10 recent high-protein breakfasts + 6-month soda free milestone!

Happy Friday!

Someone commented recently saying they were looking for ideas of how to increase protein, and could I share some examples of things I eat.

Why of course! I thought I could break it up into a few posts to give breakfast/lunch/dinner ideas.

To start, I scrolled back through my food logs and pulled out 10 actual breakfasts I’d recorded in My Fitness Pal.

*Note: I’m NOT a dietitian or anything, and this is not a comprehensive “high protein meal ideas” post; these are literally just actual meals I’ve eaten recently.

As you’ll see, I am also not vegan or vegetarian, and I lean pretty hard toward more savory meals, not sweet. I’m also not at all opposed to eating non-breakfast foods at breakfast.

Without further adieu, here are 10 breakfasts I logged, with their total macros. (This might make for a nicer post if I had beautiful photos to accompany each one, but alas, I do not. 😆)

#1: Egg sandwich + mini protein shake

• 1/2 scoop vanilla ice cream flavor protein powder
• 1/2 cup vanilla unsweetened almond milk
• egg sandwich (lower cal fiber bread 2 slices = 70 cal, 1 slice deli turkey, 1 cheese slice, 1 egg, tiny bit of butter on bread)

Total macros: 21 g carbs, 14 g fat, 33 g protein, 314 calories

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#2: Egg and black bean scramble with fruit

• 1 egg
• 2 egg whites (I use egg whites from a carton, so this was 6 tbsp)
• chopped turkey
• 1/4 cup black beans
• 0.5 oz mexican-style shredded cheese
• 50 g fresh raspberries

Total macros: 19 g carbs, 9 f fat, 30 g protein, 277 calories

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#3: Chicken and spinach egg scramble with PB sandwich

• 1 egg
• 2 egg whites
• 2.5 oz leftover shredded chicken
• handful of baby spinach
• 2 slices of L’Oven fresh bread + 20 g Natural Creamy peanut butter

Total macros: 25 g carbs, 18 g fat, 50 g protein, 449 calories

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#4: Ground turkey, bean, cheese mix with PB sandwich on the side

• 2 oz 99/1 ground turkey
• 2.3 oz 93/7 ground turkey
• 0.7 oz shredded cheese
• 53g black beans
• PB sandwich

Total macros: 30 g carbs, 24 g fat, 48 g protein, 503 calories

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#5: Ground turkey, sweet potato, avocado bowl + raspberries

• 2 oz 99/1 ground turkey
• 2 oz 93/7 ground turkey
• 77 g mashed sweet potato
• 20 g avocado on top
• raspberries
• 1 reduced fat Sargento sharp cheddar cheese stick

Total macros: 27g carbs, 13 g fat, 36 g protein, 338 calories

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#6: Hot oat bran cereal with PB2 and fruit

• 1/3 cup Bob’s Red Mill oat bran cereal
• 1 tbsp PB2
• blueberries
• raspberries
• cheese stick on the side, after! Not mixed in, lol….

Total macros: 41g carbs, 7g fat, 16 g protein 281 calories

*On this day I also had a mid-morning snack recorded of green grapes, 1 hard boiled egg, 1 plain rice cake + 1 pepper jack laughing cow cheese wedge. So that was another…. 18 carbs, 7 fat, 9 protein and 169 calories.

So total of all would be: 49 carbs, 14 fat, 25 protein, 450 calories. The hot cereal is nice but definitely not my best high protein breakfast and it adds SO many carbs… not opposed to it, it’s honestly just not my favorite and it gives me less bang for my buck anyway. Does help increase fiber, though.

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#7: yogurt bowl + bean, turkey, cheese scramble

• 1 cup light and fit vanilla greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup raw oats mixed into yogurt
• blackberries
• refried beans
• shredded cheese
• chopped turkey
• big scoop of fresh pico de gallo (tomato/ onion/ jalapeno)

Total macros: 42 g carbs, 9 g fat, 36 g protein, 380 calories

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#8: steak, egg white and cheese mix with buttered toast

• 2 slices of toast, butter
• 3 egg whites
• big handful of baby spinach
• 1 oz leftover thin flank steak mixed in
• bowl of red grapes (~12)

Total macros: 32 g carbs, 16 f fat, 37 g protein, 375 calories

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#9: leftover chicken milanesa, pinto beans, zucchini/ corn mix with a cheese stick and PB sandwich

• thin cut breaded chicken
• 103 g of zucchini mix
• pinto beans 64 g
• cheese stick
• 2 slices bread (70 cal total)
• 20 g peanut butter

Total macros: 48 g carbs, 30 g fat, 42 g protein, 588 calories

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#10: turkey and pepperjack sandwich with potato chips (😅) and raspberries

• 2 slices bread
• 1 slice Kroger pepperjack cheese
• 3 slices deli turkey
• 1 oz jalapeno kettle chips
• big bowl of raspberries

Total macros: 41 g carbs, 15 g fat, 30 g protein, 394 calories

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In other news, I just hit 200 days without soda!

I was almost startled yesterday when a notification popped up on my phone that said “200 Days Achieved!”

I’d honestly forgotten that I still have the Quitzilla app running. I started it on April 20th (my quit date!) and it keeps track of the days since I quit. At certain intervals, it celebrates the milestone.

There’s also a don’t-break-the-chain monthly view:

And if I want to know down to the second how long it’s been (😅), I can see that, too:

I found it motivating at first, like another cheerleader, and I used the journal section at first to put down some thoughts on how I was feeling when it was new and harder.

Now though, I never look at the app! I also don’t want to close it out, either. 🙂 I do like these little updates now and then.

I can definitely say that I’m way past the hard part now. Soda literally doesn’t cross my mind (much) anymore and I have had no issues with temptations or ever any feelings of “caving”. MAN IT FEELS GOOD TO SAY THAT!!! I never thought I’d see the day! 🥳🥳

I’d say the only lingering thought at this point is that occasionally, I’ll wish there was something else I really liked to drink when out that wasn’t alcohol. (This mostly happens if iced tea is not available.) But really, it’s more of just a whisper at this point and never materializes into any actual craving.

Sometimes I still can’t believe that I actually quit! If you know me in real life, you know that soda + I were two little peas in a pod. 🤣 Everyone who knew me KNEW I was a big soda-drinker! (Which… is not really a great reputation, but true.)

I’m really proud of myself. In some ways, looking back, I feel like it wasn’t actually that hard, either. I mean, yes, it took me multiple tries, over many years, lol. But once I really put my mind to it and stuck to it, the serious cravings died off more quickly than I expected.

So I guess my advice for anyone wanting to quit something is just to try REALLY HARD to give your body enough time to dial it down. For me, the major cravings stopped within a couple weeks, but the mental noise didn’t really drop off until more like month 3-4.

But then… you’re free!!!

Daily Gratitude:

I am grateful that after multiple days of rain-delays, they were finally able to put our new roof on yesterday.