Protein powder?

jamieparadis20

I'm vegan so I focus a lot on protein. Lately I haven't been able to even come close to reaching protein requirements without having at least one serving of my 23 G protein powder. Is it bad to have protein powder every single day? Is it too unnatural? What are some sample meals that are healthy but high in protein that I can incorporate into my diet?

Gallowmere1984

There's nothing wrong with, nor unnatural about protein powders, assuming that yours isn't loaded with a bunch of oddball synthetics, which is pretty rare these days.

As a vegan, your options are pretty limited for legit high protein meals. Unfortunately you're probably going to have a bunch of vegans jump in talking about nuts, beans, and quinoa, not realizing that ratio wise, they are terrible protein sources. If you're having issues with it, keep using your powder to hit your needs. Pea protein powders seem to be really good these days (*kitten* soy), and will definitely work for you in that area.

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rainbowbow

protein powder is food. It's not unnatural or weird and there's nothing wrong with using it to reach your protein goal.


As a matter of fact, i almost always recommend vegans use a high quality protein supplement because most of the protein sources people talk about are terrible sources of protein. Here's an excerpt from a post i recently wrote about this. Let me know if you want the full thing.

Vegan

• Tempeh & Natto– 10 grams of protein per 100 calories
• Lentils– 8 grams of protein per 100 calories
• Tofu– 11 grams of protein per 100 calories
• Soybeans/Edamame- 9 grams of protein per 100 calories
• Pea Protein Powder- 20 grams of protein per 100 calories
• Hemp Protein Powder- 12 grams of protein per 100 calories
• Soy Protein Powder- 24 grams of protein per 100 calories
• Brown Rice Protein Powder- 23 grams of protein per 100 calories
• Protein Bars- Including many popular bars like: Simply protein ®, Cliff Builder’s Bars ®, NuGo ®, and more! Calories vary but generally range in the 9-10 grams of protein per 100 calorie range.
• While there are many other protein sources found in plant foods, many are not “good” sources of protein. I consider these poor sources of protein as they lack the full amino acid spectrum and you would have to consume a high number of calories to obtain the same range of protein as the above.

Just a Few Sub-Par Protein Sources:

• Brown Rice- 2.3 grams of protein per 100 calories. You would have to eat over 500 calories of brown rice to obtain a measly 10 grams of protein.
• Oats- 4.25 grams of protein per 100 calories. You’d have to consume a whopping 400 calories for only 17 g of protein.
• Nuts and Seeds (Almonds in this example)- 3.6 grams of protein per 100 calories. You’d have to eat over 550 calories worth just to get 20 grams of protein.
• Nut Butters (Peanut butter in this example)- 4.3 grams of protein per 100 calories. You’d have to eat over 460 calories for 20 grams of protein.
• Quinoa- 3.6 grams of protein per 100 calories. You’d have to eat over 550 calories worth just to get 20 grams of protein.

Surprisingly, these protein sources are generally touted as great options for vegans and vegetarians who may be unknowingly under-consuming total proteins or specific amino acids (lysine is a common deficiency).

jamieparadis20

rainbowbow wrote: »

protein powder is food. It's not unnatural or weird and there's nothing wrong with using it to reach your protein goal.


As a matter of fact, i almost always recommend vegans use a high quality protein supplement because most of the protein sources people talk about are terrible sources of protein. Here's an excerpt from a post i recently wrote about this. Let me know if you want the full thing.

Vegan

• Tempeh & Natto– 10 grams of protein per 100 calories
• Lentils– 8 grams of protein per 100 calories
• Tofu– 11 grams of protein per 100 calories
• Soybeans/Edamame- 9 grams of protein per 100 calories
• Pea Protein Powder- 20 grams of protein per 100 calories
• Hemp Protein Powder- 12 grams of protein per 100 calories
• Soy Protein Powder- 24 grams of protein per 100 calories
• Brown Rice Protein Powder- 23 grams of protein per 100 calories
• Protein Bars- Including many popular bars like: Simply protein ®, Cliff Builder’s Bars ®, NuGo ®, and more! Calories vary but generally range in the 9-10 grams of protein per 100 calorie range.
• While there are many other protein sources found in plant foods, many are not “good” sources of protein. I consider these poor sources of protein as they lack the full amino acid spectrum and you would have to consume a high number of calories to obtain the same range of protein as the above.

Just a Few Sub-Par Protein Sources:

• Brown Rice- 2.3 grams of protein per 100 calories. You would have to eat over 500 calories of brown rice to obtain a measly 10 grams of protein.
• Oats- 4.25 grams of protein per 100 calories. You’d have to consume a whopping 400 calories for only 17 g of protein.
• Nuts and Seeds (Almonds in this example)- 3.6 grams of protein per 100 calories. You’d have to eat over 550 calories worth just to get 20 grams of protein.
• Nut Butters (Peanut butter in this example)- 4.3 grams of protein per 100 calories. You’d have to eat over 460 calories for 20 grams of protein.
• Quinoa- 3.6 grams of protein per 100 calories. You’d have to eat over 550 calories worth just to get 20 grams of protein.

Surprisingly, these protein sources are generally touted as great options for vegans and vegetarians who may be unknowingly under-consuming total proteins or specific amino acids (lysine is a common deficiency).

Thank you so much!
I was definitely noticing something was off because I was eating all of those foods that you listed because they were what vegan blogs etc were telling me to. However I was never able to even come close to getting enough protein without going way over my calorie goal

rainbowbow

jamieparadis20 wrote: »

rainbowbow wrote: »

protein powder is food. It's not unnatural or weird and there's nothing wrong with using it to reach your protein goal.


As a matter of fact, i almost always recommend vegans use a high quality protein supplement because most of the protein sources people talk about are terrible sources of protein. Here's an excerpt from a post i recently wrote about this. Let me know if you want the full thing.

Vegan

• Tempeh & Natto– 10 grams of protein per 100 calories
• Lentils– 8 grams of protein per 100 calories
• Tofu– 11 grams of protein per 100 calories
• Soybeans/Edamame- 9 grams of protein per 100 calories
• Pea Protein Powder- 20 grams of protein per 100 calories
• Hemp Protein Powder- 12 grams of protein per 100 calories
• Soy Protein Powder- 24 grams of protein per 100 calories
• Brown Rice Protein Powder- 23 grams of protein per 100 calories
• Protein Bars- Including many popular bars like: Simply protein ®, Cliff Builder’s Bars ®, NuGo ®, and more! Calories vary but generally range in the 9-10 grams of protein per 100 calorie range.
• While there are many other protein sources found in plant foods, many are not “good” sources of protein. I consider these poor sources of protein as they lack the full amino acid spectrum and you would have to consume a high number of calories to obtain the same range of protein as the above.

Just a Few Sub-Par Protein Sources:

• Brown Rice- 2.3 grams of protein per 100 calories. You would have to eat over 500 calories of brown rice to obtain a measly 10 grams of protein.
• Oats- 4.25 grams of protein per 100 calories. You’d have to consume a whopping 400 calories for only 17 g of protein.
• Nuts and Seeds (Almonds in this example)- 3.6 grams of protein per 100 calories. You’d have to eat over 550 calories worth just to get 20 grams of protein.
• Nut Butters (Peanut butter in this example)- 4.3 grams of protein per 100 calories. You’d have to eat over 460 calories for 20 grams of protein.
• Quinoa- 3.6 grams of protein per 100 calories. You’d have to eat over 550 calories worth just to get 20 grams of protein.

Surprisingly, these protein sources are generally touted as great options for vegans and vegetarians who may be unknowingly under-consuming total proteins or specific amino acids (lysine is a common deficiency).

Thank you so much!
I was definitely noticing something was off because I was eating all of those foods that you listed because they were what vegan blogs etc were telling me to. However I was never able to even come close to getting enough protein without going way over my calorie goal

Yep!

I see it all too often. I even see a lot of vegan "protein" recipes that are guilty of this. My favorite is protein balls where they have peanut butter, some oats, and dates, rolled in chocolate. Im like... uh... that 260 calories and 4 grams of protein... how is that a "protein ball"? yikes!

Atleast you know as someone who logs their food how much you're consuming. Imagine all those people who blindly believe that stuff!