Hey..I was wondering, for a before bed meal, is it better to have a can of tuna(only about 120-130cal, with 30g protein)or cottage cheese and natty PB, which together has 200kcals, 20g protein and some carbs? In the interest of lean muscle mass gain, it would seem that tuna is the better choice, but Ive heard a lot about the benefits of cottage cheese before bed. Anybody got ideas?

I don't think one is better than the other. They're both quality sources of protein. It depends on your goals and how they integrate into the rest of your day. As long as you've met your protein requirements for the day, it shouldn't really matter whether your pre-bed snack has 20 or 30 grams of protein. You might want fat before bed in which case you could eat the cottage cheese and peanut butter. You could also have fat free or 1% cottage cheese on its own without peanut butter. (packet of splenda if you want). You could add some olive oil and spices to tuna to add fat and flavor if that fit into your goals. I'm cutting dairy right now to see how my body reacts, but I'm generally a fan of cottage cheese. again, it all depends on what you're trying to do.

Hey..I was wondering, for a before bed meal, is it better to have a can of tuna(only about 120-130cal, with 30g protein)or cottage cheese and natty PB, which together has 200kcals, 20g protein and some carbs? In the interest of lean muscle mass gain, it would seem that tuna is the better choice, but Ive heard a lot about the benefits of cottage cheese before bed. Anybody got ideas?

Personal preference only (no technical reasons to speak of) - I prefer CC over any kind of meat for pre-bedtime. Recently I have eaten one or two slices of crisp-cooked bacon a couple of times. I like the bacon, but the CC "feels better."

Hey, on the subject of cottage cheese, maybe I should be posting this in the Recipes forum, but here goes: couple nights ago, I discovered how much more I enjoyed CC when mixed with medium-spicy Pace Picante Salsa. I mixed about 2-3 tablespoons with about one-third to one-half cup of CC. It was only an experiment, but I sure was glad I tried it! So I just wanted to share in case anyone else might like it.

-Martin

I don't think one is better than the other. They're both quality sources of protein. It depends on your goals and how they integrate into the rest of your day. As long as you've met your protein requirements for the day, it shouldn't really matter whether your pre-bed snack has 20 or 30 grams of protein. You might want fat before bed in which case you could eat the cottage cheese and peanut butter. You could also have fat free or 1% cottage cheese on its own without peanut butter. (packet of splenda if you want). You could add some olive oil and spices to tuna to add fat and flavor if that fit into your goals. I'm cutting dairy right now to see how my body reacts, but I'm generally a fan of cottage cheese. again, it all depends on what you're trying to do.

I agree. I can't see how it would make much difference. We all hear about cassein being super-slow absorbing, but most real food meats have a range of proteins and some are doing to take a while to be absorbed. Plus it probably depends on what you are 2-3 hours beforehand etc...

Now a whey shake - that's a different story!