Don’t Believe Everything You Read!
I’ve written about PROTEIN many times, like how much you need HERE, and my best hacks for getting enough protein HERE.
Today is just a reminder that you can’t believe everything you read. I was looking at recipes online and there are so many recipes that claim to be “high protein” when in fact they are NOT!
I don’t want you to be fooled. So I’m going to give you a quick way to know if something is in fact “high” in protein.
Let me give you the exact frustrating example that was the inspiration for this post….
I found this recipe online at a reputable recipe website: “High Protein Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bars.” Sounded delicious, so I clicked on the recipe… One bar: 226 calories and 7g protein. Not high protein!
GENERAL GUIDELINE
A good rule of thumb is that something should have at least 5g of protein for every 100 calories to be considered high protein.
So since a serving of this recipe is 200+ calories, there should be at least 10+ grams of protein in each serving. And there isn’t. So although this is a great recipe, it wasn’t “high protein” as advertised! I won’t be fooled! And I don’t want you to be either.
Now, technically when it comes to protein, the quality of protein does factor in, too. But we aren’t going into that part because this is just a quick down & dirty guideline.
BOTTOM LINE
If you want to be more of a “high protein” detective, glance at the calories and see if there’s at least 5g protein for every 100 calories. PS: If you love math & more accuracy, take the calories and multiply by .05 to figure out the minimum number of protein grams for something to be considered “high protein.”
BIG PICTURE CONTEXT
You can still make and enjoy recipes that don’t meet this protein guideline!!!
For example, you can make that oatmeal bar recipe part of a BALANCED meal: Crumble one over 2% plain Greek yogurt, add raspberries on top, and pair it with a soymilk latte.
FINAL THOUGHT
These days, people are so protein-obsessed other important nutrients are being forgotten about! In the end, BALANCED meals are the key to health & longevity, not just meeting protein goals.
Need help understanding what BALANCED meals actually look like? Read about THE UNIVERSAL DIET>>HERE<<.
