Recent years have seen an influx of diets and food plans centered around protein. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, not all protein sources are created equally. Some high protein foods also have high quantities of fat, while other foods do not contain a concentrated amount of protein to make it worth the calories. Your daily diet should feature a variety of nutritious, high protein food sources.
Animal Protein
Many people still center meals around animal-based proteins. However, a single serving of a broiled steak, which offer a whopping 38 grams of protein, comes at a price tag of 44 grams of fat, including 16 grams of saturated fat. The same single serving of salmon has 34 grams of protein and 18 grams of fat, only 4 grams of which are saturated fat. Other healthful animal protein sources include baked cod, broiled yellow fin tuna, steamed or boiled shrimp, snapper, halibut, scallops, venison and roasted turkey or chicken breast.
Dairy Protein
The not-for-profit George Mateljan Foundation makes a key distinction between complete and incomplete proteins in food sources. For a food to quality as having a complete protein, it must include all of an essential amino acid. Most daily foods are complete proteins, but many have high quantities of fat. Stick to low fat, nonfat and skim versions of dairy products to make them a healthful protein. A serving of skim mozzarella cheese contains nearly 7 grams of protein. A cup of low fat yogurt offers nearly 13 grams of protein.
Vegetarian and Vegan Proteins
The Vegetarian Society's information sheet on protein points out that people following vegetarian, vegan and raw food diets have several options for high protein sources not derived from animals. Among the most protein-rich vegetarian foods are beans, nuts, seeds, soy products, and whole cereals like oats, rice and wheat. A single serving of chick peas has 16 grams of protein, and baked beans have 11.5 grams. A serving of tofu contains 10.3 grams of protein. Other optimal vegetarian sources include lentils, soy milk, peanuts and whole grain bread. While fruits and vegetables often have trace amounts of protein, only broccoli and potatoes have enough to qualify as fair sources of protein, at about 3 grams each for a single serving.
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