LisaM

I've never been able to get my protein from drinks because of my aversion to sweets... here's my answer in another post regarding protein possibilities... I've updated it some, too, and most of what you see below can be pureed if necessary, like the cottage cheese/fruit, and you can puree the chicken breast as well (well, I did):

One protein resource for me is protein bars--the Advant-Edge Morning Start bars have zero or just one gram of sugar, and few or no sugar alcohols, which I have to avoid, as well. They also taste sickeningly sweet to me, but I can gag them down if I think about something else while I'm gnawing on them. The Chocolate Chip Crisp one works pretty well, and has 13 gr of protein. If you're not sweet-averse, you'll probably love them.

Breakfast: one scrambled egg with an ounce of cheese and an ounce of ham is about 18-20 grams of protein. A half-cup of fat-free cottage cheese with a little bit of no-sugar-added canned fruit is about 13 grams of protein (this is what I eat most often). Yogurt is also high in protein, and you can eat it any time of day. If you can handle cereal, Kashi Go Lean also has about 13 grams of protein per serving.

Lunch/dinner: If you can stand tuna or salmon, you can get the pouches or cans, and moisten it with low-fat or fat-free mayo. One pouch (about 3 oz.) is 18-20 gr of protein. Right now, my favorite lunch at work is the Stouffer's Roasted Chicken frozen dinner - it's about 20 gr of protein, almost all of that in the chicken, and because it's in gravy, the chicken's not over-dry.

My favorite dinner at home is string cheese - three or four light string cheese (they're one ounce and 9 grams of protein each) melted over a little cooking spray and teriyaki sauce or italian spices. Four ounces of the Frigo light string cheese gives me 36 grams of protein in a small amount of food--and any spice you love can be used to jazz up the taste.

Snacks: sunflower seeds (chew them VERY well) are about 8 grams of protein per quarter cup. Soy chips are also pretty edible - you can usually find them in the organic section of the grocery store, they're about 7 grams of protein per serving. Pumpkin seeds are also high in protein, but I haven't found a commercial version that I can handle - too much black pepper, usually. A lot of people here eat beef jerky, but I don't - it tastes bad to me.

Other suggestions: Soy nuts are only vaguely edible alone, but you can chop them up in a blender/food processor and use them for a crunchy shake-n-bake type thing for chicken, adding to the protein.

With all these things, I run about 65 to 80 grams of protein a day (my dietician requires a minimum of 56). I eat about four times a day now.

__________________
Lisa M

Lap RNY - 9/26/05
surgery/lowest/goal
Weight: 303/137/150
BMI: 56/25.1/27.4
Now in maintenance stage, with desired weight range: 150-153 pounds
Current weight: 143 Updated 7/16/08

"Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself." Harvey Fierstein