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Protein has become another place where simple gets buried under marketing.
There are bars, shakes, snacks, powders, and packages promising to make it easier. Some are useful. A lot of them are just expensive ways to solve a basic problem.
Two rankings. Two different winners.
I recently watched exercise scientist Dr. Mike Israetel compare 12 common protein sources from Aldi and Costco. He ranked them two ways: cost per gram of protein and grams of protein per 100 calories.
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Best on price
Whole eggs — about 2.0¢ per gram
Fat-free milk — about 2.3¢ per gram
Chicken breast — third on price
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Best on protein density
Chunk light tuna — 23.6g per 100 calories
Whey, chicken breast, and egg whites — roughly 20g per 100 calories
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The cheapest protein was not the leanest protein. That was the useful part.
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Choose the food that fits the job.
After years of eating for performance, I have learned that there is no single best protein source. There is only the right choice for the job in front of you.
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Need more fuel?
Eggs, milk, chicken thighs, and other less-lean foods can work well.
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Keeping calories tighter?
Chicken breast, tuna, egg whites, nonfat Greek yogurt, and whey make that easier.
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Paying for convenience?
Do it when it actually saves time—not because the label made a basic food look inadequate.
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The mistake is asking one food to win every category.
As I get older, I care more about keeping muscle, recovering well, and eating in a way I can sustain. That does not require an expensive collection of specialty foods. It requires enough protein, spread across the day, from foods I can afford, digest, prepare, and eat consistently.
For most people, the practical answer is simple: choose three or four dependable protein sources, keep them in the house, and build meals around them.
There is nothing wrong with a premium protein product. But you do not need one to build or preserve muscle.
Eggs still work. Milk still works. Chicken still works. Yogurt still works.
The long game is usually less expensive—and less complicated—than the marketing makes it look.
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— Jason Grubb
7x CrossFit Games Masters Champion
Founder, Bolder Athlete
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Watch Dr. Mike Israetel compare the protein sources →
Aldi and Costco comparison: price per gram of protein and protein per 100 calories.
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