Five DIRT CHEAP Protein Sources

Great article. I love eggs but am a bit careful because my cholesterol levels are a bit high. I have read so many articles regarding eggs, one person says you can eat as many as you like, another says only 3 a week, bit confusing for us. I could eat eggs every single day.

Most of this makes sense, but I really don’t know where your from or where you buy your eggs, cheese, or Tuna. Your getting prices I’ve never seen in my life with those products. Also, canned beans don’t come less than a buck from what I’ve seen and canned beans and lentils don’t reach those levels of protein per can, in fact their protein levels are extremely sub par if they are in a can. However if you buy dried in bulk, then soak and cook them yourself, your gaining their full nutritional value which is about par to what your saying. But not canned, absoltuly not.

There was a period when I was bulking and eating like 8 eggs a day, when I told that to my nutritionist, he went nuts, and told me to never eat more than 2 eggs a day, they have plenty of cholesterol, and also told me to go do blood exams to see if anything had went haywire…

And about the tuna, I’ve heard that it has mercury, like most fish as far as I know, but it’s ok as long as you don’t overeat it, but in a bulking perspective, when I also ate 3 cans a day, my nutritionist also told me that I should stop it…

So what do you have to say about that?

Best regards,
Bernado Pinho

But tuna has high content of mercury, whey is not the available here in my country, only those in tubs, beans are in cans, and it contains lots of sodium

Cheep? Yes, but there are some problems with this list.
1.Eggs are factory farmed(even organic) Whatever they feed the chicken is in the egg. i.e. corn, soy, antibiotics. Cage free, local eggs are best.
2.Whey comes from the milk of cows fed corn, soy, antibiotics and rBGH. Whatever they feed the cow is in the milk which is in the whey.
3. Beans and lentils are an incomplete protein and need to be combined with nuts, seeds and grains.(I’ll give you this one because of the amino pool) I combine beluga lentils with red quinoa!
4. Cottage cheese see#2. Any high protein dairy must come from grass-fed animals!
5. Tuna is high in mercury, the cans are lined with BPA’s and is not sustainable. almost all seafood contains some kind of poison so buyer beware.

Nice, I’m glad you included beans and lentils – as a vegetarian I always feel like they are unsung heroes! :)

Good stuff Joel. A few points:

1. A number of the items you list can actually be found even less expensively if you shop carefully. I often buy canned beans 2 for $1, tuna at 69 cents, good quality whey for 40 cents per serving, and so forth. All of this just makes your point even more valid. Getting adequate protein doesn’t have to be cost prohibitive.

2. You didn’t mention chicken. I routinely buy boneless skinless chicken breasts for $1.99 on sale and for $2.99 at regular price. (Sam’s Club, Wal-Mart, Kroger, etc.). That’s about 105 grams of protein for $2-$3 which is right in line with the other items you note.

3. Interestingly, if you calculate it out to a cents-per-gram-of-protein price, most of the items – even using the “list price” figures you cite – work out about the same, somewhere in the 2.5 cents per gram area. So, enjoy the variety and use them all. Hey, go crazy – make a chicken, cottage cheese, and bean omelette. Wash it down with a whey and tuna smoothie…no wait. Scratch that last one.

Don’t have a comment, just a question. In the article about the 5 dirt cheap protein sources you mention whey – “One of the purest, most bioavailable protein sources available.” Where do you get whey? Are we talking cheese and milk or am I missing something?

Great ideas Joel! Everything in moderation!

I enjoy all of these. All are great protein sources. Your tuna pricing is a bit off or I need to go to your grocery store. There are brands under 1$ but after reading the ingredients on the back of spooky many cans 80% off canned tuna contains soy which I myself try to limit in my diet. For tuna that does not contain soy it costs about 1.30-1.80 per can. Still worth it imo. Just a bit spendier.

Hi, Joel,

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the advice on eggs and the reference article on whole eggs vs. egg whites. Eggs are an underrated, yet inexpensive and nutrient-dense source of protein. And they are extremely versatile, so they don’t get boring. I am old enough to remember that when cholesterol issues started being brought to public awareness, people were being advised to avoid healthful foods like salmon and shellfish because of their cholesterol content. So they were eating feedlot-finished beef in preference to salmon (what did that do for their omega-3 intake!!!??). Maybe you can take on the saturated fats myth next…. anyone remember what a bad rap coconut oil used to get?

I checked the pro grade site. I couldnt tell what size the jars/bottles were. 2 or 5 lbs?
Thx

thanks for the tips – very helpful – living in Norway everything is sooo expensive so this will really help!

Thanks Joel for your response re eggs, very interesting article. I work for a doctor and want to show her the article. Quite curious to see what she will say about it. But very happy about the article, love eggs.

Sound Great. I didn’t know about the Cottage Cheese. Learned something New. Thanks again for the tip! keep’em comin.

#5 – Tuna. Perhaps the cheapest of all lean protein sources, a can of tuna yields approximately 42 grams of protein for just under $1.

Joel, what do you have to say about mercury content in tuna.
Based on your recommendation of 1g per pound of bodyweight, technically a 200lb. person should be consuming 200g of protein, which is a fair amount of protein to consume.

1 120g can of chunk light tuna (in water not oil) contains 30g of protein.
If someone is eating tuna that day, and got half or all of their protein from that one source, you’re looking at 6-7 cans of tuna.

I agree that tuna is relatively inexpensive and I love the taste but I’m leery about how much tuna I can safely consume considering that mercury is present in all canned tuna (some brands less/more than others).

Care to offer a comment since you suggest it as a good source of protein?

Bernardo Pinho wrote:

There was a period when I was bulking and eating like 8 eggs a day, when I told that to my nutritionist, he went nuts, and told me to never eat more than 2 eggs a day, they have plenty of cholesterol, and also told me to go do blood exams to see if anything had went haywire…

And about the tuna, I’ve heard that it has mercury, like most fish as far as I know, but it’s ok as long as you don’t overeat it, but in a bulking perspective, when I also ate 3 cans a day, my nutritionist also told me that I should stop it…

So what do you have to say about that?

Best regards,
Bernado Pinho

there are many different types of protein you wouldnt eat just one. Salmon isnt THAT expencive and also has little to no mercury as it is not a game fish. Hope that helps :)

Stay away from salmon (unless it is wild caught , preferably Alaskan) . The farmed salmon contains chemicals from the feed, run-off from farms and antibiotics given to the fish. They are LOW in omega 3s and HIGH in omega 6s.
A cheep choice would be canned sardines, anchovies (not salted) and mackerel. There are some relatively cheep canned wild salmons also. I don’t get it. Why but cheep sources of protein which can damage your body? Buy high quality “clean” protein that will support a healthy lifestyle and save money on something else. Are you not worth it?