The power of protein

Want to control your blood sugar and your weight? Get enough protein.  20 to 30 percent of the calories you eat should come from protein. Protein has little or no effect on your blood sugar, so any time you mix protein-rich foods with carbohydrate-rich foods, you automatically lower the GL of each portion.

But protein has other benefits. It helps keep hunger at bay between meals. And if you're trying to lose weight, taking in more protein will help your body hold on to its calorie-burning muscle tissue so the weight comes off more easily.

• Starting the day with whole grain toast? Instead of buttering it, spread it with 15 millilitres (one tablespoon) of peanut butter.
• When summer berries are in season (or frozen berries are on sale), make a quick smoothie with fat-free yogurt, a good protein source.
• Making a salad? Toss in some chickpeas (garbanzo beans) or leftover chicken.
• Centre your lunch around bean soup, either vegetarian or flavoured with a small amount of pork.
• Buy single-serving packs of nuts to take to work for a quick snack.Keep some hard-boiled eggs in your fridge as snacks or easy protein-rich additions to salads and sandwiches.
• Keep soy-based veggie burgers in your freezer for quick dinners or high-protein, meaty boosts to pasta sauce (just crumble them into the sauce).
• Look for brands of cereals and frozen waffles that contain protein sources such as soy.

Beef: choose round steaks and roasts (eye of round, top round, bottom round, round tip), top loin, top sirloin or chuck shoulder.

Ground beef: look for extra-lean — 90 percent lean or preferably 95 percent, if you can find it.

Pork: choose tenderloin or loin chops.

Ham: ask for extra lean.

Lamb: go for leg, arm or loin.

Lunchmeats: check nutrition labels. Look for less than one gram of saturated fat per serving.

Enjoy the muscle maintaining benefits and the feeling of sensation of feeling full longer between meals as you work on shedding some extra weight.

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