Cheap protein ideas

[bigtavi8]

Ok heres my dilema. When training for contest i killed boneless skinless chicken breasts all day every day. PROBLEM very very expensive for me being a university student. What are some foods you can find at home and/or are cheap that are a good source of protein for someone trying to bulk up relatively clean. Im getting a lot of protein from shakes but it does not count since it is not solid food. Any ideas??

[rickyboy36]

Do you look for specials when they pass flyers to your place??I never ever buy meat over 6.59 a kilo..and that includes chicken breasts.Every week someones got them on special.If not i go with lean pork or red meat and still pay uner 7$ a kilo.Eggs are relativley cheap as well.

[nii]

Do you look for specials when they pass flyers to your place??I never ever buy meat over 6.59 a kilo..and that includes chicken breasts.Every week someones got them on special.If not i go with lean pork or red meat and still pay uner 7$ a kilo.Eggs are relativley cheap as well.

U know i hate to say it, but sales may not always be the way to go. Whenever i see sales on meat (i usually only keep my eye out for steaks) the quality is just not there. They tend to be very fatty (paying for fat and not meat sucks). Diversify i think is a good way to keep costs down. I dont think there is a way around paying for what u need, no shortcuts :p

[rickyboy36]

U know i hate to say it, but sales may not always be the way to go. Whenever i see sales on meat (i usually only keep my eye out for steaks) the quality is just not there. They tend to be very fatty (paying for fat and not meat sucks). Diversify i think is a good way to keep costs down. I dont think there is a way around paying for what u need, no shortcuts :p

True..sometimes sales are not good..but when they are..buy the most that you can and stock up till the next one.

[5151]

Do you look for specials when they pass flyers to your place??I never ever buy meat over 6.59 a kilo..and that includes chicken breasts.Every week someones got them on special.If not i go with lean pork or red meat and still pay uner 7$ a kilo.Eggs are relativley cheap as well.

This. I find usually boneless chicken breast goes on sale for dirt cheap at most grocery stores about 4 times a year so I stock the freezer up. Another good time is right after holidays for the left over hams and turkeys. If you look hard enough there are a type or two of each that aren't pre basted in butter or honey glazed.

[RagingRandy]

Borrowed from another site....
the 10 cheapest sources of protein to build muscle.

1. Canned Tuna. 40g protein/can. Buy tuna in spring water or brine. Don’t worry about the mercury: 1 can chunk light tuna per day is safe. Worry more about the mercury in your teeth fillings and the mercury in vaccines.

2. Whole Eggs. 7g protein/egg. Lower your body fat rather than throwing the yolk away if you have bad cholesterol. Dietary cholesterol isn’t bound to blood cholesterol, and the yolk contains half the protein and vitamins A/D/E.

3. Whey. 1 scoop ON whey is 24g protein/30g serving. At 2 scoops/day, a 10lbs bag will last 10 weeks for 84,99$. You don’t get cheaper than this. But don’t rely on whey only because it’s cheaper. Vary your protein intake.

4. Ground Beef. 25g protein/100g. Buy 80% ground beef and rinse the fat if lean beef is too expensive. You can reduce the fat content by as much as 50%.

5. Milk. 30g protein/liter milk. If you’re a skinny guy, want to gain weight fast and don’t bother gaining some fat, drink 1 gallon raw milk per day. Don’t worry about the saturated fat. Stay away from milk if you want to lose fat.

6. Frozen Chicken Breast. 25g protein/100g. Cook the frozen chicken breast using a George Foreman Grill. Consume the chicken breast within 2 months of freezing for optimal tenderness & taste.

7. Cottage Cheese. 12g protein/100g. Cottage cheese is more expensive in Europe than in the US. We buy Quark cheese: 10g protein per 100g, cheaper than cottage cheese and a better taste.

8. Ground Turkey. 25g protein/100g. Expensive cuts are made from turkey breast. Cheaper cuts can contain skin, which increases the fat content. Rinse the fat like for ground beef using this method.


9. Canned Mackerel. 23g protein/100g. Canned mackerel is high in omega-3, contains less mercury than canned tuna, and tastes a lot better too.

10. Calves Liver. 20g protein/100g. Low fat and nutrient dense. Contrary to what you might believe, liver is safe.

[thecivilizedanimal]

squid and shrimp are dirt cheap sources of lean protien ,


mm i love squid

[Danger]

Round steak, its probably the leanest cut of beef you can get and its cheap as hell but its not really very flavorful and its deffinatly not very tender but like I said its about the cheapest cut you can get.

Also they sell just about every meat you can imagine in a can and that stuff is usally on sale with like 2 for 1 deals and I dont think its that expensive regular anyway. Animal mentioned shrimp which is awesome and a great change from eating land animals lol.

[nisser]

squid and shrimp are dirt cheap sources of lean protien ,


mm i love squid

no they aren't. Those are quite expensive relative to everything else.

[JonnyO]

Cant lose with ground beef bro, cheap as hell and perfect for bulking. Same with Burger patties those are cheap too. Peanut butter, lots of it. Also chicken thighs are relatively inexpensive and perfect for bulking. I stay away from chx breasts most of the time as well.

[Ritch]

Im getting a lot of protein from shakes but it does not count since it is not solid food. Any ideas??

What makes you say that? Personally I get much better resulst ingesting more whey than whole food.

[JonnyO]

What makes you say that? Personally I get much better resulst ingesting more whey than whole food.

I thought you couldnt afford whey bro?

[5151]

Cant lose with ground beef bro, cheap as hell and perfect for bulking. Same with Burger patties those are cheap too. Peanut butter, lots of it. Also chicken thighs are relatively inexpensive and perfect for bulking. I stay away from chx breasts most of the time as well.

Do you get your burger patties from Costco? The only ones I ever see there have such shitty carb/fat/protein ratios that they aren't even worth it but I remember last summer picking up awesome ones but I haven't seen them since :(

[Ritch]

I thought you couldnt afford whey bro?

LOL! It`s less expensive than chicken so it`s a priority in my low end budget...

[thecivilizedanimal]

no they aren't. Those are quite expensive relative to everything else.

squid is dirt cheap, frozen. you can get like 5lb's for $5, just have to clean it.

and i pick up shrimp rings for like $2-$4 on the regular. theres enough for two meals,

recently i got a bag of 31-40 large shrimp for like $5, they were so good,

it is a nice affordable change.

[JonnyO]

Do you get your burger patties from Costco? The only ones I ever see there have such shitty carb/fat/protein ratios that they aren't even worth it but I remember last summer picking up awesome ones but I haven't seen them since :(

No those burgers are fat as hell, man they pour fat on the bbq. Superstore has sirloin patties that are pretty good so I use those.

[Avitoholis]

I second the frozen cooked shrimp suggestion, buy over a kilo for 11$ on sale at sobeys, they usually go on sale every two weeks and you can do many things with shrimp.

[theboss]

go to costco...
buy a pork loin for about $20......cut it into steaks...1" thick..get about 12 out of it and a small roast...
or beef filet for $50-$60 and do the same.....awesome! gets cheaper when you buy it by the case...if you have a freezer and dont mind being a butcher.
buy eggs there by the flat & egg white by the carton

[nisser]

squid is dirt cheap, frozen. you can get like 5lb's for $5, just have to clean it.

and i pick up shrimp rings for like $2-$4 on the regular. theres enough for two meals,

recently i got a bag of 31-40 large shrimp for like $5, they were so good,

it is a nice affordable change.

uhm you must be shopping 40 years ago becuase I've never heard of such prices. Where do you find those?

Only thing I've ever seen that's relatively cheap is 220g shrimp rings at superstore for like 2.5$ but thats only 30g of protein.

[thecivilizedanimal]

uhm you must be shopping 40 years ago becuase I've never heard of such prices. Where do you find those?

Only thing I've ever seen that's relatively cheap is 220g shrimp rings at superstore for like 2.5$ but thats only 30g of protein.

no frills bought a loblaws by me, they have better prices but seem to have alot of the same product, got rid of the deli/butcher/fish counter.

lol are you in the praries, shrimp and other seafoods are an excellent source of lean protein,.

sorry if it's not enough protein for your consumption needs, but i cook alot and can't live on cans of tuna and plain chicken breasts,.


do you have a personal vendetta against seafood ?

[nisser]

no frills bought a loblaws by me, they have better prices but seem to have alot of the same product, got rid of the deli/butcher/fish counter.

lol are you in the praries, shrimp and other seafoods are an excellent source of lean protein,.

sorry if it's not enough protein for your consumption needs, but i cook alot and can't live on cans of tuna and plain chicken breasts,.


do you have a personal vendetta against seafood ?

no, but I can't afford to pay 2.5$ for 30g of protein IN BEST CASE SCENARIO.

[Ritch]

What about plain ground beef? The lean cut is $7.69 a kilo. And that`s regular grocery store prices, I`m sure if looked into you could get it less expensive elswhere. That with rice which is super cheap could make you 2 meals a day, and get some cheap egg whites and eggs from costco for another meal. The remaining three meals from whey. It won`t get any more economical than that.

[ironwill]

eggs, milk, ground beef, cottage cheese, we buy bulk roasts from superstore and freeze extras...Also we watch flyers for cheap chicken breast, fresh boneless, skinless @ 9 dollars per kilo, we bought lots and throw in the deepfreeze, tuna at a dollar or less per can at the dollar store....lots of good deals out there if you look around....
good thread

[d man]

hate to say it but go across the line meat is way cheaper there for some reason. windsor ont whip over to detroit.

[OntariOMuscle101]

Ok heres my dilema. When training for contest i killed boneless skinless chicken breasts all day every day. PROBLEM very very expensive for me being a university student. What are some foods you can find at home and/or are cheap that are a good source of protein for someone trying to bulk up relatively clean. Im getting a lot of protein from shakes but it does not count since it is not solid food. Any ideas??

Try Costco frozen chicken breasts, 4kg of breast for 29.99, I am also a college student living just with my g/f, trust me you save a lot buying it there especially when grocery strores charge 15.99 for maybe almost 2kg.

[ironwill]

Try Costco frozen chicken breasts, 4kg of breast for 29.99, I am also a college student living just with my g/f, trust me you save a lot buying it there especially when grocery strores charge 15.99 for maybe almost 2kg.
they are great deal, but if you arer watching sodium, be wary, loaded with phosphates and sodium and sometimes a lot of preservatives....i buy them sometimes when i cant find cheapo chickie...

[BritishColumbian]

I buy sardines in water for $.99 a can at wall mart. I usually eat one a day. That is cheap protien.

[nisser]

I buy sardines in water for $.99 a can at wall mart. I usually eat one a day. That is cheap protien.

But they are like <20g protein.

A lot of people just don't seem to look at the price/g of protein. That's the key.

[Aaron_37]

Bump from the dead. For those of you buying whole eggs from Costco, do they sell them in huge quantities? How much per dozen? In the States, they have 15 dozen boxes for under $20. I'd like access to that sort of supply this summer when I'm not in an all-you-can-eat cafeteria all day!

[Ritch]

Holy crap^^^ That`s alot of eggs for cheap! All I know is that the egg whites at costco are cheaper than anywhere else. Don`t know about the eggs.

[Aaron_37]

I'd love somebody to chime in on how big/cheap they are up north here!