{"id":170789,"date":"2025-08-24T03:55:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-24T03:55:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/170789\/"},"modified":"2025-08-24T03:55:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-24T03:55:15","slug":"this-is-the-surprising-ingredient-i-keep-in-my-fridge-to-get-enough-protein","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/170789\/","title":{"rendered":"This Is the Surprising Ingredient I Keep in My Fridge to Get Enough Protein"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>A large tub of Trader Joe\u2019s Nonfat Greek Yogurt helps me get enough protein each week.<\/li>\n<li>Yogurt, plus hummus, nut butter and other sources help me eat 75 to 85 grams of protein each day.<\/li>\n<li>Plain yogurt works great in savory dips and sweeter meals like oatmeal or smoothies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_2-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> Much to my family\u2019s dismay, I became a vegetarian at 12 years old. I&#8217;m not going to lie, those first few years were rough. It&#8217;d be years before I discovered my love for a versatile high-protein ingredient that I now add to almost everything I eat.\u00a0My family was avid meat eaters, and the last thing my mom wanted to do after a long day at work was cook two separate dinners. Needless to say, there were more than a few nights of eating just sides. Sometimes when we went out to dinner, the only vegetarian item on the menu was French fries. I remember more than one barbecue, eating PB&amp;Js and chips while everyone around me dug into juicy burgers and hot dogs.\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_4-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> When I went to college, I started exploring vegetarian cooking more seriously, but my meals tended more toward the \u201ccarb-atarian\u201d lifestyle\u2014there\u2019s only so much you can do with a dining hall salad bar and a dorm microwave. As my interest and skills in the kitchen grew, so did my nutritional literacy. As I entered my 30s, eating a balanced, protein-packed vegetarian diet became my priority. I\u2019m an avid lover of all things beans and legumes, as well as tofu, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eatingwell.com\/article\/8050521\/what-is-seitan-and-is-it-healthy\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">seitan<\/a>, textured vegetable protein (TVP) and tempeh.\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_6-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> To keep my body fueled and feeling good, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eatingwell.com\/article\/290496\/this-is-how-much-protein-you-need-to-eat-every-day\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">I aim to get 75 to 85 grams of protein<\/a> a day, using little swaps and tweaks to add an extra few grams to each meal and snack. A scoop of peanut butter with some sliced apples in the morning, for instance, or homemade edamame hummus with veggies as a midafternoon snack. But my all-time favorite that I use on just about everything? Strained (Greek-style) yogurt.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_10-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> Every week, I buy\u2014and consume\u2014a large tub of Trader Joe\u2019s Nonfat Greek Yogurt. Each 3\/4-cup ounce serving has 17 grams of protein. Now, I\u2019m not usually putting an entire serving of yogurt on top of my nachos or tossing my salad with that much yogurt-based ranch, but even just a couple of tablespoons boosts the protein in a meal by a few grams, and in a vegetarian diet, every little bit counts. Truly, it would be a shorter list to tell you what I don\u2019t put strained yogurt in, but here are some of my go-to ways of using strained yogurt to boost my protein intake.\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_12-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> Of course, I like to eat it with honey and berries for breakfast, but I also dollop it on a hearty bowl of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eatingwell.com\/recipe\/269639\/old-fashioned-oatmeal\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">oatmeal<\/a>, blend it into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eatingwell.com\/recipe\/8029983\/healthy-breakfast-smoothie\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"2\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">smoothies<\/a> and use it in place of sour cream in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eatingwell.com\/recipe\/7992201\/make-ahead-freezer-breakfast-burritos-with-eggs-cheese-spinach\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"3\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">breakfast burrito<\/a>. If I have an avocado that looks a little soft, a scoop of yogurt plus a squeeze of lemon with a good smashing makes a filling and balanced <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eatingwell.com\/recipe\/8029771\/avocado-toast-recipe\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"4\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">avocado toast<\/a>.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_14-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> For mid-afternoon snacks, I dip veggies or whole-wheat pita into a creamy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eatingwell.com\/recipe\/267210\/tahini-yogurt-dip\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">yogurt-based dip<\/a> that I make each week. That boost of protein keeps mid-afternoon hunger at bay! Greek-style tzatziki with lots of bright lemon and dill is a favorite, but a few scoops of yogurt and a packet of ranch or French onion seasoning are likely to show up on my monthly rotation. If I\u2019m feeling extra fancy, I\u2019ll mix some defrosted chopped spinach, chopped artichoke hearts and a sprinkle of Parmesan with a few hefty scoops of strained yogurt for a quick and easy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eatingwell.com\/gallery\/8061682\/spinach-artichoke-recipes-to-make-forever\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"2\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">spinach-artichoke<\/a> dip that also doubles as an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eatingwell.com\/recipe\/7964556\/spinach-artichoke-dip-grilled-cheese\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"3\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">amazing sandwich spread<\/a>.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<p>3 Greek Yogurt Recipes to Try<\/p>\n<p id=\"mntl-sc-block_18-0\" class=\"comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html\"> For my midday meal and dinnertime, strained yogurt isn\u2019t usually a replacement for other proteins but, rather, an enhancement. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eatingwell.com\/favorite-no-cook-post-vacation-dinner-8630571\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">marinated lentil salad<\/a> is my go-to weekday desk lunch, but when I spoon it over a scoop of strained yogurt mixed with some lemon zest, it\u2019s a meal that\u2019ll keep me satisfied all afternoon long. For dinner, I marinate tofu in oregano and lemon juice, grill it and serve it with quinoa and a heaping helping of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eatingwell.com\/recipe\/8028179\/tzatziki\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"2\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">yogurt tzatziki<\/a> for a protein-packed dinner. And while a 100-gram serving of tempeh clocks in at around 20 grams of protein, crumbled Buffalo tempeh over a bed of salad greens gets an extra protein boost when I drizzle it with some yogurt ranch. By adding strained yogurt to the easy and convenient meals I already like, I get the benefit of a high-protein diet without a lot of extra work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A large tub of Trader Joe\u2019s Nonfat Greek Yogurt helps me get enough protein each week. Yogurt, plus&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":170790,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[210,1182,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-170789","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-nutrition","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115081728848132294","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=170789"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170789\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/170790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=170789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=170789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=170789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}