07/04/2020
Whether it’s for fat loss, or maintaining your physique, calorie management is key. And within your budget calories, you often need to hit a certain protein quota.
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But often you have limited amount of calories to work with. If you also love food like me, then you’ll find it hard to spend your precious calories that not only meet your protein target, but also foods that are actually delicious.
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This is why my concept, PROTEIN-to-CALORIE (P2C) ratio, is important.
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In Toronto, we have so much variety of delicious foods. So other than your typical chicken breast and steak, what else can we actually enjoy?
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1 Shinta BBQ
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Shinta is a Japanese BBQ restaurant. So naturally, they have lots of protein options. Here are my recommendations according to good P2C ratio:
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BEST P2C: Chicken thigh, chicken cartilage, basa, squid, clams
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GOOD P2C: Chicken karaage, marinated kalbi, black pepper short rib, lemongrass pork loin steak, tofu
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2 Osmow’s Shawarma
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Chicken or beef shawarmas are always great P2C options. For “just” chicken, you’re looking at 255 cal, 60g protein! That’s insanely good!
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TIP: For sauces, use ONLY tzatziki or hot sauce to keep cals low.
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3 Bourbon St. Grill
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Not all of their items are low in calories. But one item stands out, and that is… their Blackened Chicken (1 serving, 360 cal, 40g protein).
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4 Yang’s Braised Chicken (as in photo)
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5 Congee Queen
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Their Hong Kong style free-range chicken has amazing P2C ratio. You’re looking at about 600 cal for 65g protein for a half chicken. Enjoy this with rice.
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TIP: Instead of the scallion oil sauce, ask for soy sauce instead.
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6 Kore Chicken
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This is one of my favourite Korean fried chicken restaurants in GTA, because they air-fry the chicken to reduce up to 80% fat!
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7 Chat Bar
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Most of their meat and seafood skewers have excellent P2C ratio (with the exception of some pork). Be careful with some of their dishes, especially when they use oil-based sauces.
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8 Popeyes or KFC
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The item with the best P2C ratio for all of these locations is Chicken Tender (1 tender averages out to be about 100 cal, 10g protein).
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9 Nando’s
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This place is pretty much your standard chicken affair. @ Toronto, Ontario