High Protein Foods List: Affordable Picks and How to Hit Your Target

A practical high protein foods list with rough protein per serving, focused on affordable picks like eggs, chicken, tuna, dairy, and legumes, plus simple ways to hit your daily target.

Protein is the one nutrient most people building a better body get wrong, usually by eating too little of it. The good news is that a solid high protein foods list does not need to be expensive or fancy. The basics you already know, eggs, chicken, tuna, dairy, and legumes, will carry you most of the way. This guide gives you rough protein numbers per serving and simple ways to actually hit your daily target.

Why does protein matter so much? It keeps you full, protects your muscle while you lose fat, and helps you recover from training. When people complain they are always hungry or losing strength on a diet, the fix is usually more protein, not fewer calories.

How much protein do you actually need?

A common, evidence-based range is about 1.6 to 2.2 g of protein per kg of body weight per day if you train and want to keep or build muscle. For a 70 kg person that is roughly 112 to 154 g a day. If that sounds like a lot, that is exactly why most people fall short. Spreading it across 3 to 4 meals makes it far easier than trying to cram it into one.

A simple high protein foods list with rough numbers

These are approximate values per common serving. Brands and cuts vary, so treat them as a guide.

1 large egg: about 6 to 7 g
100 g cooked chicken breast: about 30 g
1 can of tuna (drained, around 95 g): about 20 to 22 g
100 g lean beef or veal: about 26 g
100 g white fish like tilapia or bolti: about 20 to 22 g
1 cup (about 200 g) Greek yogurt or labneh: about 18 to 20 g
1 cup cottage cheese or 100 g qariesh (cottage-style cheese): about 14 to 18 g
1 cup milk or laban: about 8 g
1 cup cooked lentils, the base of koshari and lentil soup: about 18 g
1 cup cooked chickpeas or fava beans (foul): about 14 to 15 g
30 g (1 scoop) whey protein: about 24 g

Plant eaters can lean on lentils, chickpeas, foul, beans, and soy products like tofu and edamame. These come with carbs too, so count them in your day.

The cheapest protein for your money

If your budget is tight, a few foods give you the most protein for the least cost. Eggs are the classic winner: cheap, filling, and easy. Canned tuna and sardines are excellent value and need zero cooking. Lentils, chickpeas, and foul are extremely affordable and are already staples across Egypt and the Gulf. Whole chicken is usually cheaper than pre-cut breast if you do not mind portioning it yourself. Plain dairy like laban, qariesh, and Greek yogurt rounds things out at a low price.

Easy ways to hit your target every day

The trick is to anchor protein to each meal instead of hoping it adds up. Try this:

Start the day with a protein source, not just bread or fruit. Eggs, Greek yogurt, or foul with an egg work well.
Make protein the centre of every plate, then build carbs and vegetables around it.
Keep zero-effort options on hand: canned tuna, boiled eggs, yogurt, and a tub of whey.
Use snacks that pull their weight, like cottage cheese, a yogurt, or a handful of edamame, instead of biscuits.
If you fall short by dinner, a shake or a can of tuna closes the gap fast.

A practical day for that 70 kg person might be 3 eggs at breakfast (about 20 g), Greek yogurt mid-morning (about 18 g), 150 g chicken at lunch (about 45 g), a can of tuna in the afternoon (about 20 g), and lentils plus a little meat at dinner (about 25 to 30 g). That lands you near 130 g without anything exotic.

One honest note: more protein is not magic. It works inside a sensible calorie plan and regular training. No single food is a shortcut, and progress comes from steady habits over time rather than any quick fix.

If you want a plan built around you, your budget, and the foods you actually eat, with real weekly follow-up from a certified coach, that is exactly what Team Mego does, for clients in Egypt and worldwide.

Pick 2 or 3 foods from this list that you genuinely enjoy, keep them stocked, and make them the foundation of your meals. Consistency with simple, affordable protein beats a perfect plan you cannot stick to.

Change your body, change your life.

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