Protein Battle

Food • Data • Dataviz

Apr 15

Not all protein comes from the same source.
Which one is the best?

We’re talking about food, so let’s be dramatic.

A fighting ring. An epic martial arts tournament. You can see it: exterior, sunset. A private island in the middle of the ocean. State-of-the-art technology, huge crowd. Cameras everywhere. Insane production costs, no expense spared. Suddenly, all the lights focus on the center stage. A line of athletes is revealed by the spotlight.

Our contestants? Protein sources. You have them from all corners of the world: legumes, dairy products, seafood, and meats. All fields represented. All fans rooting for the star of their favorite dish.

Who would win?
Let’s make them fight. Let’s make them compete in 4 feats of strength:

  • Caloric value

  • Cost

  • Sustainability

  • Protein per gram

Ready to meet your champions?

Table view of protein sources

Our contestants

A lot of foods submitted their application for this tournament and we have selected the cream of the crop to participate in the main event.

Let’s meet our 8 contenders:

  • 🥩 Beef steak

  • 🍗 Chicken breast

  • 🍤 Shrimp

  • 🐟 Salmon

  • 🧀 Parmesan cheese

  • 🥣 Skyr

  • 🥢 Tofu

  • 🥖 Seitan

Each will be judged based on 100g servings to keep things fair. The ring is set. Let’s fight.

Calories per 100g

Round 1: calories

Contestants ready? Let’s start the first fight.
But wait, these might be more than one winner! What does the crowd say?

Here it depends on the audience. Are you looking to pack on muscle and need the extra calories? Or do you need to be mindful and choose the lowest-calorie option?

If it’s the first one 🧀 Parmesan cheese is pretty high in calories, with 🥩 Beef steak and 🐟 Salmon coming up in the next tier. Now if you are on trying to cut, 🥣 Skyr, 🥢 Tofu, and 🍤 Shrimp are what you should reach for. 🍗 Chicken breast and 🥖 Seitan are also towards the lower end, and I will say they get a special mention since they are both very versatile and can adapt to a lot of flavor profiles very easily.

Round of applause for this first match. Are you placing any bets so far?
Let’s move on to the next round…cost!

Cost in euros per 100g

Round 2: Cost

Cost can vary a lot depending where you are, you know local advantage. For today’s tournament we are using numbers from Germany, specifically Munich. (Sorry, Im not actually on a tropical island for this). These numbers were obtained from a local supermarket chain that offers online ordering in early 2025. It’s the one with red letters, no free promos here.

How do our contestants fair?

Our vegetarian options are on the low end, and on the opposite side we have our meat options. We have 🥣 Skyr and 🥖 Seitan as the budget-friendly sources. This last one was calculated based from the seitan starter, so it could depend on the brand and if you buy in bulk, this option could be even lower. 🍤 Shrimp stands out as the most expensive protein source. Remember to consider that this is for a city very far away from the sea—keep that in mind! 🧀 Parmesan cheese also stands out as being more expensive. A bit of a surprise, but it is quite a delicious cheese in my opinion.

Do these prices correlate with sustainability?

Water footprint in L per 100g

Round 3: Sustainability

The crowd gasps. There are some correlations indeed!

Animal proteins are again at the high end, particularly 🥩 Beef steak is leading several times over. Well, it’s not good to lead here. Vegetarian proteins are shining in the spotlight, with the lowest one in this case being 🥣 Skyr and, surprisingly, 🐟 Salmon. Another gasp from the crowd. Could this be the case of good aquaculture efficiency?

I'm calculating sustainability based on the food’s water footprint, meaning the amount of water needed to produce 100g. There are other factors that can be considered here, like the species and methods used to produce it. These are rounded estimates as a starting point. This sustainability measure is just the beginning, as having a high water footprint doesn’t consider transportation costs or other emissions the animal produces during its lifespan. For plants, there is also a hidden benefit: plants consume CO₂, so growing the crop has some passive effects that help the environment.

Let’s go to the final round.

Protein per 100g

Final round: Protein

This is the main event. Who is the nutrition champion?

The crowd goes wild!

Animal foods are pretty high in protein, with both 🍗 Chicken breast and 🥩 Beef steak hitting above 30 grams. Seafood options are in the 20s, and then 🥖 Seitan plays in the same tier, packing 25 grams. Next come 🥢 Tofu and 🥣 Skyr, still providing a good amount of protein to round up your plate. 🧀 Parmesan is surprising again with a whopping 35g of protein... makes you wanna take a whole bite of cheese, no?

Let’s see it all together as we tally the scores.

Water footprint, calories, protein, and cost per 100g

The true winner is decided by audience votes, it seems.

Are you looking for low-cost vegetarian proteins? 🥖 Seitan is there to pack in protein.
Need a bit fewer calories? 🥣 Skyr and 🥢 Tofu are just behind.

If animal sources are where it’s at, my recommendation is 🍗 Chicken breast.
If price is not a concern and you need fewer calories, go for 🍤 Shrimp.
🐟 Salmon is a good alternative for shrimp if you don’t mind the extra calories.
I would suggest eating less 🥩 Beef steak since it has a huge water footprint, but it does have a nice amount of protein. And finally 🧀 Parmesan cheese, maybe add it as a topping to dishes for the extra flavor and extra protein.

Wow! What a tournament! The fans rush to get an autograph from their favorites.
That concludes our first epic food tournament. Let’s go back to Munich…

As you can see I watched a lot of Dragon Ball growing up, which was obvious.
And it's even more obvious I think a lot about food.

Let’s wrap up our tournament with an emotional ending.

At any given moment, I’m thinking about food. Not just imagining martial tournaments in my head every time I go to a supermarket. It goes beyond on what I will eat for dinner or if it’s time for my afternoon snack.
I do mean everything, all the time:

What food does for me.
How it tastes when I try it.
What it means when I cook it.

I think about how to balance a meal.
I check nutritional values.
I try to balance my macros.

I think about ranking the recipes I’ve cooked.
I taste new dishes for inspiration.
I try new ways to improve my cooking.

I think about how a meal should make me feel.
I aim to pack the best snack for a hike or a long train ride.
I try not to miss my favorite dish from back home.

It’s a basic necessity, and to me, it’s my way of sharing how much I care for others.

Food should do everything. It should nourish you, taste good, and even express your love for others.

I hope whatever you choose for your next meal does it all.

Sources:

That’s Enough About Me!

What do you think? What should I focus on next?

So, did your champion win? Did your favorite make it into this edition of the tournament? Maybe you discovered a new protein to root for.

Let me know—shoot me an email! 😊
📩 sifuentesanita@gmail.com