As a full time working professional and mother, I find it difficult to always eat balanced and nutritious foods every day. I have discovered that foods with protein have significant power and aren’t out of our reach even with a hectic schedule.

A good approach is to try to include one good source of protein at each meal or snack. For example, have an egg at breakfast, some fat free plain yogurt as a snack, a chicken salad for lunch, and sauté some shrimp with a little pasta at dinner. None of that is too difficult or time consuming.

I’ve read conflicting reports about how much protein we need. The Institute of Medicine advises about 46 – 56 grams of protein a day for both women and men. However, the Food Guide Pyramid recommends about 5 ounces of protein daily for an average adult woman on a 2000 calorie diet. That equates to about one (6 oz. ) skinless, boneless chicken breast, and a large hard boiled egg. Both organizations do agree that if you consume more then the required amount of protein that it shouldn’t be a health concern.

High quality sources of protein exist in just about every food, except fruits.  Here are some superlative protein sources (plus most of these provide other valuable nutrients as well):

-Beef, Pork, Game and Lamb

-Poultry

-Eggs

-Fish & Shellfish

-Dairy Products

-Legumes

-Nuts & Seeds

No matter how busy and crazy your day gets, you have to make the time to eat a well balanced diet. If we don’t take care of ourselves, we won’t be able to continue to have these busy fulfilling days!

P.S. Something I just found out about….Quinoa (keen-wah) is a super quick-cooking whole grain, that supplies protein, iron (gosh I need that) and vitamin E. Serve it up with a simple grilled chicken breast or fish.

Bon Appetite!