Do you know what budget protein sources you can afford? Learn how to focus on budget protein rather than the ones that will take you into overspending and debt.
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Protein is having a moment these days. Everyone’s talking about hitting their protein goals.
It’s easy to get caught up in the flurry of protein chips, protein bars, and protein drinks and forget to consider the cost of budget protein sources.
Do you know how much your “prots” are costing you? I honestly never stopped to think about it until Bryan asked me.
You see, we’re both working on hitting protein goals now that we’re in our 50s and 60s. And since he’s a smart man, he wanted to make sure we do it in a way that supports not hinders our financial goals.
Knowing the best budget protein sources allows us to prioritize the lower cost proteins and feel good about our diet changes — both physically and financially. We know all too well how easy it is to justify overspending. Even on good things.
While the potential health improvements are hard to quantify in dollars and cents, you can only do so much when you’re on a budget. It’s not like we have all the money in the world to spend on food.
You know what I mean, right? We’ve got to manage our money wisely.
How to Determine Your Budget Protein Sources
The process to finding budget protein is pretty simple, though it does involve math.
- List out your protein sources. I started with the things that we normally buy, including the generic as well as the fancy options I prefer. Then I included those extra expensive things like our favorite fast food options.
- Determine the grams of protein per portion size. This is pretty easy to do with a nutrition app or just googling. Results can vary, so if something doesn’t sound right, consult a few different sources.
- Record the cost of the protein items. I did this per serving or ounce as applicable. You can easily search this by going to the grocery store website you normally shop. Keep in mind as prices change, so will your data.
- Compute the price per gram of protein. This is as simple as dividing the cost of the portion by the number of grams of protein in that portion.
Possible Budget Protein Sources
As you can tell from my spreadsheet, we tend to focus on pretty simple protein foods that are low in calories, saturated fat, and cholesterol. Opinions vary on what is considered healthy, so I’m in no way telling you what to do, just sharing what we’ve chosen to do.
Our favorite protein foods include:
- unflavored whey protein powder
- collagen peptides
- protein bars (Bryan likes Think while I prefer Built or Rx bars)
- cottage cheese
- greek yogurt
- eggs
- Baby bel light
- pinto, garbanzo, and black beans
- ground turkey
- lean ground beef
- chicken breast
- canned tuna
I didn’t include much in the way of plant protein other than beans because I was thinking more in line with what we normally eat. We eat a lot of veggies in general, so I’m just counting them as bonus fiber in our daily meals rather than counting them as part of our protein intake.
I also didn’t include peanut butter because our daughter is allergic. The kids enjoy almond butter, but it’s too high in calories for my needs.
Why It’s Important for You to Do the Math Yourself
I know it’s tempting to get your list of budget protein sources from the internet, but it’s important that you do the math yourself.
First, you may not like the options on someone’s list. For any meal plan to work, it needs to be foods you like!
Second, prices vary from city to city, region to region, store to store.
Lastly, prices are always changing. Choose the proteins you love and regularly use and track their prices yourself so you can make the best decisions for YOU.
What to Do with the Information
Once you’ve figured out your budget protein options, use this information to your advantage.
Build Better Meal Plans
Build your meal plans around the cheaper proteins so that you can keep your grocery bills in check.
For instance, at this writing, my cheapest sources of protein are quinoa, beans, chicken breast, protein powder, cottage cheese, and canned tuna. I’ll focus my meal planning on these budget protein sources.
A word about eggs: Currently, eggs are a volatile grocery item. If I can find them at $4/dozen or less, they are a budget protein. If not, they move into the sometimes food category.
As much as I love Good Culture cottage cheese, Built bars, and salmon, I’ll make those more a treat than everyday foods — unless I find better prices.
Identify Target Prices
Knowing prices on the foods you normally eat can help you identify a true sale. My most recent purchase of protein bars resulted in its being the most expensive protein on my list. Yikes! I had no idea.
I’ll be looking for sales and sources that give me a lower price on the foods I really love.
Obviously, your mileage may vary, but this is how you can identify budget protein options that will work for you.
Budget Protein Recipes
These are the recipes that I’m putting into regular rotation to help Bryan and I hit our protein goals.
Chicken Recipes – I can easily find boneless, skinless chicken breast for $4/pound or less, sometimes even the high end varieties. This makes it a go to for budget protein.
Make this Easy Chicken and Green Beans skillet tonight for a quick, delicious meal that everyone will love.
Moo Shu Chicken is an easy and delicious meal that you can make ahead to freeze. A riff on traditional Moo Shu Pork, chicken lightens the dish, while flour tortillas make things easy.
This is an easy template to help you make a chicken marinade without an exact recipe. Use what you have on hand; it will be delicious!
The flavors of lime, spices, and tomatillo salsa combine in a flavorful marinade for chicken, perfect for grilling. This recipe is also freezer friendly to make supper a little easier.
Enjoy a lunch or dinner packed with flavor with this Curry Chicken Salad served in Lettuce Wraps. It’s very make-ahead and super delicious.
Tuna recipes – I love canned Albacore and it’s an easy pantry staple to keep on hand. Buying a bulk box at Costco currently pencils out as a good protein source, at half can per person, served occasionally due to the possible mercury content.
Make brown-bagging it tasty and economical with these delicious Tuna Pita Sandwiches with Cucumber. Canned tuna never tasted so good.
Tuna Salad Nicoise is one of the traditional French salads, composed rather than tossed, and featuring fresh vegetables, tiny salty black olives, and tuna.
Take the French classic Nicoise Salade and tweak it with this Tuna Pasta Salad. Filled with tuna, egg, and vegetables but served in a pasta salad, the traditional salad feels new again.
Mix up a tasty tuna salad with dill, lemon, scallion, and celery for the best tuna sandwich recipe. Easy to make and super affordable!
A tuna salad sandwich and a grilled cheese sandwich get married, making this easy tuna melt, a perfect meal for busy nights or when you want some comfort food.
Quinoa recipes – I love how quinoa has come into its own over the years. I prefer it over rice as a side or in salads. Plus, I like to get quinoa flakes to add to granola, baked goods, and as a binder in meatballs and turkey burgers.
Ready for a simple, make-ahead breakfast that’s great for on-the-go? These Easy Quinoa Egg Bites are just the ticket to fuel you for the morning.
Enjoy a quinoa chili supper that’s full of flavor and a good dose of protein. This naturally vegan, Quinoa Chili comes together quickly and easily for a super supper.
This Easy Chicken Quinoa Bowl is simple, hearty, and packed with flavor as well as protein. It makes a perfect weeknight dinner or workaday lunch.
Want a Quinoa Salad that will make you swoon? This would be it. It’s one of my favorites to make for a hearty, protein-packed lunch.
Prep this easy quinoa pilaf recipe in less than 30 minutes in one pan on the stovetop. It’s a hearty side dish or base for bowl meals.
Bean recipes – Beans have always been a budget cook’s best friend. Canned beans rank as a budget protein, so you know you’ll save even more if you cook dry beans yourself.
Quesadillas are a quick, easy, and delicious dinner. Try this Black Bean and Sweet Potato Quesadilla recipe for a meatless version with plenty of flavor.
Make-ahead meals are a boon to busy homes. Make up a batch of these Black Bean and Bell Pepper Wraps for a quick and easy dinner.
Make up a batch of these easy bean burritos for supper or to stash in the freezer at a later date. Either way, you’ll eat good and cheap.
Let the slow cooker do the work for you with these lazy cook enchiladas. Simply layer beans, meat, tortillas, cheese, and sauce, for the simplest delicious enchiladas.
This easy white bean chicken chili comes together quickly but is packed with flavor.
Cottage cheese recipes – I love to have cottage cheese plain with fruit, but I use it all the time in baked goods (in place of some of the liquid), in egg dishes (instead of milk or cream), and in casseroles. Using an immersion blender does a great job at helping its consistency blend into foods better.
This Cottage Cheese Quiche Recipe of whole eggs, milk, cottage cheese, and cheddar makes a delicious and easy breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Enriched with cottage cheese and applesauce, these eggless pancakes are the perfect breakfast. They cook quickly, reheat well, and freeze beautifully.
Start the morning right — with protein cookies! Loaded with cottage cheese, eggs, oats, whey protein, and quinoa flakes, this easy Protein Cookie Recipe is just the ticket for starting the day right.
These Bacon and Spinach Egg Bites are easy to make for a tasty breakfast, lunch, or cocktail bite.
Protein powder recipes – While you can certainly just add protein powder to a smoothie and call it good, there are other things you can do with it to make it more of a meal. I typically substitute ½ cup unflavored whey protein powder for the flour in my baking recipes.
With Greek yogurt, almond milk, protein powder, chia seeds, and rolled oats, Protein Overnight Oats is an easy, make-ahead Meal Prep Breakfast that’s delicious and comforting.
Freezer Smoothies provide for quick, on-the-go snacks and breakfasts. Blend up a bulk batch of this versatile smoothie recipe and divide into serving size containers.
Instant oatmeal packets are a convenient breakfast on the go. They’re full of whole grains and dried fruit, making for a great breakfast. The best thing is that you can make them yourself!
Enjoy the creamy, milky goodness of a Red Banana Smoothie. It’s pure and simple, without any fussiness.
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