Consuming daily protein intake is one of the essential parts of your calisthenics journey, especially in building and repairing the muscle fiber damaged after your intense workout. But we all know that not everyone has enough money to support their daily protein intake (like me), especially because some of us are still students. Then I had an idea that popped up in my mind: What if I share the affordable protein food that I usually eat and anyone can afford it, After the Idea pop-up, I started opening our blog and started to write.
So, In this blog post, we will cover the 5 affordable foods that help you get your daily protein intake.
5 Affordable Protein Foods for Students
- Disclaimer: The Nutrition Facts that I'll be providing below are based on Nutritionix and you can also check it manually.
1. Chicken Egg
Chicken egg is one of the best and cheapest protein sources that you can buy anywhere in a simple small sari-sari store or supermarket. Whether we admit it or not, this is one of our favorites because one large egg contains high-quality protein and amino acids that help you gain muscle mass in your recovery. In our province, the large size costs 0.16, or 8–9 pesos per piece.
Suggested Recipe: Boiled or Scrambled egg with Onions and Tomato.
2. Canned Sardines
This is one of my favorite post-work-out meals. Besides it being cheap you can choose and eat different variants like Olive oil and Tomato Sauce (spicy or not). Also, sardines are rich in Protein, Omega-3 fats, Calcium, and Vitamin B12. All the nutrients of sardines will help you gain muscle, enhance your energy level, and Improve the reproduction of your red blood cells. The usual price of canned sardines is 0.50$ or 25 pesos for 155 grams in the Philippines (can you drop the price in your country?).
Suggested Recipe: You can mix the scrambled egg and sardines to double the protein and nutrients, If you don't like you can directly be consumed.
3. Canned Tuna
Canned Tuna is one of the best choices when you don't want the first 3 I mentioned above. Canned tuna is one of the best sources of high-quality protein that you need for building muscle and recovery like sardines and also it contains nutrients like Omega-3, Vitamins D and B12, and different minerals. The price of this can be higher than the above, costing 0.90$ or 45 Pesos for 155 grams.
Suggested Recipe: Just add onions and ready to go.
4. Tofu/Tokwa
Tokwa or Tofu is one of the best-based plant protein foods. This food is made up of soy milk. Tofu is one of the best options in terms of muscle recovery when your workout is intense because tofu is rich in Protein, Iron, Calcium, Magnesium, and Potassium that you need to recover quickly. You can easily boil it and add some spices and ready to eat. One block of tofu can cost 0.65$ or 35 Pesos.
Suggested Recipe: Boiled, Fried, and You can mix to your salad.
5. Tilapia Fish
Tilapia is one of the cheaper fish in the Philippines compared to Salmon and Milk Fish (Bangus). This fish is a good source of lean protein essential for muscle repair and growth. The good thing about this fish is that it is low in fat, so if you aim to maintain your lean physique while promoting the growth of muscle, this is for you. The price of tilapia is different depending on where you live but according to MegaQMart, 500 grams cost 1.60$ or 90 Pesos.
Suggested Recipe: Fried, but you can browse another recipe on Google and YouTube.
Conclusion
Daily protein intake is essential whenever you're in calisthenics or bodybuilding. Protein is so important in our body, especially in building muscle and in recovery, but not everyone can achieve their daily intake because some of us are still students, so I write these 5 affordable protein sources, to somehow help you get your daily intake.
PS: Eating canned foods daily is not advisable and healthy.
Maybe today you lack a budget and can only afford cheap food, but remember that we are not always at the bottom, and I'm sure in the future you can afford expensive solid food. Just always stay positive and manifest it, and if that happens, I hope you come back to this post and comment, "I did it."
You? what are your favorite solid protein sources? can you share it with us? Just comment below. Have a nice day king!