If you were to ask anyone what the best portable protein was for an outdoor adventure or any other time you don't have a fridge, they'd probably recommend beef jerky.
That's a good recommendation, too. It's packed with protein just like a steak or chicken breast, it lasts a long time, and you don't have to prepare it.
However, there's a competitor that you probably haven't heard about, and we think it blows beef jerky out of the water. Don't believe us? Check out how the two stack up.
Protein Cookie Dough vs. Beef Jerky: Numbers That Matter
There are a lot of ways that protein cookie dough and beef jerky differ. We're going to start out with the most important numbers. The protein, carbs, fat, sugar, and calories.
Protein cookie dough balances those macros perfectly. For just 270 calories, you get 6g of sugar, 8g of fat, 15g of protein, and 36g of carbs.
Beef jerky differs depending on which brand and flavor you get, but we'll use averages to keep things fair.
A typical serving of big-box-store beef jerky has about 10g of protein, 28g of carbs, and about 13g of fat. You get all that for about 120 calories.
You might have noticed that we didn't mention sugar when we talked about beef jerky. That varies a lot depending on the flavor and brand. Traditional jerky that's just savory beef usually doesn't have sugar. However, sweeter varieties and flavors that have sweet additives such as teriyaki can have as much as 10g of sugar in a single ounce of jerky.
The protein cookie dough technically takes up more of your daily calorie allowance, but you get a much more balanced snack just looking at the core macros.
Other Factors to Consider with Protein Cookie Dough vs. Beef Jerky
The macros give you a pretty good idea of what to expect, but there's still more for you to consider.
We'll compare a bunch of different factors so you can make a good decision.
1. Serving Size
The numbers we gave you for beef jerky are for a 1-ounce serving. That's not much. When is the last time you got a bag of beef jerky and you only ate one or two small strips? It almost feels impossible.
That single ounce of jerky is not a substantial serving size even for a snack, and it's not likely to do much for you in terms of curbing your appetite.
In comparison, FUUL protein cookie dough comes in 2.5-ounce servings. That's travel-friendly and doesn't take forever to eat, but it's substantial enough to feel filling. Especially given the high protein content.
While you eat slightly more calories, you get a lot more food, and that's a good trade.
2. Carbs and Fat are Good
Carbs and fat are essential. They give you energy to get through the day. However, you have to eat them in balanced amounts.
Beef jerky somehow manages to cram 13g of fat into a single ounce serving, and that's not including any flavors that are added. Protein cookie dough gives you 8g while providing a lot more protein and carbs.
Likewise, you get 28g of carbs from a lot of beef jerky brands, but it still doesn't match the 36g you get with FUUL.
FUUL protein cookie dough balances your fat and carb intake against the protein and calories you get. Beef jerky doesn't hit that balance very well.
3. Sodium Content
This is one dirty secret most people don't think about with beef jerky. Salt is one of the main ingredients. It's used to make it savory and flavorful while also preserving it. 1 ounce of beef jerky without any flavorings can contain 700mg of sodium. That's over half the daily recommended amount of sodium in just one little ounce of jerky. To make matters worse, that skyrockets even further with salty flavor options like teriyaki.
Protein cookie dough does have salt, but it's just a touch of it to give it flavor and balance out the sweetness.
Salt is important for your body, but too much of it can cause a variety of problems. If you're eating beef jerky every day alongside a normal diet with plenty of sodium from other sources, you'll likely end up with a sodium overload, which is especially rough in warm weather when you're already losing electrolytes.
4. Flavor Profile and Daily Routine
One thing you should really consider is how your snack fits into your overall meal plan.
At mealtime, you likely already want to eat delicious savory food. If you're on a strict diet plan, you probably don't get to eat dessert-like foods very much.
Beef jerky is yet another savory food item, and if that's all you're eating, your tastebuds get bored. Protein cookie dough lets you enjoy a sweet treat without feeling guilty or ruining your diet. It still fits your macros, but you can enjoy it the same way you would traditional cookie dough, donuts in the morning, or other treats.
One of our favorite things to do is mix it up in a flavored Greek yogurt as a cheat day treat. That's a little extravagant for most diet plans, but you can eat it on its own the rest of the week and be just fine.
You can't do any of that with jerky. It's just a dry steak in between the other savory meals you eat.
Jerky is Great, but Protein Cookie Dough is Here to Stay
We're not telling you to toss out all your jerky and never buy it again. It's delicious, and we're not that biased. However, it is very clear that beef jerky is not the ultimate portable protein snack. Protein cookie dough beats it in practically every way.
When you really need to perform at your best and get great results, you need fuel that is optimized to make that happen. FUUL does that with perfect macros, unmatched flexibility, and a flavor explosion you're going to love.
Put down the jerky, and try FUUL today.