Proteins are present in the structure of all body tissues. Getting plenty of lean protein in your diet aids in weight loss, boosts energy, and results in faster, stronger muscle building. Maintaining protein levels through clean eating will also accelerate the repair of all body tissues should injury occur.

It can be confusing to figure out which cuts of meats are appropriately considered a lean protein. Ideal lean proteins come from the loin cuts (sirloin, tenderloin, round, chops, or ground meat from those cuts) in red meat animals and the breast portions in poultry. Wild game tends to be considerably leaner than domesticated animals. All fish are considered a lean protein, with the leanest being wild-caught rather than farmed.

Animal protein sources have a high nutrient value. Eggs are considered one of the most nutritionally complete proteins if you also eat the yolk. The egg yolk, however, does account for all of the fat within an egg so if this concerns you, skip the yolk and eat just the whites.

Healthy fats are an important player in your diet to absorb the abundant nutrients found in lean proteins. These fats also support brain and body functions, so don’t go overboard with trying to remove all fat from your diet. Instead, focus on lean proteins paired or cooked with healthy fats like olive oil, coconut oil, and the fats found in nuts and avocados to allow for full assimilation of nutrients.

It’s easier than you might think to put together a clean and lean protein meal that fits these parameters. Think of your meal in layers of protein. Pick your main protein, in this case, a lean meat. Flavor the main protein with another protein source, like yogurt or a nut crumble, and complete the meal by serving a high protein side dish such as quinoa and beans, or top it with a protein containing sauce like one made from yogurt or thinned hummus. Green cruciferous vegetables are a good pairing to increase protein content without adding fat into a meal as well.

Pecan Crusted Venison, Mushroom Wild Rice, and Charred Cherry Tomatoes

Photo credit: Kari Lund

Calories: 574, Protein 49g, Carbohydrates 42g, Fat 24g

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 60 min

Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 pound venison tenderloin or steaks (you can use beef tenderloin or any other lean meat)
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• ½ cup beef broth
• ¼ cup stone ground mustard
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup pecans, finely chopped but not crushed
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

Mushroom Wild Rice Ingredients:

• 1 cup wild rice
• 3 ½ cups beef broth
• 8 oz mushrooms, diced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation Instructions:

1. Combine the yogurt, ½ cup beef broth and mustard in a blender and blend until smooth. Reserve ½ cup of this yogurt-mustard sauce and set aside to be used as a topping. Pour the remaining yogurt-mustard sauce over the venison and let marinate in the fridge for one hour or up to 24 hours.
2. Combine wild rice and beef broth in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
3. Turn rice down to a simmer. Cover and simmer 55-60 minutes.
4. In a sauté pan, toss mushrooms with a small amount of olive oil and cook until they have reduced and browned.
5. Add the sautéed mushrooms to the rice and continue cooking rice until rice is done.
6. Remove venison from marinade and shake off any extra liquid.
7. Roll venison in pecan crumbles to coat.
8. In the same sauté pan used for the mushrooms, add a little more olive oil if needed and cook venison on medium low heat on all sides until desired doneness. Be careful not to burn the pecans.
9. When venison is nearly done, slide it to one side of the pan (or remove it and keep warm) and add the tomatoes to the other side.
10. Let tomatoes cook until lightly charred and softened.
11. If any of the pecan bits fall off during cooking, just add them as a topping or add into the wild rice.
12. Serve venison with the reserved yogurt-mustard sauce.

Mediterranean Baked Cod with Lentils, Salsa Rossa, and Broccoli Raab

Photo credit: Kari Lund

Calories 528, Protein 40g, Carbohydrates 50g, Fat 17g

Prep time: 20 min

Cook time: 30 min

Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 cod filets
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 20 kalamata olives, halved
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (for greasing the baking dish)
• 1 bunch broccoli raab
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup lentils
• 4 cups chicken broth

Salsa Rossa Ingredients:

• 3 oz julienned sun-dried tomatoes (not oil packed)
• 1 ½ cups water
• 1 red bell pepper, roasted
• 1 red chili pepper, roasted
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ¼ cup chopped pickled hot peppers
• ¼ cup brine from the pickled pepper jar
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Season cod with salt and pepper and place in a lightly greased baking dish.
3. Sprinkle with the lemon juice and Kalamata halves.
4. Place broccoli raab on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Bake cod and broccoli raab at the same time for about 30 minutes or until cod flakes easily with a fork and broccoli raab is roasted.
6. While cod and broccoli raab are baking, prepare lentils and salsa rossa.
7. Place lentils and chicken broth in a saucepan and simmer about 20-30 minutes until lentils are tender.
8. For the salsa rossa, boil the water and add the sun dried tomatoes. Let sit 15 minutes until tomatoes are softened.
9. Add the sun dried tomatoes along with their soaking water plus all other salsa rossa ingredients into a blender and puree until smooth.
10. Warm salsa rossa in a saucepan before serving.
11. Serve the cod, lentils, and broccoli raab with salsa rossa on the bottom for flavorful dipping.

Comparision of Proteins

For your conveniece, the following is a comparison of common lean cuts of meat and eggs with their corresponding protein and total fat values per 3oz serving, excess fat trimmed and cooked*:

• Beef Sirloin: protein 24.8g, fat 8.2g
• Bison Sirloin: protein 23.8g, fat 4.8g
• Pork Top Loin/chops: protein 25.6, fat 3.9g
• Venison Loin: protein 25.9g, fat 2.2g
• Turkey Breast: protein 25.6g, fat 1.7g
• Chicken Breast: protein 19.5g, fat 1.1
• Salmon Filet (Atlantic, wild caught): protein 21.6g, fat 6.9
• Sea Bass Filet (Chilean, wild caught): 20g, fat 2.2
• Cod Filet (Atlantic, wild caught): protein 19.4g, fat 0.7
• Whole eggs (2 large eggs): protein 12.5, fat 8.9g
• Egg whites (3 large egg whites): protein 10.8g, fat 0g

The following is a comparison of protein heavy sides with their corresponding protein and total fat values per 1 cup, cooked*:

• Lentils: protein 17.8g, fat 0.3g
• Black Beans: protein 15.2g, fat 0.9g
• Kidney Beans: protein 15.3g, fat 0.8g
• Quinoa: protein 8.1g, fat 3.5g
• Wild Rice: protein 6.5g, fat 0.5g
• Brown Rice: protein 5.5g, fat 1.9g

The following are vegetables sides and other toppings that have more than 2g of protein per 100g portion or portions as noted*:

• Kale: protein 4.28g, fat 0.93g
• Brussels sprouts: protein 3.4g, fat 0.3g
• Broccoli raab: protein 3.2g, fat 0.5g
• Spinach: protein 2.8g, fat 0.4g
• Broccoli: protein 2.8g, fat 0.4g
• Asparagus: protein 2.2g, fat 0.1g
• Plain lowfat 2% Greek Yogurt: protein 10.2g, fat 2g
• 1% Cottage Cheese: protein 13.2g, fat 1g
• Hummus (per 1 Tbsp): protein 2g, fat 3.5g
• Almond crumbles (¼ cup): protein 5.7g, fat 13g
• Walnut crumbles (¼ cup): protein 5g, fat 20g
• Pecan crumbles (¼ cup): protein 3g, fat 20g

*all nutritional data collected from USDA National Nutrient Database

More lean protein meal ideas:

A Perfect Protein Venison Enchilada Recipe

The post Lean and Clean: 2 Meat Based Protein Meals appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Adults often underestimate the ability of kids to enjoy complex foods. With continued exposure, kids can and will appreciate the nuances and flavor of natural, whole foods. As their food role model, educate them on the importance of clean eating and how it helps their bodies and brains perform at their optimum level. Often, they will grow to prefer whole food recipes over convenience packaged foods and will love the feeling they get from eating well.

Transitioning older children to a cleaner fuel for their bodies can be difficult, especially if most of their friends are eating packaged, processed foods. My trick to convert my daughters was to include them in the food decisions and the meal prep. I would choose two to three options for dinner and let them vote on which they would like to make. Then, they would help me cut up the vegetables, or stir the saucepan, or flip meat on the grill—whatever age-appropriate tasks were available for them.

These two creamy macaroni and cheese recipes were part of my transitional foods that I still make for my kids (and for myself). Getting kids excited and involved in the meal prep process allows you to talk about why certain foods are better for their bodies. When they help prepare the recipe, they know exactly what’s going into their meal so nothing is a “hidden surprise.” It also allows for special bonding and conversation time that you may not otherwise get during the day. Children love to sample as they cook, and they are so proud of their accomplishment when they can say that they created tonight’s tasty dinner from scratch.

Broccoli Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese

[Photo credit: Kari Lund]

Prep time: 20 min

Cook time: 30 min

Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 6 oz gluten free noodles (corn and rice blends tend to hold up best)
• ½ red bell pepper, steamed and pureed
• ½ cup cooked and pureed pumpkin or squash
• 1 ¼ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 ¼ cup unsweetened coconut milk (I used the kind in the carton rather than canned since it’s less coconut flavored – or use any other milk)
• ½ -¾ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1-2 tablespoons all-purpose gluten free flour (optional, for a thicker sauce)
• ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 1 small head of broccoli, cut into florets (about 1 heaping cup)
• ¼ cup chicharrones (pork rinds), ground to a crumb consistency (place in a zip-top bag and smash with your fist or a small mallet)

Preparation Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook noodles according to their directions for al dente.
3. While noodles are cooking, combine all other ingredients (except broccoli) in a saucepan and heat while whisking until hot and slightly thickened.
4. For an extra smooth sauce, blend with an immersion blender or pour into a regular blender to blend before mixing with the noodles.
5. Drain noodles once they are cooked and place in a lightly greased oven proof casserole dish or loaf pan. Alternately, you can divide among 6-8 ramekins.
6. Pour cheese sauce over noodles, add broccoli, and stir to combine. If sauce seems too thick, stir in a few additional tablespoons of coconut milk.
7. Top with chicharrones crumbs.
8. Bake 25-30 minutes until chicharrones are lightly browned and macaroni is hot and bubbling.

Bacon and Smoked Gouda Macaroni and Cheese

[Photo credit: Kari Lund]

Prep time: 20 min

Cook time: 30 min

Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 6-8 oz gluten free noodles (corn and rice blends tend to hold up best)
• ½ red bell pepper, steamed and pureed
• ½ cup cooked and pureed pumpkin or squash
• 1 cup smoked gouda cheese, shredded
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (I used the kind in the carton rather than canned since it’s less coconut flavored – or use any other milk)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1-2 tablespoons all purpose gluten free flour (optional, for a thicker sauce)
• ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 4-6 slices of cooked bacon, diced
• ¼ cup chicharrones (pork rinds), ground to a crumb consistency (place in a zip-top bag and smash with your fist or a small mallet)

Preparation Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook noodles according to their directions for al dente.
3. While noodles are cooking, combine all other ingredients (except bacon) in a saucepan and heat while whisking until hot and slightly thickened.
4. For an extra smooth sauce, blend with an immersion blender or pour into a regular blender to blend before mixing with the noodles.
5. Drain noodles once they are cooked and place in a lightly greased oven proof casserole dish or loaf pan. Alternately, you can divide among 6-8 ramekins.
6. Pour cheese sauce over noodles, add bacon, and stir to combine.
7. Top with chicharrones crumbs.
8. Bake 25-30 minutes until chicharrones are lightly browned and macaroni is hot and bubbling.

Note:

Both recipes can be made ahead by preparing the noodles and sauce in advance and combining in your chosen baking dish. Do not put the chicharrones on top until ready to bake or they will get mushy and will not brown. Cover and refrigerate up to two days. When ready to bake, sprinkle with chicharrones and bake 40-45 minutes if you are placing the dish in oven straight from the fridge.

More family friendly meal ideas:

Comfort Fuel: Steak and Vegetable Shepherd’s Pie

The post Kid Food Fix: Scratch Made Mac and Cheese appeared first on Breaking Muscle.