[@RenaissancePeriodization] What's the Cheapest and Healthiest Protein Source Actually

Link: https://youtu.be/odAeRYuVqTw

Duration: 27 min

Transcript: Download plain text

Short Summary

The hosts rank 12 cheap, high-protein foods shopped from Aldi and Costco, comparing costs per gram of protein and per-calorie efficiency. Whole eggs from Aldi topped cheapness at 2 cents per gram of protein, while chunk-light tuna led protein-per-calorie at 23.6 g per 100 calories. The episode closes with practical shopping tips and a tradeoff between buying the cheapest proteins versus the most protein-dense ones.

Key Quotes

1. "Canned chicken, isn't that made from like children that go and out on the street and from the orphanage and are never seen again?" (00:07:55)
2. "low-fat cottage cheese, in my personal, humble, and generally useful opinion, looks and tastes like throw up." (00:10:00)
3. "Whole eggs are goated. They're literally the cheapest source of protein if you only care about the protein and the price" (00:16:31)
4. "Chunk light tuna. 23.6 g of protein per 100 calories, which is damn near as close as it gets in the real world to a pure protein food." (00:24:26)
5. "all things considered, protein and getting a lot of healthy protein in doesn't really cost that much and doesn't have to come with tons of excess fat or carbohydrates." (00:25:56)

Detailed Summary

Episode Overview

The hosts shop for protein at Aldi and Costco and rank 12 ultra-cheap, high-protein foods across two metrics: cost per gram of protein and grams of protein per 100 calories. They conclude that the final 12-item list contains "no wrong answers" and share practical buying and budgeting tips.

Aldi vs. Costco Price Findings

• Aldi beat Costco on multiple items, including quail eggs and non-frozen chicken breast, which cost 14 cents per ounce versus two competitor frozen chicken products at 19 and 18 cents per ounce.
• Costco is typically cheap but operates in bulk, which does not always beat smaller stores on per-unit pricing.
• Specific Costco finds included tofu with 10 g of protein, liquid egg whites, fat-free milk (Kirkland brand), and quail eggs.
• The hosts recommend buying in bulk from Aldi, Costco, and Walmart as a cost-effective strategy.

Cost Per Gram of Protein Rankings

• Whole eggs from Aldi ranked #1 cheapest at 2 cents per gram of protein.
• Chunk-light tuna came in at 2.9 cents per gram of protein; albacore may be worse for mercury.
• Extra firm tofu was 2.8 cents per gram of protein and described as cheap but bland unless well cooked.
• Fat-free milk (Kirkland Costco) was 2.3 cents per gram of protein but carries 12 g of carbs per 8 g of protein.
• Plain nonfat Greek yogurt was 3.1 cents per gram of protein and praised as versatile.
• Whole chicken (Simply Nature brand) was about 3 cents per gram of protein.
• Three items tied at 3.9 cents per gram of protein: boneless skinless chicken thighs, low-fat cottage cheese (small curd), and Gold Standard Optimum Nutrition whey protein (cheaper online).
• Chicken breast was already cheap at around 5.7 cents per gram of protein, and canned chicken breast ranked last (most expensive) at roughly 5.7 cents per gram of protein because pre-prepared products cost more than raw.
• Aldi's non-frozen chicken breast beat two competitor frozen chicken products at 14 cents/oz vs. 19 and 18 cents/oz.

Protein-Per-100-Calorie Rankings

• Chunk-light tuna topped the list at 23.6 g per 100 calories, with some cans offering 33 g protein at half a gram of fat.
• Whey protein powder ranked #1 on the host's list at 20 g of protein per 100 calories, with values varying plus or minus by brand.
• Canned chicken breast hit 18.3 g per 100 calories (e.g., 11 g protein, 1 g carb, 1 g fat per can).
• Plain nonfat Greek yogurt delivered 17 g per 100 calories (6 g carbs, 16 g protein, 0 g fat per 90-calorie serving).
• Liquid egg whites tied for second place with chicken breast at roughly 1 g carb, 0 g fat, and 5 g protein.
• Low-fat cottage cheese reached 13.3 g per 100 calories.
• Whole chicken delivered about 13 g per 100 calories; chicken thighs labeled 10 g fat / 19 g protein actually run closer to 20 g protein / 5 g fat once trimmed.
• Extra firm tofu and fat-free milk tied at 10 g per 100 calories (tofu: 3 g carbs with 2 g fiber and 5 g fat per serving; milk: 12 g carbs per 8 g protein).
• Whole eggs sat last at 8.6 g per 100 calories, since protein is 4 cal/g and fat is 9 cal/g, so a typical 6 g protein / 4.5 g fat egg draws most calories from fat.

Caveats and Tradeoffs

• Chicken thighs carry roughly 4–5 g of fat per 20 g of protein, roughly double the 2–3 g of fat in regular chicken breast per 20 g of protein.
• The host warned against eating tuna too frequently due to mercury concerns, but called it an incredible value and almost pure protein.
• Two budgeting strategies emerged: bias toward cheaper foods to save money, or bias toward higher-protein-per-100-calorie foods when cutting calories.

Teaser

• The host teases a follow-up video where he plans to eat every discussed food in raw form in one sitting, filmed with "Scott the video guy."