It’s certainly hard to keep your strengths up without money to spend these days. But is it really TOO HARD to find a source of protein that’s both cheap and nutritious?
An internet user asked, “What are some cheap protein sources for a broke college student?
Let’s have a look at the top responses.
Beans
“This is hands down the best answer. An entire can for $0.78 at my local Walmart.”, said one.
“Beans and rice is a complete protein, same with beans and corn tortilla”, another added.
Dried Chickpeas And Lentils
“Dried chickpeas and lentils, beans are CHEAP and you can make delicious food with them with little or medium effort. You can’t make a meal in 15 minutes with dried ingredients but if you plan ahead this is the way.”
A Bag Of Frozen Chicken Breasts
“A bag of frozen chicken breasts is usually pretty cheap, and I’ve found some stellar deals on 2-3 packs of chicken breasts as well.
Brown rice and veggies are usually pretty cheap too. A bag of frozen chicken breasts, a bag of brown rice, and a couple of heads of broccoli will all be relatively cheap and that’s quite a few dinners.
Throw in some sauce if you’ve got an extra 3 bucks to spend and you’re living good. Peanut butter on bread is a good way to stay full and get some protein without breaking the bank.
Not necessarily protein but another cheap and easy meal or snack I like is canned pineapple in some cottage cheese, pretty healthy and super tasty. Add pepper if you’re feeling adventurous.”
Whey Protein Powder From Certain Sites
“Whey protein powder from sites like CanadianProtein and MyProtein can actually be very cost-effective if you buy when they have sales (they have them often) and get concentrate/economy whey and not ‘grass-fed whey isolate’ or whatever their premium stuff is called.
I did the math back when I was in college, and for $/gram of protein, it’s pretty damn good.
Also, cheaper cuts of meat like pork and chicken are pretty good. Dairy products like milk and yoghurt (Greek yogurt is higher protein). Eggs. Legumes. Peanuts and peanut butter are decent, very high in fat but if you’re not trying to lose weight that’s fine.”
Organ Meats
“Organ meats. Gizzard, liver, and heart, especially from chicken, are very inexpensive and nutrient dense.”
Eggs
“Eggs! Eggs on rice, on ramen noodles, with breakfast potatoes — you can do so much with them.”
Sardines
“Sardines are extremely healthy. You don’t really have to worry about mercury because they have very little as they are lower on the food chain.”
Gluten Flour
“Gluten flour. It has 75g of protein per 100g of flour. It’s reasonably cheap as well.
To find recipes online google “seitan”.”
Pork
“Honestly. Pork. At least in my area, they have massive quantities of pork prepackaged by the butcher usually for cheap. I just freeze most of it.”
Peanut Butter
“Peanut Butter. It’s a homeless staple and one of the greatest foods ever made.
Protein is tasty, easy to store, easy to use and eat, and cheap. Buy a cheap loaf of bread or two and a jar of peanut butter and you’ve got protein sandwiches for a week.
Plus it’s easy to make friends with dogs.”
Ground Chicken Or Turkey
“Ground chicken or turkey is usually a lot cheaper than beef if you’re looking for something like that. Usually $3 a pound compared to beef at $5-6 a pound.
Greek yogurt is also pretty cheap if you go for a store brand and get a large tub of it. It’s usually around 12g protein serving.
Get a frozen bag of berries to go with it and you’ve got breakfast for a week. A lot of grocery stores will have really good markdowns on meat first thing in the morning.”
Tuna
“Tuna definitely. As the best and cheapest source of protein, you can cook tuna spaghetti, tuna sandwich, tuna salad, instant noodles with tuna and so on.”
Tilapia Filets
“Tilapia filets. Air-fried with some seasoning and lemon juice, they taste amazing and have tons of protein.”
Chicken Drumsticks
“Chicken drumsticks, are very versatile and extremely cheap. You can get fancy and stick them in a smoker and dry rub them or throw them in an oven with some light seasoning for a protein-packed meal that tastes amazing. Also, grab yourself a Costco membership and grab the rotisserie chickens for 5 bucks.”
Tofu Or Tempeh
“If there’s an Asian market nearby you can typically find cheap tofu or tempeh”, said one.
“Tofu is a great suggestion. At least at Trader Joes, it’s 2 bucks for a block (probably even cheaper at an Asian grocer) and you can get several meals out of it. I prefer extra firm tofu seasoned liberally, but you can do some good stuff with silken tofu too.”, another added.
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