How to achieve a high protein diet when veggie and gluten free?

kfwfcalc

Would really appreciate any tips/recipes to help hit a high protein diet whilst following a vegetarian and gluten-free diet? Thanks in advance

AnnPT77

In addition to planning one big protein item in each meal (like omnivores do), try to choose other other side/snack items that have least a little protein, and prefer foods with a bit higher protein in any given category than lower protein forms. Through the day, those small things add up.

When I was first calorie counting, I would go through my food diary every couple of days, looking for things that had a calorie "cost" higher than they were subjectively worth to me for their satiation, nutrition, tastiness, etc. Those were foods I could reduce or eliminate, to free up calories. Then I'd look for foods that I enjoy eating that would have similar calories, but make a better contribution to my goals. I used exactly that process to gradually improve my protein intake. (I've been vegetarian for about 47 years now.)

There are veggies with more protein than others, grains with more proteins than others, even some fruits with protein. This is a good source of information:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10247171/carbs-and-fats-are-cheap-heres-a-guide-to-getting-your-proteins-worth-fiber-also

That thread links to a spreadsheet that lists many, many foods in order by protein efficiency, most protein for fewest calories. As a vegetarian, you'll need to scroll past the mostly meaty/fishy things near the top, but you'll find plant-based choices further down. (Dairy's there, too, if you eat dairy.)

If you don't eat gluten, that rules out seitan. I hope, given that you must rule that out, that you do eat soy? There are a range of traditional soy food products like tofu and tempeh in various forms. You should be able to find non-GMO versions, if that's a concern for you. There are also more modern soy products from faux meats to pastas, that can be helpful.

Of course, there are many other faux meat products now that are made in various ways, some highly processed and some not, so if processing is something you care about, there may still be options.

In addition to those, since I'm not too concerned about processing to this degree, I've found some of the legume based pastas quite good. The soy & black bean ones tend to be chewier texture than wheat pasta, so I personally prefer those in Asian-style preparations. The chickpea and pea pastas are more similar to wheat pasta, so would be my choice with tomato sauce or pesto or the like.

There are flavoring additions that can add a bit of protein to dishes, too, like miso, nutritional yeast, defatted peanut or almond flour (sometimes sold as "peanut butter powder" or "almond butter powder", though those latter often have a tiny bit of sugar, too). The nut powders are good in things like smoothies, can be added to oatmeal, used in a peanut/almond sauce for stir fries, and that sort of thing. (I make a sauce with nut powder, tamari or chile paste, rice vinegar to the right consistency, then add whatever other seasonings sound good, like any of minced garlic, Szechuan pepper, chopped green onions, a little sesame oil when I have the calories, or something like that.)

I also tend to make my own salad dressings, and often will dress a salad with just vinegar and maybe some herbs, but instead of oil in the dressing, use an ingredient with some protein as well as healthy fat to round out the salad, such as shell-less pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds or walnuts. Those are high in calories, but a small portion can be calorie affordable - I'll often use 14g/half ounce. That adds fat to help with metabolizing all the good micronutrients, plus gives the salad a bit of crunch. I also add hemp hearts or milled flax seed to foods in small quantities for similar reasons, such as in my oatmeal or in soups/stews.

Legumes of all types should be useful. I find black beans and lentils to have a tiny bit more protein than some of the others. I'm not a big grain eater, and not too familiar with which grains are gluten free, but there are a huge range of grains available in stores here, with varying protein content. It's not just wheat, rice, oats, but lots of other things like amaranth, teff, buckwheat, etc., as well as pseudo grains like quinoa (which has a bit more protein, and I believe is gluten free). Perhaps less familiar grains might be worth exploring.

You don't say what sub-type of vegetarian you are, so I stuck with plant-based examples above. I'm ovo-lacto, though I don't eat all that many eggs. I do eat a lot of dairy, and some of the calorie-efficient choices are lowfat cottage cheese, nonfat Greek yogurt, skim milk. Where flavor or texture is quite important, I'll use full-fat cheese in reasonable portions, but do use some specific lowfat ones where cheese is a minor player. Also, some cheeses are inherently more calorie efficient than others.

I hope that may help!

MaggieGirl135

Someone gave me American Test Kitchen Gluten-free cookbooks (volumes 1and 2) and they are amazing! They explain why they use the different ingredients they do to achieve the color/texture/other in their foods. I wouldn’t do GF if I didn’t have to, but I do (husband). I easily have a half a dozen different kinds of flours in my freezer and recipes for baked goods are more time consuming.

rosebarnalice

I eat a lot of salads and slaws with homemade silken tofu, hummus or pureed beans or legumes to bump the protein.

I also keep unsalted nuts (usually pecans or walnuts) on hand for a protein snack - but gotta weigh carefully because the calories and fat add up.

I also discovered "dried bean curd rolls" at my fave Asian grocery. They're paper-thin sheets of dried tofu rolled into a cigar shape that crumbles easily when dry. I add these to soups, stews, casserolles, and stir fries for added protein. When crumbled small enough they completely disappear in the dish.