Your child’s doctor or dietitian recommends a diet high in protein.  Protein is important to help the body heal and grow. 

What foods are in the protein food group?

Foods made from meat, poultry, fish and seafood, beans and peas, eggs, milk, soy, nuts, and seeds are part of the protein food group. Other food groups like grains also have protein, but in smaller amounts. For a diet high in protein, eat more foods from the protein food group. Each food in the protein group has different health benefits, so it is important to choose a variety. 

How to eat more protein:

Have a protein in the protein food group at each meal. 
Examples:

• Breakfast: add eggs, sausage, milk, or yogurt. Use Greek yogurt for even more protein
• Lunch: have a bean soup or chili, a sandwich or a wrap with chicken, hummus, or falafel, stir-fry with chicken or tofu
• Dinner: hamburger or turkey burger with cheese on a bun, curry over rice with paneer or meat, chicken tenders

Add protein at snack time. Add nuts or nut butter to fruit, fruit and yogurt parfait, sausage and crackers, half of a sandwich with meat and cheese, hardboiled egg with vegetables 

Tips:

• Grill, broil, roast, bake, or slow cook meat based proteins. 
• Eat a variety of non-meat protein foods to get all the nutrients your body needs. They each contain different types of protein.
• Use the chart on the next page to pick foods from each group. Pay attention to the serving size. Be sure to prepare your food in a healthy way.