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affordable lean protein
Organichu
poopspeesRegistered User regular
poopspeesRegistered User regular
i've shopped for myself in the past, but i was never really on a budget... this go-round i need to be more thrifty, which is where i need help
specifically i'm seeking very lean proteins (a ratio of at least (protein:carbs and fats) 4:1) that are cheap
chicken breasts are perfect, but often a bit expensive... so far i'm thinking chicken thighs and legs, canned tuna, and one of the cheaper whitefishes (tilapia, for instance)
any other ideas
specifically i'm seeking very lean proteins (a ratio of at least (protein:carbs and fats) 4:1) that are cheap
chicken breasts are perfect, but often a bit expensive... so far i'm thinking chicken thighs and legs, canned tuna, and one of the cheaper whitefishes (tilapia, for instance)
any other ideas
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Generally speaking, a CostCo membership is pretty rad if you want to eat on the cheap. Just make sure you have plenty of freezer/storage space for all that frozen and canned food...
Prostar 100% Whey Protein
Per 30g (serving size):
Calories 120
Total Fat 1g 2%
Saturated Fat 0.5g 3%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 20mg 7%
Sodium 30mg 1%
Total Carbohydrates 2g 1%
Fiber 0g
Sugars 1g
Protein 25g
10 Lbs (150 servings) for $79.99
That's a total of 3750g of proteins, enough to last you at least a month (1.5-2g of protein per bodyweight in kg every day)
Prices fluctuate by season as well. During the height of grilling season I can get brisket for under a buck a pound, but that's a full brisket, untrimmed, cryopac'ed (15-20 lbs). While a trimmed center cut piece (3-5 lbs) is usually $3-4+/lb. Late in the holiday season you can pickup turkeys and hams for 25 cents/lb or less, when stores are trying to get rid of oversight. Since these are 15-20lb pieces of meat you'll have to figure out how to cook them as you'll often use different techniques than when cooking a chicken breast. Pork butt can also be very cheap when you buy large pieces, though it's not exactly lean. Stores will sometimes break down leaner bits of pork shoulder into chop-looking pieces and sell them pretty cheap.
Eggs are cheap but have a fair amount of fat; if you remove the yolk there's no fat.
Chops off pork and lamb are usually the cheapest too off those animals.
But the guy that said whole chicken was right.
Plus you can keep the carcass and make a soup.
The cheapest source of protein you can buy gram to dollar though is milk.
Satans..... hints.....
Sadly frozen chicken is pumped full of water before freezing so your paying for water weight.
Stick with non-frozen and prep it and freeze it yourself, you get more for your dollar this way.
That is absurdly false, if you did that you would get massive freezer burn in everything.
Satans..... hints.....
They also bulk out some meats the same way.
Most cost effective meat I found was to buy a whole chicken and butcher it into the various cuts.
About 4 mates and I went in for half a cow once, and we got a LOT of meat out of it, almost 4 months worth for a couple hundred each, even cheaper if you dont have to pay the butcher a carving fee.
The presence of added water in frozen or fresh chicken depends almost entirely on the brand. Low-quality brands like Tyson or Great Value (Wal-Mart's store brand) will pretty much always inject their chicken with as much saline solution as possible - I've seen packages labelled "chicken breasts with up to 20% water," which is fucking ridiculous.
Reputable brands, however, will not do this. Just check the package before you buy it, and if something says "water added" or "in saline solution," find a different brand. It's possible that, depending on where you shop, all of the frozen stuff at that particular store is water-pumped - it's a very popular thing to do - so you may need to shop around a little.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dbc1aW5C1W0
chicken chopping starts about 5 mins in.
Sams club is cheap as well. I have gotten 5lb of frozen chicken breasts in 4oz portions for around $12-13 before. They were fairly lean as well, I think right around 3g of fat per breast.
Bulk chicken thighs/legs are almost always going to be the same price or slightly cheaper than whole chickens per pound of useable protein (you get a lot of waste with a whole chicken, but if you're going to offset that by making stock with the carcass go for it!) and thighs/legs are always tastier than chicken breasts.
Lean ground beef/pork/turkey is also a good option, as is frozen fish fillets like tilapia and cod (just make sure you defrost those and let them drain for a while, else they'll be soggy)
They are doing it to bulk up, but they reckon they are eating less than when they were eating 3 meals, as the body isn't hungry.
They buy whole chickens, fresh, and cut them up as they are only slightly more expensive than frozen and taste better.
Possibly viable, depending on where you live, if you have the gear already and if your down to clean yer own catch... oh, also if your any good at catching whatever kind of fish happen to be around.
Also keep the bird cold, and try to work quickly without over-handling it. If you warm it up too much it's messier and more difficult to break down.
In case you want to do a whole bird but don't feel like breaking it down completely, spatchcocking is a quick way to put the whole bird in a configuration that takes well to pan/grill. All you need to do is cut out the backbone and keel bone. You can make a tighter package if you tuck the legs through a hole in the skin or use twine.
Making stock on the weekend is a good way to get rid of herbs/veggies that are a little past their prime without just tossing them. Freeze in ice cube trays so you can easily portion and melt.
There's a reason that most cultures have some sort of variant of "rice and beans" as a staple food. It's dirt cheap, tasty, easy to vary (throw in various spices, use different kinds of beans/grains, etc), and super-healthy.
Fair enough, although it's pretty cheap to get a line and a hook to fish cod-style.
What kind of things do you do with this "tuna in water"? I bought like 20 cans on sale today. I emptied one can onto a piece of toast and topped it with cheese and put it in the toaster oven. It was good, but I can't go on like this forever.
Samosas ? Stir fry? Fluffertunanutters?
I've only got two decent uses for tuna:
Can of Tuna + some chopped up boiled eggs + pickles/relish + mayo + 2 slices of bread = tuna sandwich
or
Can of Tuna + a raw egg, mixed together, shaped into a patty, cooked in a skillet, and either put in a sandwich or eaten with rice
I guess either you can season or spice however you want. I usually just stick with salt and pepper.
I'm sure there's lots of other stuff I could be doing with my tuna, but those two things are just what I picked up from my mom while growing up, and I've been satisfied enough to just keep making them.
Seconding protein powder, though. Buying online (www.bodybuilding.com, www.bulknutrition.com) will save you money vs buying it at GNC or other fitness stores.
I like to buy a head of lettuce or a cheap bag of baby spinach, then top it with canned tuna, half a can of chick peas, nuts, olive oil, and some ginger dressing. Some fiber, protein, and good fat and it only takes a minute to make.
Otherwise, as mentioned above, whole chicken is probably the way forward - it provides you with the protein that you're looking for, along with flavour, and the option to mix with anything else. Remember to remove the skin, obviously!
Other options are Rabbit, as mentioned above (though the taste wasn't for me), though that may be difficult to get hold of, and depending on your geographical area, I believe Bison is quite lean - though it may break your budget, if you're finding chicken too expensive.
The best bang for buck will likely be whole chickens that you can break down yourself - on the plus side, you can make up a quick white sauce etc to add taste and further protein - though possibly not in the ratio you're looking for.
If that gets tiresome, you could try mixing mince with eggs in a omlette...
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