Protein doesn't have to come in the form of steak. You can widen your sources of protein to include fish, poultry, vegetables (such as spinach and broccoli), soy and legumes, such as black beans and pinto beans. Don't forget to include nuts, such as almonds, cashews and sunflower seeds. When you change your focus to foods you can easily get and take with you, you'll find it's easy to maintain your intake of protein throughout the day.
Meat
Meat is a complete protein and contains all of the amino acids your body needs for optimal functioning. A 6-oz. cut of salmon, for example, provides 34 g of protein and 18 g of fat, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. Red meat is full of complete proteins, but it also contains high levels of saturated fats, which are bad for your cardiovascular health. In comparison to the salmon steak, a porterhouse steak weighing 6 oz. contains 38 g of protein and a whopping 44 g of fat, with 18 of these saturated, reports the Harvard School of Public Health.
Vegan Protein
The Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG) says it's easy to get your daily requirement of protein from a vegan diet as long as you maintain an adequate caloric intake. According to the VRG, it's more important to eat a varied diet every day than it is to stick with a strict regimen of combining proteins to ensure an adequate daily intake.
For breakfast, you can eat a cup of oatmeal with 1 cup of soy milk and a bagel for a total of 22 g of protein. If you have two slices of whole-wheat bread with a cup of vegetarian baked beans for lunch, you'll benefit from the 17 g of protein. Dinner, which consists of 5 oz. of firm tofu, 1 cup of cooked broccoli, 1 cup of cooked brown rice and 2 tbsp. of almonds contains 24 g of protein. Net protein intake is 63 g for the day. If you add a snack of six crackers and 2 tbsp. of peanut butter, which is 10 g, you've just increased your day's intake of protein to 73 g.
The VRG says that a male weighing 154 lb. needs to eat between 56 and 70 g of protein a day; a woman weighing 126 lb. should strive to eat between 46 and 58 g of protein daily.
Vegetables
Eating 1 cup of cooked spinach, 1 cup of cooked broccoli or a 6-oz. potato yields 13 g, 6.8 g and 2.7 g of protein per 100 calories, respectively, according to the VRG.
Cook your veggies by steaming them so you don't lose as many nutrients as you do boiling them.
Legumes and Nuts
Legumes include lentils, soybeans, kidney beans, chickpeas, black-eyed peas and lima beans. One cup of soybeans gives you 9.6 g of protein per 100 calories, 1 cup of lentils gives you 7.8 g, 1 cup of cooked kidney beans gives you 6.4 g, 1 cup of black-eyed peas gives you 6.2 g and 1 cup of cooked lima beans gives you 5.7 g.
Nuts, including almonds, sunflower seeds, cashews, peanut butter and almond butter, are easily portable and pack a good protein punch. One-fourth cup of almonds gives you 3.7 g per 100 calories, 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds gives you 3.3 g and 1/4 cup of cashews gives you 2.7 g. Two tablespoons of peanut butter gives you 4.3 g per 100 calories and 2 tbsp. of almond butter gives you 2.4 g, according to the VRG.
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