Protein ideas for vegetarians

vindhya0621

What all are you including to up your protein as a vegetarian?

nossmf

carbs-and-fats-are-cheap-heres-a-guide-to-getting-your-proteins-worth-fiber-also

This thread contains a fairly comprehensive list of protein sources, including vegetarian options.

AnnPT77

What sub-type of vegetarian are you? Examples: Fully plant based, lacto-vegetarian, ovo-vegetarian, something else? What's your current protein goal in grams, for what height?

As context, before I say more I'm a long-time ovo-lacto vegetarian, lost weight fine 9+ years ago with MFP, have maintained weight fine since. My current protein goal is 100g minimum daily, though it was a bit less - 80s to 90s grams usually - while losing weight on reduced calories. I'm non-tall, 5'5"/165cm, now around 132 pounds/60 kilos.

People will give you a food list for non-meat protein, so here's a short one of main recommendations: Tofu, tempeh, cooked soybeans, seitan. If you eat dairy, plain non-fat Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and some of the better-tasting 2% milk cheeses. If you eat eggs, eggs.

Some beans other than soy aren't bad. If you don't object to it, consider protein powder or bars.

In reality, though, the answer isn't a food list, if you really want to get adequate non-meat protein on lower calories. The answer is a process, and it will take quite a few words to explain it.

Like I said, I'm ovo-lacto vegetarian, have been for 50+ years now. I technically eat eggs, but I don't eat many of them. I do eat a lot of dairy, but I'd take the same route even if fully plant-based.

Somewhere along the line, figure out your protein goal. For most people the MFP default goal is a reasonable starting point, unless they're trying to lose weight too aggressively fast. It's an OK-ish starting point for a vegetarian or near-vegetarian, but might not be enough for reasons that may become clear later.

If you want to reasonableness-check your protein goal, there's a research-based calculator here:

https://examine.com/guides/protein-intake/

If still quite overweight, use a lower weight, such as healthy goal weight, in the calculator.

As an aside, the guide at that link has a very good section about protein intake for vegans/vegetarians, and to the extent that you prefer to eat plant protein, those guidelines apply. Some fully-committed omnivores here will tell you that a person will need more protein as a vegetarian than an omnivore. That's true at the 50000 foot level, but the real issue is protein quality in terms of essential amino acid (EAA) completeness and bioavailability. Many plant sources are incomplete or less bioavailable. The guide has a more nuanced way of looking at that question. Loosely, plant-centric eaters probably need somewhat more protein than those full-bore omnivores, but the specific plant protein choices influence how much more.

Second step is to reasonableness-check your intended weight loss rate, if loss is your goal. There's no way to get adequate nutrition, protein or otherwise, when trying to lose weight too aggressively fast for a person's current size. I'd suggest losing no more than 0.5-1% of current weight per week, with a bias toward the lower end of that range unless severely obese and under close medical supervision for deficiencies or complications.

I suggested a short list of some solid protein source foods, and many people will give you food lists. Nossmf has already linked the mother of all protein/calorie efficiency food lists here. You'll need to scroll past the mostly meaty/fishy things at the top of that list, but vegetarian sources are in there. I'll point out that that list has a column that has a rough indication of protein quality. (You'd need to look further, such as with web searches, for more details.)

Beyond the food lists, what I'd suggest is a process to improve protein intake on reduced calories. I'm going to assume you're logging your food here.

Review your food diary. Identify foods you're eating that have relatively many calories, relatively little protein, and that you can eliminate or reduce (frequency or portion size) to free up calories, without shorting other nutrition or torpedoing your happiness.

Using the spreadsheet in the thread Nossmf linked, or any other source, find foods you like that have more protein for those calories, and work those foods into your routine habits. Repeat that process, and over time your routine protein intake will creep up. I like doing it that way so I don't need to micromanage protein every single day: Once the habits are in place, it's more automatic.

For sure, try to include at least one major protein source in each meal, ideally an EAA complete and bioavailable source. But beyond that, try to find sides, snacks, flavoring ingredients and more that have a little bit of protein. That will add up through the day. There are veggies with more protein, grains with more protein, even fruits with some protein. Those sources tend to be less EAA complete or bioavailable, but varying the types may compensate somewhat for the completeness issue.

At the store, read labels. Find breads with more protein, maybe protein pasta, etc. I have rules of thumb for roughly evaluating protein in foods in the store. Your specific numbers may differ, but I think having rules of thumb is helpful. For myself, I figure that something that has no more than around 10 calories (from all macros) per gram of protein is a good individual protein ingredient. For prepared foods, like a frozen meal, say, I look for ideally around 20 calories per gram of protein, up to maybe 30 calories per gram if the food is desirable in other respects.

I'll say a little more about flavoring ingredients, because that's one thing some people aren't as attuned to. Vegans tend to use nutritional yeast to add a cheesy flavor to foods, and that has a reasonable amount of protein. Miso is another flavoring with protein. I also use peanut butter powder (a.k.a. defatted peanut flour) to add peanut flavor and a little protein to dressings, sauces, my oatmeal, etc. Those are some examples. We eat them in quite small amounts, but there's at least some protein.

Don't let people tell you whole nuts, nut butters or seeds are a good plant protein source. IMO, they aren't. They're nutritious foods, absolutely, but are better sources of good fats than protein. The calorie to protein ratio is quite high. For example, almonds are one of the higher protein nuts. 72% of their calories are from fats, only 14% from protein. It's like 164 calories for 6g of protein. That's not great, and they're not EAA-complete (particularly low in lysine and methionine), and not extremely bioavailable, either.

As mentioned above, protein powder can be a reasonable thing to use, especially at first while trying to get more protein from food. There are mixed-source vegan types that are reasonably complete/bioavailable, but if you eat dairy, whey protein would be better, or soy. I don't use protein powder or protein bars, etc., not because there's anything wrong with them in the abstract, but because I don't personally find them tasty or satisfying. Many people seem to enjoy them.

If you want to see what I eat - not that I think I'm a stellar example  - my diary is open to MFP friends. If you send me a friend request, I'll accept, and you can look at my diary. Sometimes I skip a few days, but there's data out there in droves. MFP friends can also DM each other, and I do answer questions about how I combine the foods in my diary or similar.

The closer you are to actually fully plant-based in your eating, the more you may need to also pay attention to some nutrients other than simply protein. I think protein is pretty easy, TBH. I'm talking about things like vitamins D, B12, iron, calcium, etc. If you eat dairy or eggs, some of those would potentially be well-covered. Details about food choices matter.

For the other nutritional issues, I'll link another source I think is pretty good, also aimed at vegans but with useful info for anyone eating mostly plant-based, too:

https://veganhealth.org/

They have better than average info about the micronutrient side of things, too. The site's content is from registered dietitians who are themselves vegan, and it's much more science-based than some of the silly advocacy sites out in the blogosphere.

I hope something in there helps. If you have follow-up questions, please ask.

Best wishes!