Why include protein at every meal?

Protein is an essential nutrient needed by our body to repair and maintain bones, skin, and muscles. Eating protein at every meal and snack times will help ensure you are getting enough protein for your bodies needs. Including protein rich foods in your meals and snacks also helps promote satiety. Protein is found in both plant-based and animal-based foods.

Did you know: Replacing plant protein for animal protein has been shown to lower LDL cholesterol, and plant proteins can contain less saturated fat and are higher in fibre than most animal-protein foods.

Choose plant-based protein foods more often!
Heart-Healthy Plant-Based Proteins
  • Legumes: Examples include lentils (red, brown, and green), dried peas (chickpeas, pigeon peas, split peas, black-eyed peas), and beans (lima, kidney, black, brown, navy, pinto, white beans)
  • Soy products: Including tofu, natto, tempeh, edamame, fortified soy beverage, and soy yogurt
  • Nuts, seeds, and nut or seed butters: Examples include walnuts, almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, peanuts, and nut butters. Sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, sesame seeds, seeds butters, tahini, and more!
  • Processed plant-based meat alternates: Processed pea-based products (veggie burgers, etc.), processed soy-based products (texturized vegetable protein/TVP, veggie hot dogs, veggie burgers, veggie deli slices, veggie ground, chick’n strips, meatballs, etc.), processed wheat gluten-based products (seitan), and more

Fun facts about seitan & tempeh: Seitan is a plant-based meat substitute made from wheat gluten that mimics the flavour and texture of chicken! People with sensitivity or intolerance to gluten should avoid seitan. Tempeh is a fermented soybean product known for its distinctive, nutty, mushroom flavour. Yum!

Choose plant-based proteins more often:
GREAT CHOICES GOOD CHOICES CHOOSE RARELY
Legumes Beans, peas, lentils (canned, frozen, dried)
Hummus and bean dips without mayonnaise		 Baked beans with meats
Hummus and bean dips with mayonnaise		 Legume dishes prepared with full fat coconut milk (e.g., curries, rice, or beans)
Soy Products
 Unsweetened fortified soy beverages, soy cheese, and yogurt (≤ 5% DV for saturated fat)
Tempeh
Tofu
Edamame
Natto		 Sweetened fortified soy beverages, soy cheese, and soy yogurt (≤10% DV for saturated fat)
Veggie burgers, dogs, and sausages prepared with non-hydrogenated vegetable oils (≤10% DV for saturated fat and sodium)
Veggie slices
Texturized vegetable protein/texturized soy protein		 Sweetened fortified soy beverages, soy cheese, and soy yogurt (≥15% DV for saturated fat)
Dessert tofu prepared with added sugars
Smoked tofu with added salt/sodium
Veggie burgers, dogs, and sausages prepared with non-hydrogenated vegetable oils (≥15% DV for saturated fat and sodium)
Nuts and seeds Raw, unsalted nuts/seeds
Dry roasted nuts/seeds
Natural nut/seed butters		 Oil roasted, salted nuts/seeds
Nut/seed butters with added oil, salt, and/or sugars		 Sugar or chocolate-coated nuts/seeds
Other Plant Alternatives to Meat Seitan Beyond meat burgers and products
Impossible meat burgers and products
Heart-Healthy Animal Proteins

Red meats, poultry, fish, and eggs are all rich in protein, iron, zinc, vitamin B12, and saturated fat. Pick the leanest cuts to decrease your saturated fat intake. Seafood like shellfish (crab, lobster, and shrimp) are rich in cholesterol so choose them less often.

Essential omega 3 and 6 fats (linolenic and linoleic) are essential fats that you must consume from foods as they are not produced by your body. 

Non-essential omega 3 fats can be made in the body. However, you can also consume these omega 3 fats by eating fatty and oily fish (salmon, mackerel, etc). These heart-healthy fats can help prevent or treat cardiovascular disease. Eat fatty and/or oily fish 1-2 times a week to get all their benefits!

Label reading tip:

When purchasing pre-cooked or deli meats & poultry, make sure to check the ingredients list for sodium nitrate. Choose pre-cooked meats & poultry that don’t contain sodium nitrate. For example, choose pre-cooked chicken breast without added nitrates instead of deli chicken or turkey breast with added nitrates.

Choose heart-healthy animal proteins:
GREAT CHOICES GOOD CHOICES CHOOSE RARELY
Meat Well-trimmed, lean cuts of beef, veal, venison, moose, or rabbit
Extra lean ground beef
Jerky with no added sodium or processing agents		 Lean ground beef
Lamb loin
Processed meats without added sodium and nitrates/nitrites		 Organ meats
Fatty or heavily marbled cuts of beef, veal, or lamb
Side bacon, side ribs, pigs feet, or ham hocks
Processed meats with added sodium and nitrates/nitrites
Poultry Skinless turkey and chicken (light or dark meat)
Lean ground turkey and chicken
Jerky with no added sodium or processing agents		 Lean turkey or chicken breast lunch meats
Ground chicken and turkey		 Fried chicken
Poultry with skin
Giblets
Duck
Goose
Fish and Seafood Fresh or frozen filets
Fish canned in water
Fatty or oily fish (salmon, mackerel, Atlantic herring, sardines, anchovies, albacore tuna)
Mussels		 Fish canned in broth or tomato juice/paste
Fish canned in vegetable oil
Fresh or frozen shrimp and other shellfish, squid, caviar, clams, oysters		 Salted, smoked or pickled fish
Deep fried fish or seafood coated in batter
Canned shrimp and other shellfish, squid, caviar, clams, oysters
Eggs Boiled, poached, scrambled omega-3 eggs
Egg whites
Egg substitutes		 Boiled, poached, scrambled regular eggs Pickled, fried, deviled eggs
Egg salad with full fat mayonnaise
Eggs benedict or florentine
Dairy (Milk, Buttermilk, Yogurt, Cottage Cheese) Skim or 1% milk fat (M.F.) options 2% milk fat (M.F.) options ≥ 3.25% milk fat (M.F.) options
Soft and Hard Cheeses ≤ 15% M.F. cheese 15-20% M.F. cheese ≥ 20% M.F. cheese