodium in canned beans. Read the label!
Nuts and seeds
The fats in nuts are mostly the good kind: monounsaturated and polyunsatu-rated fats, which help your heart. The best nuts include almonds, cashews, pistachios, walnuts, and peanuts. Nuts also contain a lot of vitamin E and fiber. And, of course, nuts keep for a long time.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a health claim for nuts that states, “Scientific evidence suggests but does not prove that eating 1.5 oz per day of most nuts as a part of a diet low in saturated fats and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease and cholesterol.” The claim is approved for almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, peanuts, some pine nuts, pistachios, and walnuts because these nuts contain less than 4 grams of saturated fat per 50 grams. Flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds also offer these benefits.
While nuts and seeds are a great source of vitamin E, the oil in them starts to turn rancid after they are removed from their shells. If you buy nuts and seeds in their shells, they can last up to a year.
Seeds and nuts are calorie dense, so you have to be moderate in your intake of these foods. You should eat no more than 1 to 2 ounces daily, and make sure they are unsalted.
