High Protein Foods?

I'm sorry if this seems to be an ongoing topic but I wanted to see if anybody had suggestions for high protein foods (NOT including soy protein). I'm not too worried about calories but I'm looking for foods that are relatively natural (not processed).

So far I know of cottage cheese, egg whites & meats

Are there any vegetables or anything?

Veggies just really aren't that high in protein, and neither are grains (despite what the vegetarians here insist). The only veggie that's really high in protein is soybeans, but you already ruled those out.

Fish is really high in protein. 

Beans, nuts, and nut butters are high in protein and vegetarian.

Beans and lentils are pretty high in protein.  Almonds, sunflower seeds, and other nuts have a fair amount of protein as well, just go easy on them because the calories will add up fast.  I'm vegetarian and these are my main protein sources (along with eggs and occasionally yogurt).

"Beans, nuts, and nut butters are high in protein and vegetarian."

They're vegetarian, but not high in protein, and definitely not efficient sources of protein.

Let's compare protein sources:

Vegetarian- 

Peanut butter - In a 32g serving there is 8g of protein and 190 calories. Only 32 calories (16%) are from protein

1 cup of canned kidney beans - in a 256g serving there is 218 calories and a whopping 13.4g of protein. Only 54 calories or 25% of the calories come from protein.

Almonds - in a 1 oz serving (28g), there are 170 calories and a whopping 6g of protein. So 24 calories (14%) are from protein.

Whole Wheat Penne (Hodgson Mills) - A 2 oz (56g) serving has 189g of calories and 9g of protein. That means 36 calories or 19% of the calories are from protein.

Animal based-

A 3 oz (85g) serving of Haddock (not fried) has 95 calories and 20g of protein. That means 80 calories, or 84% of the calories are from protein.

A 3 oz serving of chicken breast (roasted) has 142 calories and 26g of protein. That means 104 calories or 73% of the calories are from protein.

A 3 oz serving of Top Round beef trimmed to 0" fat has 169 calories and 30g of protein. That means 71% of the calories are from protein.

I'd really like to hear a vegetarian tell me that veggies and grains are efficient sources of protein after reading that chart.

dm84, I don't know why you are acting so sour against people who suggest vegetarian sources of protein, as lovelife1221 stated that she already knew "cottage cheese, egg whites & meats" were high in protein. We're simply trying to give her new suggestions.

I agree with you to an extent that vegetables should not be relied on as a MAIN protein source; however, I think it's fine if you count them as contributing protein, so long as you have a good amount of grains, nuts, or dairy to back it up. In no way am I urging people to graze on a pound of spinach and call it a day.

As far as suggestions go, vegetables high in protein are spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, and peas. Always opt for whole wheat instead of white or flour, whether it be breads, pitas, or tortillas. Cereals such as Kashi and Special K have good amounts of protein. Dairy is also a very good source; try cheese, milk, or yogurt. Good luck!

I agree with dm84.

most vegetarians need to add proteinpowder in their food. If you´re looking for variaty in your diet I suggest you try tofu and other soya products. And quinoa beans. Avocadoes are high in protein too.

good luck!

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I have nothing against vegetarian sources of protein and I eat them every day. However it's ridiculous to say things like "beans are super high in protein." No they're not. They have protein, but not a lot of it, and certainly don't deliver it efficiently.

There are high protein vegetable materials made by mechanically/chemically concentrating the protein.  The biggest source is soybeans, which have a reasonably high protein content for vegetable matter, at about 35%.  Once the oil is squeezed out/solvent extracted, the residue contains about 50% protein.  This soy meal is mostly used as feed for poultry, pigs and catfish.  The 50% protein soy flours, concentrates (70% protein), and isolates (90% protein) destined for human consumption (as soy powder, flour, textured vegetable protein, cheeses, whipped toppings, etc.) are treated more carefully, since the main end is not oil recovery.  But they are all manufactured starting with squeezing and solvent extraction of soybeans to remove the oil. 

Soy milk and tofu are exceptions to this preprocessing, since they are made with whole soybeans.   Besides soy, little is done to recover/concentrate oilseed protein for human consumption.  The spent residues of the other seeds (corn, canola, nut meal, etc.) end up as livestock feed.  Whenever plants concentrate protein efficiently, there is a problem with a high concentration of fat.  In the end, it looks to me like 35% protein content is kind of an upper limit for an unprocessed vegetable. 

The yeast-based foods also get up into the 35% protein range, without so much fat.  But ecch how much Marmite could YOU eat in a day?

all natural Fage greek yogurt is high in protein (13 g) and Kashi go lean cereal also has a nice amount as well (13g). I mix these together for breakfast, and it's great start with 26 grams of protein!

Can't argue with the info dm84 presented.  However I eat about 70 to 80 grams of protein a day and don't eat meat, so there you go....Beans are great and they provide fiber too. 

The question to me is more like, am I getting enough protein?  Not sure, but I think I read that excess protein turns to fat??

high protein and fun!  i know you've ruled out soy...but, have you tried:  EDAMAME?  they are in bags in the frozen food section in the form of green pea pods with beans on the inside...you've had them while eating sushi?  i boil them for 3 minutes in heavily salted water, strain, then eat as snack food (cold or hot) in car, at movie theater, ...my children love them and they are quite picky.

 filet mignon, pork loin, flaky white fish, shrimp?

good luck. 

figurethefat - I'm not sure how much protein you need as a) there are many different views on how much protein a person needs and b) it depends on your stats (weight, gender, amount of exercise, desired muscle gain, if any, etc.)

But the statement "excess protein turns to fat" is false; excess calories, whether from carbs, or protein, turns to fat. You could maintain your weight on a very high fat diet, so long as the calories were within your range; however, it would be unhealthy.

Excess protein (I'm not sure how much that is) is not good, either. It stresses the kidneys or something. Just like it's bad to eat too many carbs or fat, it usually means that you are either a) not eating a balanced diet and, where you overate in protein, didn't get enough fats or carbs or b) are simply overeating.

meat and fish only consist of protein and fat.

So if you want a high protein value, then eat fish and meat that is very low in fat ;)

Edamame = soy

Thanks muttlover. I know when I looked into the protein amounts I should be eating I found a huge range of recommendations. Right now I weigh about 53 kgs so I'm eating about 1.5 times my weight in kilos, so between 70 and 80. Yeah, hard to judge how much protein is excessive... BTW I think potatos have some protein. And it gets boosted if combined with dairy. I like baked potatoes with lowfat cottage cheese.