For pretty much all physical goals, whether it’s health or muscle gain or fat loss or anything else, we should be eating a large amount of protein. The difficulty with that is that it is not always easy to get in all the protein you need on a daily basis. Protein tends to be the most satiating nutrient (so you get full much easier), plus it ends up being a bit more expensive than carbs or fats.

For reference, most people do best when they eat around 1.6 grams of protein for every kilogram that they weigh [1]. That means someone who weighs 100 pounds should eat ~72 grams of protein per day; someone who weighs 150 pounds should eat ~108 grams of protein per day; and someone who weighs 200 pounds should eat ~144 grams of protein per day.

If this is something you have struggled with, fear not, there is an answer. In this article, I’m going to talk about my 5 favorite protein snacks to have handy that just make hitting your protein goals easier. Of course, real food is always king, but having these available can be a big advantage.

Further, this list is in no particular order. They are just the five best tasting protein snacks that I have come across in my travels.

#1: Super Coffee

This is a product I’ve seen popping up in more grocery stores, so it’s possible that you’ve run into it before. The truly impressive thing about this company is that they’ve been able to hold onto a true coffee flavor while sneaking in 10 grams of protein. With 200 mgs of caffeine, it is roughly equivalent to two cups of coffee- which most of us easily drink on a daily basis. It definitely isn’t cheaper than making your coffee at home, but is absolutely a better alternative than a Starbucks purchase.

#2: Quest Protein Chips

 When it comes to most generic protein snacks, they often end up tasting crumbly, dry, and just overall a bad experience. Heck, even most quest products I am not a fan of. However, these protein chips are absolutely money. They really taste practically identical to another big brand chips, but come with a whopping 18-20 grams of protein per bag. If you are someone who has a saltier preference in their snacks, then this is probably the most effortless way to jack up your daily protein intake.

#3: Fruity Pebbles Protein Powder

 Protein powder is probably an obvious choice, and it’s one of the few supplements I think are worth having on hand no matter what. What I am really advocating for is this particular flavor. Dymatize really crushed it and was able to make this taste exactly like the cereal. If you lean towards fruity flavors as your go to snack- then this is going to have you hooked.

#4: Kodiak

 Kodiak is a brand that makes multiple different protein enriched foods- particularly in the breakfast and dessert genre. Their products taste just as good as any other muffin, pancake, or oatmeal except with 10-14 grams of protein per serving. For me, it’s always been an easy choice if I’m eating these types of food.

#5: CORE power protein drinks

 These have grown in popularity for many gym/fitness enthusiasts the past year or so. It’s a similar idea to drinking protein powder, except a bit more filling and much more convenient with the ability to just grab them and go. Plus, you can buy them in bulk for relatively inexpensive.

In practice

Now, imagine you had some of these foods handy and incorporated them into your day of eating. Let’s see what that would look like:

Breakfast: 1 Kodiak oatmeal cup, 3 eggs, fruit, and a super coffee

• ~42 grams of protein

Lunch: cold cut sandwich with quest protein chips

• ~45 grams of protein

Dinner: steak, vegetables, and potatoes

• ~40 grams of protein

Before bed snack: 1 Kodiak muffin

• ~10 grams of protein

• TOTAL: 137 grams of protein

In this example, all we did substitute normal foods and snacks we regularly eat with the higher protein versions mentioned in this article. If we removed the high protein snacks from this day of eating and replaced them with their normal versions, then you would have eaten 54 grams of protein less. See how they can make a difference?

Of course, you can scale any of these meals up or down in accordance with your personal goals. Or, you can incorporate them in a completely different fashion.

Further, there are plenty of other protein snacks that are good on the market. These are just the top 5 that have brought me the absolute most value.

References

1. A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults

   • PubMed ID: 28698222