The protein conversation on Instagram happens entirely in numbers. Grams per kilogram, targets per meal, leucine thresholds, anabolic windows, and a lot of very serious people telling you that you are doing it wrong. It is exhausting and also unnecessary, because the actual information you need is much simpler than all of that, which is: how much protein do you actually need, and what does a day of eating that amount look like when you are standing in your kitchen at 7am trying to decide what to make for breakfast?
The number most active adults should aim for is between 1.2g and 1.6g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. For a 60kg person, that is 72g to 96g. For an 80kg person, 96g to 128g. Spread across three meals, that is roughly 30g per sitting, which sounds like a lot until you realise that a bowl of rajma chawal with raita is already there. The target, it turns out, is less about adding things and more about knowing what you are already eating.
Morning
Breakfast is where most people drop the ball; not because they’re eating badly, but because toast and fruit and a nice granola are doing almost nothing toward that protein goal.
Eggs are the obvious answer, and they remain the obvious answer because they’re delicious, nutritious, versatile, and affordable. Two eggs give you 12g, add a third and you’re at 18g. A bhurji—onions soft in oil, tomatoes collapsing into them, eggs scrambled through at the end with a little green chilli—is one of the more simple-satisfying breakfasts going, and the protein is almost incidental relative to how good it tastes. Add a small bowl of dahi alongside and you’re at 24 to 28g before the day has even really started.
If you’re not familiar with moong dal chillas, it’s definitely time you get familiar. Around 9g each, fifteen minutes to make, so good with a little dahi and pickle, and super good for your gut. Make two. Stir a scoop of unflavoured protein into the batter before it hits the pan, and it disappears completely into the texture and suddenly you’re getting 40g of protein from brekkie.
For mornings when none of that is happening and you’re running around and need to just get out the door, toss a scoop of unflavoured protein in your morning chai or coffee. It’ll add 20 to 25g to something you were going to make anyway, and if you blend that coffee with some ice and your milk of choice, it’s even kind of extra-yum.
Lunch
Lunch is the best opportunity for a high-protein meal, and Indian home cooking (if you cook, or have someone do it for you), can be one of the most protein-efficient cuisines going. This isn’t a gym bro claim, it’s just what happens when legumes form the base of many meals.
A proper rajma (not a thin one, you gotta go chunky, hearty), served over rice with a generous bowl of raita and a handful of roasted chana alongside: 32 to 35g, and a great comfort food to boot. A thick toor or masoor dal with curd and a soft egg on top: 25 to 30g, and a lunch that will keep your energy steady well into the afternoon in a way that a sandwich just cannot.
Chicken will hit targets fastest; 100g of cooked chicken breast is 31g on its own, which means a simple chicken curry with rice is already past your meal target. Fish is also great; a 120g piece of white fish is 25 to 28g, and a tin of tuna is 25g per 100g. If you eat plant-based: a grain bowl with millet or brown rice as the base, a generous scoop of hummus or white bean mash, roasted vegetables, tahini, and pumpkin seeds hits 28 to 32g without any animal protein. Add a soft-boiled egg and you’re at 35g. Add nothing and you’re still doing great.
That 3-4pm midday mark
The dreaded mid-afternoon slump is where the day either holds together or doesn't. If lunch was a healthy, protein-rich and blood sugar stabilising affair, you’ll probably coast right by. If it wasn’t, chances are you’re scrounging in the office pantry for biscuits or surreptitiously on Zomato for a pick-me-up. For those days, roasted chana is an underrated snack. A small handful is 7 to 10g, cheap, keeps forever, and actually satisfies in a way that a biscuit doesn't. A bowl of hung curd with honey and walnuts takes a couple of minutes to put together, but is quicker than waiting for ice cream delivery and will give you 8 to 10g. Greek yoghurt with fruit and something crunchy: 10g per 100g, meaningfully higher than regular dahi, and worth keeping around.
Dinner
The great thing about getting your protein in at every juncture, is that dinner can just be a balanced and delicious affair, it doesn’t need to be a heroic rescue or redemption from the day’s food choices. Dal and paneer together is a combination that doesn’t need improving. Toor dal alongside a paneer dish is 30 to 35g without trying. Add roti. Done. A three-egg omelette with cheese and whatever’s in the fridge takes eight minutes, gives you about 24g, and is a speedy and satisfying dinner for the nights when you can’t be bothered with anything more elaborate.
Pasta with lentils or white beans worked into the sauce: 25 to 30g, and the sauce is better for it. Add a scoop of unflavoured protein powder into the sauce and boom, you’re zooming way past targets. Actually, unflavoured protein powder is probably one of the more useful things in a kitchen precisely because it goes into almost anything without changing the outcome… other than the macros that is. Into dal, it vanishes. Into chilla batter, it disappears into the texture. Into your morning coffee, it turns a habit you already have into something that’s still delicious, but supercharged. The trick, it turns out, is making it easy.
A handy trick
Unflavoured protein powder is possibly one of the most useful things you can keep in your kitchen precisely because it goes into almost anything without changing the outcome. Into dal, it vanishes! Into chilla batter, it disappears into the texture. Swirl into your morning coffee and it turns a habit you already have into something that is still delicious, but suddenly much more functional. The trick, it turns out, is not adding complicated things to your day, it is making the things you were already going to do work a bit harder.
1,000 Ways to Live Well is a Mille publication. Mille is a modern nutrition brand built around everyday rituals, starting with protein that doesn't ask you to compromise on taste. millesupergrain.com
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