Apart From Eggs, What Are Other Sources of Protein for Breakfast?

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Scrambled eggs, omelettes, boiled eggs and sunny-side up eggs are all traditional breakfast offerings. A single egg contains 70 calories, zero carbohydrates and six grams of protein, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA. However, one egg also contains 71 percent of your daily recommended value of cholesterol, according to the USDA. Integrating other sources of protein into your family's breakfast adds variety and lets you explore healthier meal options.

Dairy

Dairy protein sources suitable for breakfast include low-fat or skim milk, yogurt or low-fat cottage cheese. An 8-oz. serving of 1-percent milk contains approximately 8 grams of protein, according to the USDA, and serves as a delicious breakfast beverage. Offering a cup of unsweetened, skim milk yogurt to your family as a breakfast side dish gives them 14 grams of protein power to start the day. Consider naturally sweetening plain yogurt by adding fresh strawberries, blueberries or raspberries to make it more appealing. A 4 oz. serving of cottage cheese also contains 14 grams of protein. To add flavor to cottage cheese, try adding toppings like fresh chives, lemon pepper or low-calorie sweetener.

Meat and Seafood

Healthy meat and seafood breakfast choices include turkey sausage, ham and salmon. Substituting turkey sausage in place of pork sausage reduces the amount of calories and saturated fat your family ingests during breakfast. Two turkey sausage links contain 8 grams of protein and have only 2 grams of saturated fat versus one pork sausage link, which also contains 8 grams of protein but has 6 grams of saturated fat. One slice of ham and a 1-oz. serving of smoked salmon both contain 5 grams of protein. Smoked salmon pairs wonderfully with reduced-fat cream cheese on a mini-bagel or a piece of multi-grain toast. Create your own flavored cream cheese by mixing in a dry salad dressing mix.

Meat Alternatives

Vegetable sausage links and patties give your family the texture of breakfast meat, without the unwanted saturated fat and cholesterol. Two vegetable sausage links contain almost 9 grams of protein and contain less than 1 gram of saturated fat. One vegetable patty sausage contains almost 10 grams of protein. If your family isn't too keen on trying vegetable sausage, consider offering a side serving of reduced-sugar maple syrup to pour on top. If serving a breakfast biscuit or English muffin sandwich with vegetable sausage, add extra flavor by melting a small amount of cheese over the patty or links or by spreading a creamy dressing on the bread.

Other Protein Sources

Don't overlook additional sources of protein that may complement breakfast foods, like cereal and oatmeal. Almonds and cashews add a satisfying texture and contain between 5 and 6 grams of protein in each 1-oz. serving. Try spreading a thin layer of reduced-fat peanut butter on toast in place of butter or margarine and you'll benefit from 7 grams of protein in a 2-tbsp. serving.