With the new year officially in full swing, you’re probably looking for ways to improve your health. Some of these goals may include meeting your protein goals daily. Protein is important because it helps you build and maintain muscle. This is key, especially if you have certain fitness goals in mind. It also helps keep your immune system healthy, provides energy and keeps your metabolic functions in good shape. But always remember protein needs will vary per individual, and a healthy balanced diet should include protein, fiber, carbohydrates, fats and other vitamins and minerals.
If you are always on the go and trying to balance many things in your life, you may not have the time to meal-prep or eat a complete meal, let alone protein. To make your life easier, it’s helpful to have ready-made, protein-packed items that you can keep in your fridge or pantry. This way, you can just grab and go or add it to your plate whenever you need to.
Below are some ready-made protein snacks (including plant-based options) that will help keep you aligned with your wellness and fitness goals this year.
Bone broth has become trendy in the wellness space for good reason. The broth is traditionally made by slow-simmering the bones and connective tissue of animals like chicken and beef for many hours. It consists of protein, collagen, minerals and other nutrients that may have some gut and health benefits. Although more research is needed to prove that bone broth is beneficial to the gut, there is some evidence that glutamine, an amino acid found in bone broth, could help with leaky gut.
As you can imagine, not everyone has the time to make their own bone broth, but brands like Brodo and Kettle and Fire have made it easy to have bone broth accessible in your pantry closet. Some broths like Brodo come in an easy-to-open packet or a carton. You’ll find bone broth labeled as chicken, beef, turkey or a combination so you can add it to your cooking, soups or, in some cases, warmed up straight out of a mug or bowl. It’s an easy way to sneak in some protein and, depending on the amount you consume, you can get about 20 grams of protein per serving.
It may sound like an oxymoron calling yogurt high-protein, but many brands are now manufacturing yogurt so it has more protein per serving. Whether you like Greek yogurt or another variation, you’re bound to find yogurts in the supermarket aisle that have more protein than their original version. Oikos, Chobani and :ratio, for example, make yogurts in a variety of flavors that have 20 or even 25 grams of protein per serving. If you’re vegan or vegetarian, plant-based brands like Kite Hill offer a soy and almond-based Greek yogurt with 15 grams of protein. Another type of yogurt, skyr is manufactured by popular brands like Icelandic Provisions and Siggis. Skyr is a yogurt similar to Greek yogurt made with traditional Icelandic heirloom cultures, and it has 15 grams of protein per serving. This is an inexpensive and easy way to keep protein options in your fridge that you can throw into your gym bag or lunch box.
If you like to get your protein in through smoothies but don’t have the time to cut up fruit every day, you can pre-make them by chopping and freezing them ahead of time. If this is too much for your schedule, brands like Daily Harvest offer a subscription where you can receive a box of its frozen high-protein smoothie delivery on a weekly basis. Daily Harvest uses cups to hold different fruit and seed protein combinations (like Dark Chocolate Protein), which you can blend with your milk of choice later. These high-protein smoothies are 100% plant-based and organic. Daily Harvests uses pea protein in its high-protein smoothies, so you’re guaranteed 20 grams of protein every time.
If you don’t have time to blend your own protein shakes, there are plenty of ready-made options that you can pick up at your local supermarket, deli and pharmacy. One of my new favorite protein shakes is Nurri 30g Protein Shake. It’s an ultra-filtered, lactose-free milkshake sold exclusively at Costco, and it comes in a 12-pack. It’s similar to Fairlife’s Core Power Chocolate shake with some differences, but it's still a solid alternative.
If you follow a plant-based diet, OWYN and Koia Elite are great options. These drinks are an easy way to get protein in while you’re on the go or if you need a quick pick-me-up before or after the gym.
You’ve probably seen the cottage cheese craze on TikTok -- where everyone seems to be sneaking it into different meals. Although cottage cheese may seem like a trendy diet food of the ‘90s, there’s good reason to keep it in your fridge if you enjoy the curd-like snack. It is naturally high in protein (about 14 grams for a half-cup) and has casein, a slow-digesting protein.
To up your protein intake, you can add cottage cheese to eggs, pancakes and pasta sauces or have it as-is and mix in your favorite fruits. You can try various brands from your local supermarket, like Good Culture, Breakstone’s, Daisy and many others.
A popular plant-based snack is roasted edamame. However it can be an involved process making your own at home. One of my favorite brands, The Only Bean, sells roasted edamame in a variety of flavors (Buffalo, Sriracha, Salted), so you’re sure to never get bored. A 1/3 cup of roasted edamame offers 14 grams of protein, and you can have it as a snack or to top your salads. Another plus is that it sells its beans in individual snack sizes or 4-ounce packets, so they’re easy to keep in your pantry, desk drawer or gym bag.
Beef jerky is a high-protein snack that you can keep in your pantry for those times when you need a quick snack while on the go. There are various brands of jerky out there, including Country Archer Provisions and Chomps, that keep their product sugar-free and without additives. Depending on the brand, one stick of beef jerky can have 8-12 grams of protein per serving. These brands and others will have beef, chicken and turkey options with different flavors. You can have these straight out of the bag or as individually wrapped sticks, which make it easy to transport. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, brands like Beyond Meat and Primal Spirit also have plant-based options made out of mung bean protein and soy, respectively. Pair your jerky with other healthy options like cheese and fruit to make it a filling and complete snack.
Hummus is made up of blended chickpeas, and one of the appealing things about this spread is that you can flavor it in a variety of ways. Traditionally, it's made with olive oil, tahini, lemon juice and salt. It’s easy to make at home, but if you don’t have a food processor or the time to make batches for the week, there are plenty of ready-made brands available at your local supermarket. Wellness editor Anna Gragert loves ithaca and Revolutionary Earthy’s hummus options. For a complete snack, she pairs it with whole grain or seeded crackers. You can also pair it with your favorite cut vegetables like carrots if you are looking to increase your daily veggie quota as well.
One of my favorite breakfasts is overnight oats. What’s great about it is that you can flavor it however you want, including making it high-protein by adding in your favorite protein powder. Overnight oats are easy to make at home; all you need are old-fashioned oats, your milk of choice and a sweetener. If you’re feeling creative, you can add toppings like chia seeds, yogurt or chocolate chips -- the options are endless. You mix it together in a mason jar and let it sit in your fridge overnight so you wake up to freshly made overnight oats.
You can also purchase it ready-made in some delis or sign up for a subscription like Oats Over Night, which offers high-protein oatmeal packet options in the form of a shake that you just add milk to. One packet has 20 grams of protein, and you have many flavors to choose from, like dark chocolate, mint chocolate chip, cookies and cream and more.
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