With summer coming up, most of us gym girls are in the home stretch before it’s time to unveil our gym progress from the winter season. My personal goal has been to make sure I’m basically shredded, complete with a six-pack. And as all the gym girls know by now, abs are made in the kitchen! I’ve been leaning very heavily on protein to make sure I get the gains.
However, doing 17 credits and working almost full-time on top of other obligations can make it difficult to find time or energy to make protein-filled meals or even remember to focus on my protein intake. Instead of burning myself out to always cook meals or being lazy and not getting my protein, I’ve accumulated quite a few of my favorite protein snacks. Of course, I also care a lot about how my food tastes! I’d rather have no protein at all than protein that’s unbearable to swallow, so these are all tastebud-approved and packed with protein:
Fairlife Milk
With 30g of protein, Fairlife Milk will make sure you get your protein every time. They have chocolate and vanilla flavored, so no matter what your groove is, they have it. These are by far one of the better protein drinks on the market right now, especially compared to many of the other icky-tasting protein shakes.
Lenny & Larry’s Complete Cookie
Lovers of chocolate chip cookies like myself know how annoying it is to crave sweets but know they don’t have the protein you need. Lenny and Larry’s cookies have 16g of protein and taste pretty good! Of course, they aren’t the real thing, but they are a decent substitute if you’re looking for protein. They also have a plant-based protein version for anyone who tries to avoid whey protein.
Barebells Protein Bars
These are miles better than any protein bar I’ve ever had. I could rave about these all day! The Salty Peanut and Cookies and Cream flavors are my favorite, but they sell quite a few different ones. Their soft bars are alright, too, but the protein content isn’t as high as the regular bars and I don’t think they taste as good. Overall, Barebells does it for me every single time!
Banza Protein Pasta
Chickpeas power this pasta, and it tastes so good! When I first tried Banza pasta, I was expecting it to be gross because of the chickpeas and higher protein. However, it actually tastes really good. Their mac and cheese boxes are my favorite since I like quick and easy meals, and I always keep a big box of the rotini noodles in my cupboard.
Hi-Protein Snickers
With 20g of protein, these Snickers bars are a much better alternative to the regular ones. To satisfy that sweet tooth and still get protein, these are a good choice. Again, they aren’t the same as a regular Snickers, but they do the job.
Kodiak Chocolate Chip PB Oatmeal
I’ll admit I’m one of those people that goes through food phases. For a few months, I exclusively ate oatmeal for breakfast every day. During this time I discovered Kodiak’s chocolate chip peanut butter oatmeal and it’s delicious! I like mine to be a little thicker, so I add a little bit less water. This makes the chocolate and peanut butter chips super melty and gooey. It isn’t super high in protein since they are just oatmeal cups, but compared to regular oatmeal, it’s much better and tastes better than the other brands of protein oatmeal.
Kodiak Waffles
Similar to the last one, Kodiak makes a great protein version of Eggo waffles. They have a few different flavors, but I’ve only tried the double chocolate and chocolate chip. Unfortunately, Eggos still beat them for taste, but the Kodiak waffles keep me full for a little bit longer.
PB Protein Bites
This one isn’t premade, but it is super easy to make and one of my favorites! I don’t use exact measurements for it; I just mix melted peanut butter, protein powder, rolled oats, chocolate chips, honey and a dash of salt. After everything is combined, you roll them into little balls, stick them in the fridge for about an hour, and they’re good to go. They can be stored in the fridge or the freezer and they’re one of my favorite on-the-go snacks, or just something quick to grab if I feel like I want a snack.
I am qualified to say I’ve tried quite a few protein snacks and alternatives. Not every alternative is as good as the ones listed above, so this list is fairly curated to perfection. There’s a few more I want to try in the future (looking at you, Legendary Foods Protein Pastry), and I’ll definitely follow up on this article when I do!