Reach your daily protein goals with this simple visual guide

The key element of every diet is protein. Whether you get it from meat, tofu, or another source, you need protein to help your body perform important functions like regulating hormones, transporting molecules, and building muscle.

How much protein is enough? This depends on factors such as activity level. The average person needs at least 100 grams of protein per day.

To help you meet your daily needs, this visual guide shows you what 100 grams of protein looks like, whether you follow a vegan, vegetarian or omnivore diet.

Grams were calculated by taking information from nutrition labels on packaged products and weighing them if necessary. The gram amounts listed in this guide are specific to the products used in this experiment, so the numbers may vary if you look at a different brand of the products below.

What does 100 grams of protein look like for omnivores

Eating 100 grams of protein a day should be quite easy if you don’t have any dietary restrictions. Here is one way:

• Two eggs (12 grams)
• Snack cheese (5 grams)
• Greek yogurt (15 grams)
• Beef sausage (14 grams)
• One can of tuna (27 grams)
• ½ cup oatmeal (5 grams)
• 2 ounces deli ham (10 grams)
• 1 ounce mixed nuts (5 grams)
• Two slices of rye bread (10 grams)

Everything pictured above weighs 103 grams, which is slightly over the 100 gram target.

What does 100 grams of animal protein look like?

As you can see, getting 100 grams of protein from animal products doesn’t take much:

• Four eggs (24 grams)
• One can of tuna (27 grams)
• Three beef meatballs (15 grams)
• 2 ounces turkey bacon (10 grams)
• 3 ounces turkey breast (24 grams)

This equates to an ideal 100 grams of protein. If you ate all of this in a day, plus bread and other non-animal products, you would easily exceed 100 grams of protein per day.

What does 100 grams of protein look like for vegetarians

For vegetarians, 100 grams of protein might look like this:

• Four eggs (24 grams)
• ½ cup oatmeal (5 grams)
• Two snack cheeses (10 grams)
• ¼ cup protein granola (10 grams)
• Greek yogurt for one serving (15 grams)
• One tablespoon of hemp seeds (4 grams)
• Two tablespoons of peanut butter (7 grams)
• One scoop of plant-based protein powder (20 grams)

This actually adds up to 99 grams of protein, which is pretty close, but still a great number to consume in a day.

What does 100 grams of protein look like for vegans

What you see is not entirely what you get with the amount of protein here:

• 1 ounce of nuts (5 grams)
• ½ cup oatmeal (5 grams)
• Protein bar with granola (8 grams)
• Two slices of rye bread (10 grams)
• ¼ cup protein granola (10 grams)
• One tablespoon of hemp seeds (4 grams)
• Two tablespoons of chia seeds (10 grams)
• Two tablespoons of peanut butter (7 grams)
• One scoop of plant-based protein powder (20 grams)

This corresponds to 79 grams of protein. If we double the mixture of nuts, chia seeds and hemp seeds, we get 93 grams of protein. You can add an extra tablespoon of peanut butter or eat a full cup of oatmeal instead of half a cup to get closer to 100 grams.

This plate also does not include high-protein vegan meat substitutes such as tofu, tempeh or plant-based meats such as Impossible Burgers. These food sources can make it easier to get 100 grams of protein for someone who eats: vegan diet.