Does anyone have recipes that hit the 2.4-3 g leucine threshold for stimulating muscle protein synthesis (MPS)?
I've been breaking down my recipes and, though most have 20-30 g of protein for ~500 kcal, leucine content tends to hover in the 1.2-1.8 g range.
- Porridge (with soy milk, nuts & seeds) is pretty good, with 1.6 g leucine in 21 g of protein and 580 kcal
- Beans and rice has 1.5 g in 21 g of protein for 480 kcal
- A small seitan burger in a wholemeal bun gets me to ~1.3 g leucine with 21 g protein in only 225 kcal
I'm still breaking down other staples like PB sandwiches, quinoa & split pea salad, beans on toast, etc. but I don't think they're particularly high in leucine.
Solutions I've been coming up with:
- Adding seitan to everything: 80 kcal worth (one 50 g patty) is 15 g protein and 1 g of leucine
- Accompanying meals with a small (hemp) protein shake: 30 g in 500 ml shake is pretty palatable and has 100 kcal, 13 g protein and 0.7 g leucine
- Just increasing portion sizes to concentrate the daily supply of leucine in a few MPS-inducing spikes - however I'm quite happy with these portion sizes, and I like to snack.
- Huel black shakes have 3.5 g leucine and 40 g protein in 400 kcal
- 15 g tahini on a salad is a nice little boost of 0.2 g leucine in 90 kcal (but also 8 g of fat)
However this still tends to get me up to only the bottom (2-2.4 g) of the range of the threshold. I'd like to be comfortably over it with most meals without excessive protein shake use. Anyone had any success?
I've been breaking down my recipes and, though most have 20-30 g of protein for ~500 kcal, leucine content tends to hover in the 1.2-1.8 g range.
- Porridge (with soy milk, nuts & seeds) is pretty good, with 1.6 g leucine in 21 g of protein and 580 kcal
- Beans and rice has 1.5 g in 21 g of protein for 480 kcal
- A small seitan burger in a wholemeal bun gets me to ~1.3 g leucine with 21 g protein in only 225 kcal
I'm still breaking down other staples like PB sandwiches, quinoa & split pea salad, beans on toast, etc. but I don't think they're particularly high in leucine.
Solutions I've been coming up with:
- Adding seitan to everything: 80 kcal worth (one 50 g patty) is 15 g protein and 1 g of leucine
- Accompanying meals with a small (hemp) protein shake: 30 g in 500 ml shake is pretty palatable and has 100 kcal, 13 g protein and 0.7 g leucine
- Just increasing portion sizes to concentrate the daily supply of leucine in a few MPS-inducing spikes - however I'm quite happy with these portion sizes, and I like to snack.
- Huel black shakes have 3.5 g leucine and 40 g protein in 400 kcal
- 15 g tahini on a salad is a nice little boost of 0.2 g leucine in 90 kcal (but also 8 g of fat)
However this still tends to get me up to only the bottom (2-2.4 g) of the range of the threshold. I'd like to be comfortably over it with most meals without excessive protein shake use. Anyone had any success?