Plenty of protein at every meal

It’s time for another “What I Ate Wednesday,” in which I share pictures of everything I eat and drink in a day. I’ve been doing these posts for about two months, and they’ve been super popular. You guys really seem to like pictures of food.

So here we go: This recap of eating is from yesterday. I was at Equinox for 12 hours, trained some clients, did my own workout and had a couple of meetings.

What’s special about this recap is the fact that I’ve added the approximate protein counts for all of my meals. Protein is so very important, and I’ve been extra careful to monitor and increase my intake now that I’ve changed the intensity of my weekly weight-training and workout program.

And by the way, have you entered the giveaway to win four boxes of ProYo High-Protein Frozen Yogurt sent directly to you? The contest ends tomorrow night at midnight, so enter today!

5:30 a.m. breakfast at home

I’m a creature of habit, and usually stick to my tried and true overnight oats for breakfast each day. I prepare a few batches of overnight oats in individual tupperware containers at the beginning of the week. Each concoction has almond milk, Greek yogurt, rolled oats, chia seeds and cinnamon. When I pull it out in the morning, I add more cinnamon and a chopped-up banana. It gets consumed alongside a mug of hot green tea, sweetened with stevia and almond milk.

This meal had about 20 grams of protein from the chia seeds and yogurt.

9:30 a.m. snack at work

After I trained two clients, I wandered into the break-room for a snack. I had a Focus Food energy bar by Game Plan, as well as a crispy cold Fuji apple. I’ve mentioned before that I was looking into trying new protein powders, and it just so happens I received a care package from Game Plan with powders and bars. This bar is filling, has caffeine in it for extra energy and is full of good stuff like grass-fed organic whey and is non-GMO. I don’t drink coffee, so the jolt of caffeine in this bar definitely put me a pep in my step. Stay tuned for more details on the Game Plan products coming soon. 

This snack had about 18 grams of protein from the bar.

11:30 a.m. lunch at work

I’ve been on a salad kick as of late, because it’s so easy to throw it all in a container to-go. Yesterday’s lunch was a typical salad, which had a ton of veggies and some leftovers from our Sunday taco night. It included spinach leaves, purple cabbage, grape tomatoes, grilled peppers, black beans and grilled chicken, coated with some balsamic vinaigrette dressing. This salad is very pretty in person. In fact, someone in the break-room asked me if it was store bought. Love that!

This meal had about 33 grams of protein from the chicken and beans.

2:30 p.m. post-workout protein

As I always do, right after my weight-training session I had a protein shake. I absolutely love protein shakes. In fact, I look forward to pulling my pink bottle out of the break-room fridge and taking a swig right after I’ve stretched and cooled down. It’s my reward and my treat. Yesterday, I tried a bag of Vega Sport Performance Protein, mixed with some water. (As a Sweat Pink Ambassador, I received the Vega powder to review. So expect some more details on that soon as well.) I’ve never had protein powder that comes in individual baggies, and boy it’s convenient when it comes to measuring and taking to-go.

This shake had about 25 grams of protein.

3:45 p.m. afternoon snack

Isn’t this one pretty? It’s about half-a-cup of cottage cheese, topped with blueberries and a warmed-up and crumbled-up strawberry SOYJOY bar. This was a delightful afternoon snack, which I had standing up in the break-room as I scrolled through Facebook on my phone, leaning against my locker. Sometimes I look around at my surroundings and wonder if I’m back in high school each day … just saying.

This snack had about 30 grams of protein from the cottage cheese and bar.

8:45 p.m. dinner at home

First and foremost, yes this was a late dinner. I know. Dave picked me up from work just before 7 p.m., and by the time we were home, unpacked, settled and we had finished up our respective work on the computer, we didn’t get to cooking until 8:15 p.m. However, this dinner was a winner, and I was the chef behind it (yay!). It’s baked mahi mahi, covered in salsa and laying on top of a bed of brown rice, sauteed collard greens and black beans. Truly a yummy meal, which was healthy and also reminiscent of an easy fish dish I created several months ago.

This dinner had about 34 grams of protein from the fish and beans.

After dinner, I took a few chugs of some soy milk and called it a night.

So why track the protein you ask? Based on advice from a certified nutritionist at my work, I’m trying to eat one gram of protein, per one pound of my body-weight, and this day of eating more than fulfills that. In fact, it’s extra protein at more than 160 grams. Everybody’s need for protein intake is a bit different, and if you’re not as active or trying to gain muscles, you can get away with a little less than your bodyweight of protein in grams each day.

Now, I’m heading off for another day of training clients and training myself. Go forth and have a good one, friends!

For more food recaps, check out my past posts, or visit the “What I Ate Wednesday” creator.

1. A full day of eating in pictures
2. Another full day of my eats and drinks
3. Real food isn’t always pretty
4. Do you have a balanced dining out strategy?
5. What I ate and drank all day
6. Three meals, two snacks and a shake
7. Food trucks and rest-day eating

Questions of the day

Do you keep track of how much protein you eat each day? Do you ever cook fish at home? If so, what’s your favorite fish recipe?