53 High-Quality, Low-Calorie Proteins

Looking for high-quality, low-calorie proteins? I've put together a list of 53 choices with their calorie counts and total grams of protein to make it fast and easy for you to select the proteins that are right for you.

But first how much protein do you need?

Experts advise consuming between 0.8 grams and 1.1 grams of protein per pound of your body weight. (An example: If you're a 140-pound woman, you'd need 112 - 154 grams a day.) Skew on the higher end if you're very active and on the lower end if you're trying to lose weight. If both apply, shoot for an amount somewhere in the middle.

Even more important is to aim to get at least 30 of those grams at breakfast, says Donald Layman, Ph.D., professor emeritus of nutrition at the University of Illinois. (That's roughly the amount you'll get from two eggs and a cup of cottage cheese.)

So here's your list to get you started...enjoy!


Almonds: 312 cal, 11g
American cheese: 70 cal, 4g
Bacon: 103 cal, 7g
Beef jerky: 140 cal, 16g
Black beans:
145 cal, 7g
Buffalo burger: 280 cal, 43g
Button mushrooms: 15 cal, 2.2g
Canned salmon: 90 cal, 12g
Canned tuna: 70 cal, 14.9g
Casein protein: 120 cal, 24g
Cashews: 240 cal, 7g
Cheddar cheese: 115 cal, 7g
Chicken breast (deli slices): 70 cal, 11g
Chicken breast: 129 cal, 27g
Chicken wing: 98 cal, 9g
Clams: 50 cal, 9g
Cottage cheese (0% fat): 70 cal, 12.9g
Cottage cheese (1% fat): 90 cal, 16g
Egg: 70 cal, 6g
Greek strained yogurt (0% fat): 90 cal, 15g
Hamburger (80/20): 290 cal, 23g
Hamburger (90/10): 200 cal, 22.9g
Italian salami: 100 cal, 7g
Kashi Go Lean Protein Cereal: 200 cal, 12g
Lamb: 331 cal, 27.57g
Mozarella: 60 cal, 6g
Muenster Cheese: 120 cal, 8g
Mussels: 70 cal, 9g
Ostrich steak: 160 cal, 36g
Oysters: 57 cal, 6g
Peanut Butter: 190 cal, 7g
Peanuts: 160 cal, 7g,
Pork chops: 152 cal, 15.6g
Portabella Mushroom: 26 cal, 2.5g
Provolone cheese: 70 cal, 5g
Pumpkin seeds: 46 cal, 2g
Quinoa: 636 cal, 22g
Salmon filet: 151 cal, 22g
Sesame Seeds: 158 cal, 5g
Shiitake mushrooms: 21 cal, 3g
Shrimp: 90 cal, 17g
Sirloin Steak: 260 cal, 43g
Skim milk: 80 cal, 8g
Smoked salmon: 70 cal, 12.8g
Soybeans: 100 cal, 10g
Spirulina: 26 cal, 5.92g
Sunflower seeds: 262 cal, 10.48g
Tofu: 610 cal, 35g
Turkey breast (deli slices): 60 cal, 12.8g
Turkey breast: 146 cal, 33g
Walnuts: 688 cal, 14.7g
Whey protein isolate: 100 cal, 23g
Yogurt (0% fat): 70 cal, 6g




Shannon Hammer is a communications professional who lives in Redondo Beach, California, with her husband, Mark Christopher (MC) Hammer. The Positive Portions Food & Fitness Journal is her first book. For more information, go to http://www.positiveportions.com. Article is copyright Shannon Hammer.

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