Healthy proteins belong on the new food pyramid. Starting 2026, it’s an inverted triangle funnel shape with a heightened focus on healthy proteins and dairy at the top.
This is a printable protein grocery list you can use for inspiration and good for anyone who is following a healthy diet like the Mediterranean diet.
One other food category that has been a constant is Vegetables & Fruits (healthy carbs). They’re still a top priority as nature’s produce in a garden.
V&F are also store affordable, and have a lot of value add to the body with all its vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants (to fight free radicals in cells).
Unlike packaged foods, V&F grocery labels are PLU stickers that need no list of ingredients to dilute. They are whole and healthy.
I remember the original food pyramid that started in the previous century from the New food pyramid. It was a controversial 23+ servings, coming from the 4 basic food groups.
In simpler times, the rectangular 4 basic food groups kept it inside-the-box basic. Dairy was already one of the main food groups. Meat was another that represented healthy proteins.
Plant-based proteins have been around since B.C. times, but hadn’t cropped up on the table scene for the Western diet yet (…and maybe why a food pyramid was built 😊).
But amino acids have been with us for for-EVER, even though it’s more technical…
And amino acid profiles give more protein details… where some surprising foods (besides meats and eggs) have all 9 essential amino acids that the body can’t make: foods such as amaranth, nutritional yeast, and buckwheat.
Those just happen to be a few of my food loves to subtly add-in, and they’re naturally gluten-free (and easier to digest).
A few ideas... you can easily sprinkle in nutritional yeast like a healthy spice. In case you haven’t discovered yet, nutritional yeast is a dairy-free cheesy alternative. It’s a flaky powder that doesn’t melt well, but is as good as a final zhugh topping to pastas (and any foods you want a cheesy umami taste). 🧀
And you can spread some cooked amaranth into the dough of a homemade whole grain roll that rolls fresh out of the oven.
You can also add a little dry buckwheat flour into your healthy baking, like in an easy buckwheat scone or buckwheat ginger cookie. 😋
And many dairy foods have healthy proteins. Like real cheeses, that are mostly made of water, milk fat, proteins (casein and whey), lactose (milk sugar), and minerals. You can easily add into a breakfast meal like with a cottage cheese blueberry peach smoothie.
Below is a list of healthy proteins and dairy (along with tips, ideas, and inspo) on how you can get more food value with more healthy proteins and combining (…2 proteins together?). This helps your body win healthy points, alongside a loose guideline-based diet like in the new food pyramid.
What healthy foods are high in protein for the new food pyramid and a healthy diet?
You can use a printable healthy protein source food list like this one to decide for yourself, or when you’re making choices grocery shopping:
Generally, women can loosely stick to eating about .7 to 1 gram (or slightly less) per pound of body weight. I use 1 gram for easy math. As an example, for a 135 pound woman, that’s 100-135 grams per day.
And to get those points, here are a few point-based healthy protein comparisons. Keep in mind different proteins have different types and amounts of amino acids that’s important. I learned this unconventionally and out of curiosity.
…Because I wondered why on occasion when I ate something that didn’t agree with me, why I always felt better eating beef than other sources of protein, after being on the simple to digest BRAT diet or not eating for a day or two. And it turns out, it’s more than just familiarity and that I grew up eating meals with beef.
It has a lot to do with the different and different amounts of amino acids that describe the differences in protein sources between say chicken, fish, and beef that affect the digestive system.
So like most healthy foods, it’s good to diversify and not put all your eggs in one basket… but starting with an eggs is not a bad idea either.
And a good place to start on here…
Eggs -There is more protein in egg whites, but 6-7 grams for a large egg in liquid form. Keep in mind grams change for wet and dry ingredients (and before or after cooking an egg).
Chicken breast, skinless – If you want to get to your daily protein grams count quicker, chicken is a good healthy proteins answer. It has 30-31 grams per 1/2 cup (100 grams/3.5 ounces). 2 liquid eggs is about 3.5 ounces, so that’s less than half the protein than chicken. Lunch recipe idea: try an easy chicken salad.
Lean beef – This was mentioned already… but f you’ve ever wondered why after you feel sick from something you ate, when you’re recovering and you eat ground beef and feel better, it’s because beef is specifically high in glutamine and glycine (amino acids). It also has more leucine (muscle building benefits). 100 grams or 3.5 cooked ounces that is used for comparison with all the proteins named here (in this article) have about 25-30 grams.
Sardines and anchovies – Using the same 3.5 ounces, a sardine can have about 18-20 grams. Anchovies can be even higher in the 30 grams range, but always check the labels.
Wild salmon – This is the healthy fish protein choice, but more known for the Omega-3 content that’s good on a healthy fat list especially for heart, anti-inflammation, and on a Mediterranean diet. You can also find about 20 grams of protein in salmon filet. A salad recipe to try!: salmon salad
Seafood – Mussels are one of the healthiest seafoods, and are so easy to cook without fail as they open up. They have about 12-24 protein grams in 3.5 ounces. You can double up on proteins with a mussels quinoa recipe. Or try other healthy seafood recipes: shrimp egg white omelet, squid salad, shrimp ceviche, and a scallops quinoa bowl.
Quinoa, btw, and other pseudo grains like amaranth and buckwheat (already mentioned) are complete proteins. Quinoa has about 4 grams per 100 grams, but is high in lysine amino acid, so it can be good to include for those who only eat plant-based proteins. Oh, and get this… black quinoa you don’t hear about as often, has a higher amount of 15-20 protein grams!
Rolling them into your cereal is a good idea along with a rolled oat bowl. Rolled oats is a good balanced protein with 13-17 grams. Sometimes I like to add my daily oats, just shy of a cup, to make a low-sugar oatmeal raisin cookie that’s also got Greek yogurt (with about 10 grams of protein per 100 grams/3.5 ounces).
How’s that’s for double healthy protein inspiration?
And, moving into plant-based protein sources:
Tofu – has about the 7-10 grams of protein per 3.5 ounce, closer to an egg. And like an egg, you can make a tofu scramble. I like to add some nuts and seeds to give some texture, and additional healthy proteins. Some other healthy recipe ideas to try: Tofu pepperoni and tofu chil.
Nuts – Peanuts have about 26 grams per 3.5 ounce/100 grams. And most nuts have about 18-25 grams. These days nuts are deemed healthy and a healthy handful makes a good snack.
Seeds – Seeds have 16-31 grams with pumpkin seeds and hemp seeds/hearts. We only see a few varieties in grocery stores but there are many thousands of seed types in the world. You can find more seeds in spice aisles such as celery, poppy, and sesame seeds.
Beans – Beans are another fascinating protein food with 7-9 grams per 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of cooked beans. Cooking dry beans is a great way to get into cooking, and make the beans easier to digest (removing the complex sugars – oligosaccharides). Try a turmeric soup with 15 beans or an Italian bean salad.
Lentils – about 9 grams per 100 cooked grams. And of lentils, green lentils win the fiber count. Most lentils cook quicker than beans. You can try an easy mushy green lentils peas.
And one healthy protein may not be familiar with is spirulina powder that’s off the charts, in the 50-70 grams range. You can make a healthy virgin blue curaçao beverage with the spirulina blue-green algae. You just need a smidge to get the ocean blue colors. It’s the wave of the future! 🌊
And finally we can look at healthy foods that have protein and dairy! Meat and plant proteins don’t have dairy, but most dairy have proteins.
On the new food pyramid, 3 servings of dairy are recommended that varies on the food. For yogurt a serving is about 1/2 cup, so that’s still around the 3.5 ounces (we used to compare proteins). Grams change by weight for wet and dry ingredients (or before or after cooked).
Greek yogurt – 7-10 grams of protein per 3.5 ounce (or a dairy serving). I can’t say enough about Greek yogurt as it can be used for desserts, a savory pita bread dip, and for many breakfas-y and even waffle brunch recipes.
Goat or sheep cheese – less processed has 21-22 grams of protein!
With cheeses, you can try a sheep’s cheese cheesecake or a goat cheese cheesecake. And double up with a yogurt based berry cheesecake. No need for cream cheese!
Buffalo mozzarella cheese – True buffalo mozzarella can even be eaten by some people who are dairy sensitive. Because the milk comes from water buffalo, that is lower in lactose than most cow milks. Buffalo mozzarella also has sirtuins (“longevity proteins”). I believe we’ll be hearing more about sirtuins in the future as helpers to cellular health, aging, and metabolism.
Buffalo mozzarella is very meltable and especially delicious on a Neapolitan-style pizza crust you can make from your home oven!
And last but not least…
Cottage cheese – Cottage cheese about 11-13 grams of protein, but check the labels as with all the other labelled foods. Cottage cheese is high in casein, that helps you feel full especially if you’re trying to lose weight.
You can make a no-boring cottage cheese tartar sauce for healthy fish & chips! Or turn it into a sweet treat with a cottage cheese cheesecake.
Looking for some healthy dessert recipes? I got you. Try these low-sugar dessert sweets. Some of them are no-added sugar (Greek yogurt) or could be made delicious with low or no sugar. 🍥