If you read any of my earlier posts, I think you will get the sense of a recurring theme – protein is the king. Meals and snack with the right balance of protein are essential to our well being as protein is a macro nutrient, nutrient we need in large amounts, as it performs major roles of building and maintaining lean muscle and maintaining normal bone, amongst other roles.
There are many sources of protein, like dairy, meat, eggs, fish, pulses, nuts. For the amount of protein we need on a daily basis (1 gram per 1 lbs of lean muscle is the figure I go with, unless we are building leans muscle, in which case the ratio is more 1.5:1) – it is a good advice to try to get at last 50% of it from vegetarian sources. Soya is a complete protein unlike beans and other plant sources. This means it has the same amino acid chain as meat proteins do, but it is a lot easier to digest as it comes from plants, making it a truly super form of protein.
So, here is another example, whilst my boys were happy with a watermelon chunks for their snack, I had to be a little bit smarter for myself and used a few chunks with Protein Drink Mix to make 15 grams of protein under 150 calories Watermelon Protein Snack. Absolutely delicious. Never tried it before using watermelon and I surely will again!
Watermelon is not just full of water, it also helps water be absorbed faster. It is also dense in nutrients. Little goes a long way as it still is a source of sugar, so, whilst healthy, slice is enough, around 1 cup (1 cup is 154 grams, 46 calories and 9.6 grams of sugar). 🙂