As a mom who lifts heavy weights, I prioritize easy, high-protein snacks to ensure I get the proper amount of protein I need every day to build and repair muscles. These are my favorite high-protein snacks — including my favorite protein bar, protein powder, and my high-protein meal prep recipes.
If you’re anything like me, you love to have healthy high-protein snacks on hand.
I strive to get protein and produce at every meal, and having an easy, high-protein snack on hand helps me add more protein into my diet.
Consuming proper protein after strength training, high-intensity interval training and low-impact workouts is essential. When you eat protein after exercise, it gives your muscles the amino acids necessary to build muscle and recover properly. Protein also gives you energy to enhance your athletic performance during your next workout.
Ensuring proper protein intake during pregnancy and postpartum, when protein needs for women increase, is necessary for keeping both you and your baby healthy. During all three of my pregnancies, these five protein packed snacks were staples in my diet.
The Best Protein Bars
G2G bars are my favorite high-protein bars to eat before or after a workout. Minimal ingredients and they taste so good!
The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, or 0.36 grams per pound (Harvard Health Publishing). To determine your daily protein intake, you can multiply your weight in pounds by 0.36, or use this online protein calculator.
Why Should I Add More Protein To My Diet?
Protein is an important part of a healthy diet and key for anyone looking to build muscle because your body uses the amino acids in proteins to build and repair muscles. If you’ve ever eaten a meal and been hungry an hour later, it’s likely because you didn’t add enough protein. Protein helps your body build lean muscle, reduce muscle loss, speed recovery after exercise, regulate blood sugar, and help you maintain a healthy weight.
How Can I Increase Protein Intake?
The best way to increase your protein intake is to be cognizant of high-protein food sources. For example, greek yogurt has more protein than regular yogurt. You can also plan meals around the protein source you want to use and find ways to add high-protein sources. Rather than having oatmeal for breakfast, try protein oats by adding milk, one scoop of Egg White Protein, almond butter, chia seeds and berries. Adding protein powder when baking is a great way to add more protein to muffins or energy balls.
What Are Healthy High Protein Snacks For Muscle Gain?
As an athlete, I prioritize hydration and clean ingredients. Both animal-based snacks (dairy products, meat, cheese and eggs) and plant-based snacks (nuts, seeds, edamame, nut butter, etc.) provide excellent sources of protein. Some of the best healthy snacks include greek yogurt, hard-boiled eggs, cottage cheese, beef jerky and roasted chickpeas.
What Are Easy High Protein Snacks For Kids?
As a mom, I know how difficult it can be to find protein-rich snacks to share with my kids. The high-quality protein snacks I make for myself are filled with whole ingredients that double as kid-friendly snacks to keep all of us full and energized.
With the number of protein powders available, it can be hard to know if your protein powder is healthy and provides well-rounded nutritional benefits. My husband and I love the Creamy Vanilla Egg White Protein from NOW.
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