As I wrote before, I consider it imperative to incorporate enough protein in ones diet. For myself I found about 180g–200g per day to be the minimal and perhaps also optimal amount of protein for me in order to function properly. At first these amounts seem large, because if you eat in a canteen, a single serving often tops out at 20g, but given that whey is dirt cheap, it can be accomplished quite easily, even if you have only time for one real meal during the day.

A scoop (e.g. the ones from MyProtein) of whey contains roughly 25g protein, so if I get four scoops, I am already halfway there. The easiest way is just to drink two shakes, but in fact, I found that one shake with three scoops, two unflavored, one with natural vanilla aroma, with about half a litre of milk, gives a shake with a good mouth feeling and acceptable taste to it. So here we already have about 90g, just coming from whey and milk.

The remaining scoop can be consumed in a variety of ways; you just might add some to oatmeal, if you are into that stuff, or can blend another, incredibly tasty, shake in the following way: blend one banana, some milk, 250g quark or cottage cheese and one scoop vanilla whey. The sourness of the quark cheese as well as the sweetness of the banana and vanilla flavor make up for a great taste; without the quark the whole damn thing is just too sweet for me. So here we have, even without the milk, already about 50g protein. You can even add some peanut or almond butter for an even richer taste. The only downside is that you have to blend really well.

So there are less than 60g protein to go. That amount already seems much more feasible. Just 300g of some lean meat and you are done, but you can actually do without it, as 250g of legumes already give you another 15g. Even most sources of carbohydrates aren't that bad. Say you shoot for about 75g–150g of Carbs, this amounts to half a (metric) pound of pasta (yielding 30g, so that we are at 185g and are done), at least one kg of potatoes (giving another 20g and having a lot of volume) or 200g rice, which again yields 15g. So in the worst case, we are at 170g. Not bad, for not having eaten any meat so far. A few nuts or a spoon of almond or peanut butter, and we are done.

This of course works in a myriad of combinations. The key is that one finds a framework which suits to ones habits and circumstances; if you have time for breakfast or lunch, things often get easier and you can sometimes drink less shake, because, even if it is quite tasty and has a nice feeling to it, eating something solid almost always feels so much better.

Finally there are also many ways to incorporate protein powder in a variety of dishes. For example, if you have any thick soup (i.e. one that is not clear), you can mix some whey in water and carefully give it to the soup, increasing the protein content and thickening the soup even further. But not that you have to be careful; it works quite similar to thickening a soup with flour.

Or you can try one of the many protein baked goods. Although whey seems to kick the shit out of casein in any study, casein lends itself better to baked goods, as it binds easier to fat and whey often gives a sandy consistency in the end result. Note that casein also binds a lot of fluid. If you are not quite sure what to do, just try to add one scoop to waffle or pan cake batter, although the internet offers a plethora of recipes, like my fancy chocolate coffee.

The point is that you pretty much have no excuse not to hit your macro goals, even if you do not have much time to eat or drink during the day.