8 Muscle-Building Foods to Eat Instead of Protein Shakes - CNET

These foods contain all the nutrients you need for muscle growth, including protein.

It's an essential part of your diet, but that doesn't mean you have to down daily protein shakes to get enough.

Although that's certainly one way to boost your protein intake, you can actually find it in many delicious whole food sources.

With a little effort, it's easy to add plenty of foods with high protein and other muscle-building nutrients to your diet.

In this article, we'll look at how various foods help you build muscle mass — and the best things to eat if you're trying to boost your strength.

Although protein is essential for muscle building, it's not the only important food component in the process.

Total calorie intake also plays a role in muscle building, as it's difficult to build muscle if you're burning more calories than you consume.

It's one of the best lean sources of protein you can eat, and it's full of other vitamins and minerals.

Soy contains all nine essential amino acids, making it one of the best plant-based protein sources available.

When consumed together, these two types of protein may enhance and prolong the protein-synthesis process that your muscles go through when rebuilding, helping you build your lean mass.

This dynamic grain (it's a seed but classified as a whole grain) packs a little bit of everything, including a lot of protein, fiber and carbohydrates, plus a hefty dose of vitamins and minerals.

Adding these muscle-building foods to your diet will definitely help you on your way to boosting muscle mass and increasing your strength.