Temperatures rise, and heat waves are on the horizon. The days are longer in summer, beckoning us to explore the outside. For those of us with busy families, careers, and a summer filled with adventure—you may be struggling to find high-protein dishes that fit you and your family's schedule without sacrificing flavor and nutrients.
It's easy to find meal planning and cooking an afterthought during a busy summer. Whether you're heading to the lakeside cabin for a week or the beach for a day, we're here to help you find high-protein, fulfilling, versatile, and delicious meals.
Why High-Protein?
For many, a high-protein diet is a delicious and excellent means to help them lose weight, maintain weight, and feel fuller. Others turn to a diet rich in protein to help build muscle and assist in cutting down carbohydrates. While the health effects of fat and carbs remain controversial, nearly everyone in the scientific and fitness community agrees protein is an essential part of our diets.
A few of the science-backed benefits of eating more protein include:
- Studies show that proteins are the crucial most filling elements, helping you feel more full with less food. Protein is partly responsible for lowering the hunger hormone ghrelin while boosting levels of peptide YY, which makes you feel full.
- It is excellent for bulking or increasing muscle mass and strength since protein is the building block of our muscles. Ensuring you and your family get enough protein helps maintain muscle mass and promotes muscle growth, especially if you're strength training, physically active, and lifting weights.
- Long-term studies find connections between people who eat more protein and maintain bone mass better as they age, allowing them to lower their risk of osteoporosis and fractures.
- High blood pressure is one of the most significant causes of heart attacks, strokes, and chronic kidney diseases. Eating a high protein intake could lead to lowered blood pressure.
- While restricting protein intake is often a benefit for those with pre-existing kidney issues and kidney disease, those with healthy kidneys can enjoy a high-protein diet without worry of damage to their kidneys.
- Protein is the building block for muscles, and it maintains them. It is also a vital part of our tissues and organs. Studies have shown that eating more protein after an injury may help speed recovery.
If you're in good shape and relatively excellent health, a higher protein intake can have many health benefits for you and your family. But, a high-protein diet isn't for everyone, and it's always best to ask your health provider if a diet change is correct for you.
Quick and Easy High Protein Dinner Inspirations for Summer
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Skillet Pork Chops and Beans
A cozy childhood favorite or comfort meal can be healthy and loaded with protein without skimping on flavor. This dish is limitless in flavor customization, from keeping it simple to experimenting with your favorite herb and spice combinations for a delicious taste. The base of the recipe is to sear pork chops to a deep caramel perfection while adding cannellini beans. You can add diced onion, carrots, a sprig of sage, and minced garlic cloves for a simple, rich, filling meal in 20 minutes or less. -
Shrimp Linguine With Spicy Chorizo
Take an already beloved, easy dish like shrimp linguine and add a spicy kick with chorizo ready in 30 minutes or less. Boil your pasta, toss some panko crumbs in a separate frying pan with olive oil until golden brown, then toss the bread crumbs with fresh lemon zest and salt and pepper, and set aside in a bowl. Cook your chorizo in the same pan as the bread crumbs until golden brown, set aside. Toss in your favorite amount of fresh minced garlic until crispy, then add the shrimp and cook until pink. If you have any wine or cooking wine, toss a half cup of dry white to deglaze the pan, scrape up the delicious brown bits, reduce by half, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Once the noodles are al dente, drain, reserve a cup of that pasta water, and add the pasta and reserved water to the shrimp and chorizo with a pat of butter and combine until perfectly coated. Drizzle and top with those lemony panko crumbs for a bright, summery citrus crunch. -
Mediterranean Inspired Sheet Pan Salmon and Roasted Tomatoes
One dirty dish for an entire meal ready to eat in 30 minutes or less? This may become your favorite go-to in summer. You only need a large salmon fillet, two lemons, your favorite pitted assorted olives, cherry tomatoes, optional sweet hot peppers for kick, red onion slices, olive oil, salt, pepper, and a pat of butter.
You can customize this recipe by adding fresh herbs, such as oregano, rosemary, thyme, or sage, as a garnish after everything is cooked.
Preheat your oven to 425 and line your baking tray with parchment paper or foil for easy cleanup. Arrange your fish, cut slices of lemon around the fish along with your olives, tomatoes, sweet peppers, and onions, drizzle it with olive oil, and season it with salt and pepper. Last, dot along the butter and then bake for 20-30 minutes until the fish is flakey and done.
Garnish with any fresh herbs before serving and enjoy.
Simple and Easy Tips to Add More Protein Slowly (Or Sneakily.)
If you or someone in your family is a picky eater, there are some great tips and tricks to ease more protein into meals without making a massive change. Try:
- Experiment with replacing regular or whole wheat pasta with chickpea pasta, lentil pasta, black bean noodles, or vegetable noodles—like zucchini spirals.
- If you've got the time, you may want to consider a bit of meal prepping. Many say it's become a life and time saver for busy families. Dedicate a day at the beginning of a week to prepare protein-packed dishes that can quickly be eaten as-is, on the go, or rewarmed easily.
- If you don't like how the oven heats the entire house, it may be time to dust off the crockpot. Let your slow cooker do the heaviest lifting of cooking up lean cuts of your favorite protein-packed meat, and let it slow-cook while you can get the most out of your day.
- Try having a few protein-filled snacks ready, such as hard-boiled eggs, Greek yogurt cups, turkey or chicken jerky, and cheese sticks—all of which are excellent choices for convenient snacking.
Don't let summertime mealtime become a stressor! Keep the sunny adventures going with some planning, creativity, and Wholey's at your side! We're here to help you fall in love with food and mealtime all over again through inspiration and exceptional quality meats and seafood delivered right to your front door.