Quick and easy protein... without all the calories?

Supposedly I don't have enough protein in my diet, but I'm not sure how to get it without sacrificing a bunch of calories out of my day. Any Ideas?

It's not 'sacrificing' .... it's getting a better balance.  Protein & fat in a meal make it more satisfying plus you get important nutrients that aren't necessarily available from other foods

Lean meat and white fish aren't bad places to start.  And also you can add things like beans, lentils and chickpeas... which are quite filling and nutritious for a relatively low calorie-count per 100g.   Low fat dairy products come in handy.  Eggs are excellent and the yolks contain lots of iron. Oily fish and things like nuts and seeds are more calorific but, again, you'd only need small amounts.

If you think in dinner plate terms, aim to fill 1/2 the plate with vegetables or salads, 1/4 with complex carbohydrates and 1/4 with some kind of protein - animal or vegetable - and use fat sparingly.  Then you're getting a good balance and the meal should be nicely satisfying.

I don't know how many calories you think are too many, but the following are examples of how I feel I get a lot of protein for a minimum of calories, and I really enjoy the foods I eat.

• 2 slices of D'Italiano (40)or Sara Lee Light Whole Wheat (45) bread + 1 can of chunk tuna in water 180-200 calories  48-50g. protein
• 1 cup diced white turkey meat 220 calories 42g. protein
• 4oz. wild salmon fillet 100-130 calories  18-22g. protein
• 4 slices of lowcalorie bread + 2 tbs of Fitnutz peanut butter mix  170 calories14-16 g.protein
• 2 whole eggs + 1/4th cup of Kraft nonfat shredded cheese 225 calories 20-22g. protein
• 5 egg whites + 1/4th cup of Kraft nonfat shredded cheese 135 calories 122 23-25g. protein
• 1/2 boneless, skinless chicken breast 142 calories 27g. protein
• 1 4oz 93% lean ground beef patty 160 calories 35g. protein
• 2 cups cooked small red beans 240 calories 28g protein

Definitely normal tuna, chicken, turkey.  Also, egg whites have few calories and tons of protein.  Beans...

Another one of my favorites is TVP: it's a meatless substitution for ground beef or pork.  You can't really use it on its own but if you use it for tacos, lasagna, bolognese, or anything else that uses spices or sauce (it's like tofu in that it takes on the flavors of everything else) it's really high in protein but low in calories. 

Tofu, tempeh, cottage cheese, edamame beans, split peas, lentils, chickpeas, beans. Butter beans are fairly low-cal for legumes. (80 per 1/2 cup)

Tofu, baby!

Beans are great, too, but be aware you'll want to eat them with some kind of grain, preferably whole, to make a usable protein for your body.

All of the above are good. I used to feel the same way, too, until I realized that I needed to re-balance my diet and I need to adjust for those calories.

And/or go find a good whey protein. I have one that's pretty good that I use on days I lift.

I just wrote a journal about this actually, but Fage 0% Greek yogurt is awesome for this. 1 cup is 120cals, and 20g protein. Add a little fruit for max flavor and min calories!

- Shrimp

- Scallops

- Crab

- Clams

- Mussels

- Tuna

- White Fish (Cod, Tilipia)

- Egg & Egg Whites

- Ostrich

- Chicken & Turkey Breast

My strategy is to spread it out over the whole day.  My dietician recommended eating some protein at every meal.  Today, I had a lighter workout but I still got 80g of protein.  Skim milk is very reliable for a quick protein hit.  My protein today was skim milk (3/4 cup), nonfat yogurt for morning snack, a roasted chicken sandwhich at lunch that also included 1 ounce brie (I love cheese, lovely protein yumminess!) afternoon snack I had whole grain crackers with some low fat laughing cow (that cheese is awesome 2 wedges for 45Kcal!), and then I had grilled chicken salad for dinner with cous cous (cous cous has a surprising high amount of protein).  I've only consumed 1400Kcal today, and I had three meals and three snacks, so I had lots of food, not sacrificing anything and getting 80g of protein!  Protein is delicious, crucial for weight loss, and makes you feel fuller longer! Awesome.

Currently my protein intake is 15% of my diet, I didn't think that was so bad, seeing as 25% is devoted to fiber and grains, 25% is fruit and veggies, and another 25% devoted to milk products and calcium, I thought 15% was enough then I read a post that said 25% should be protein and meat products. The other 10% is sugar, other food, and alcohol according to CC. I do eat some form of protein at every meal but I'm not sure if it's enough.

If you're getting 15% of your calories from "protein/meat" and another 25% from "milk products and calcium", that probably puts you at a decent protein intake given that a serving of milk/cheese/etc. typically has about 10 grams of protein in it.  So, dairy *is* protein (among other things).  Do you log your calories on CC?  What does the pie chart in the Analysis say about your protein intake?

The Protein slice is 16.3% the 25% milk products is the fat slice, because milk and milk products are pretty much the only fatty foods I eat.

That doesn't make sense to me.  You can't just define dairy as fat because its calories come from a mix of fat, protein and carbs.  Could you maybe post a sample menu of what you eat during the day because I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that you get 25% of your calories from fat and they all come from dairy but you only get 15% from protein (most of which must also be from dairy) unless all you eat all day is dairy.  Which doesn't sound like it's the case.