Protein powder for vegetarian question

m0dizzle

Hi everyone,
I am having a tough time getting all of the protein MFP recommends (71 per day). I am a vegetarian, I work M-F full time and I am terrible at waking up early enough to make eggs or anything like that for breakfast. I usually bring greek yogurt, or an english muffin with peanut butter for breakfast. For lunch I usually bring peanut butter and banana on english muffin, salad with egg, or leftovers from dinner and for dinner I usually have something high in protein like quinoa stir fry, cheese ravioli, or brown rice with veggies and tofu.
Would you recommend protein powder? What are the pros and cons of making say a protein powder smoothie for breakfast instead of my usual? For exercise I run about 3-4x a week about 3 miles, and I do baptiste power vinyasa yoga 3-4x a week as well for an hour or 1 hr 15m each time. I take usually 1 day off of exercise a week, some weeks I take 2 days.


Side note question, since I am fairly new to being active: I am 22 years old, 5'2" 145 lbs trying to lose 15-20 lbs. I try to eat about 1440 cal a day and my BMR is 1473.75. Does this sound like I could lose weight doing what I'm doing? So far I have been yo-yoing the same 2 lbs. I have been doing yoga since mid-April,I started running in may, and tracking calories for about 4 weeks now.

AliceDark

Adding protein powder is fine, but it tends to be expensive. With some tweaks to your regular diet, you can probably come pretty close to hitting your 71g goal with real foods. Peanut butter, as you're finding, isn't a wonderful source of veggie protein (it's "expensive" in the sense that you're getting a lot of calories for a moderate amount of protein). Greek yogurt is good -- have you tried kefir? It's a drink, sort of halfway between yogurt and milk (similar to lassi, if you like Indian food). Eggs are good, and cottage cheese is wonderful. Feel free to look through my diary for some ideas -- I supplement with bars and protein powder, but I'm also trying to hit 135g or so of protein per day.

skruttan44

I am a vegetarian too

I honestly think the protein level is set high here. If you search around from medical websites, you will see al ower recommendation (around 50 for a grown woman), but I am no expert on the matter.

A smoothie is definitely a good option, as you can use fresh fruit in it and get a good start to your day.
I make smoothies every day, just put in some fresh fruits and veggies WITH the powder. One powder that is excellent is a wholefood from GNC. Lots of nutrients in it, and a complete protein.

It is called GNC Ultra Mega Green Active . Helps me get good protein every day.

I mix it with strawberries, almond milk, and some carrots, works real well!

pandabear_

Hey,

I am a vegetarian also. I use a supplement called 'Spirulina' in my smoothies, which is supposed to be something of a super food for vegetarians because it's a plant based protein and contains iron. I have a smoothie every day, along with my normal meals (eggs, cheese, quorn, etc). I would just google it.

But I went to the doctors in March as I was having constant headaches and feeling dizzy. I told them I was vegetarian. I have been using Spirulina for 2 months before that. Anyway, they did a blood test and the doctor basically told me my blood was really great for a vegetarian and I must be doing something right. I put this down to spirulina.

This is basically my diet: yoghurt with granola for breakfast or a poached egg on granary bread, quorn with potatoes, falafel and houmous, lots of cheese, salads with kidney beans, lots of rocket, lots of kale smoothies. Plus, always making sure to drink something high with vitamin C at the same time as having iron.

I really don't think you have to go out of your way to have protein if you are in good health. I think iron is the biggest problem for vegetarians. As it will say you are getting it, but unless you are high in vitamin C your body will not absorb it from anything other than meat.

m0dizzle

I have heard of kefir, I will definitely try it! I have never been a huge fan of cottage cheese but I will try it again, do you have any suggestions on things I can add to it to change the flavor? Thank you!

m0dizzle

Hey,

I am a vegetarian also. I use a supplement called 'Spirulina' in my smoothies, which is supposed to be something of a super food for vegetarians because it's a plant based protein and contains iron. I have a smoothie every day, along with my normal meals (eggs, cheese, quorn, etc). I would just google it.

But I went to the doctors in March as I was having constant headaches and feeling dizzy. I told them I was vegetarian. I have been using Spirulina for 2 months before that. Anyway, they did a blood test and the doctor basically told me my blood was really great for a vegetarian and I must be doing something right. I put this down to spirulina.

This is basically my diet: yoghurt with granola for breakfast or a poached egg on granary bread, quorn with potatoes, falafel and houmous, lots of cheese, salads with kidney beans, lots of rocket, lots of kale smoothies. Plus, always making sure to drink something high with vitamin C at the same time as having iron.

I really don't think you have to go out of your way to have protein if you are in good health. I think iron is the biggest problem for vegetarians. As it will say you are getting it, but unless you are high in vitamin C your body will not absorb it from anything other than meat.

I will look into spirulina, do they sell it at grocery stores?

_John_

I would say it is a highly viable option. Contrary to the stigma, protein powders are just another form of food.

As far as cost go, the cost per g of protein on most whey protein is quite good.

AliceDark

I have heard of kefir, I will definitely try it! I have never been a huge fan of cottage cheese but I will try it again, do you have any suggestions on things I can add to it to change the flavor? Thank you!

I eat mine with tomatoes, or fresh fruit (during the summer, cottage cheese with fresh nectarines is awesome!). I'd say definitely try a few brands -- some of them are just sour and nasty. I don't like low-fat or fat-free cottage cheese because they tend to be gross. Trader Joe's regular cottage cheese is my current favorite, because it doesn't have a strong flavor. It just kind of tastes like dairy (if that makes sense).

m0dizzle

I have heard of kefir, I will definitely try it! I have never been a huge fan of cottage cheese but I will try it again, do you have any suggestions on things I can add to it to change the flavor? Thank you!

I eat mine with tomatoes, or fresh fruit (during the summer, cottage cheese with fresh nectarines is awesome!). I'd say definitely try a few brands -- some of them are just sour and nasty. I don't like low-fat or fat-free cottage cheese because they tend to be gross. Trader Joe's regular cottage cheese is my current favorite, because it doesn't have a strong flavor. It just kind of tastes like dairy (if that makes sense).

Good to know about different brands. Though the closest trader joe's is 30 minutes from me, do you have any other brand suggestions?

skruttan44

just don't forget it is important with "complete protein" in order to benefit from the protein.Do your research and ensure you use the correct combinations.

pandabear_

Hey,

I am a vegetarian also. I use a supplement called 'Spirulina' in my smoothies, which is supposed to be something of a super food for vegetarians because it's a plant based protein and contains iron. I have a smoothie every day, along with my normal meals (eggs, cheese, quorn, etc). I would just google it.

But I went to the doctors in March as I was having constant headaches and feeling dizzy. I told them I was vegetarian. I have been using Spirulina for 2 months before that. Anyway, they did a blood test and the doctor basically told me my blood was really great for a vegetarian and I must be doing something right. I put this down to spirulina.

This is basically my diet: yoghurt with granola for breakfast or a poached egg on granary bread, quorn with potatoes, falafel and houmous, lots of cheese, salads with kidney beans, lots of rocket, lots of kale smoothies. Plus, always making sure to drink something high with vitamin C at the same time as having iron.

I really don't think you have to go out of your way to have protein if you are in good health. I think iron is the biggest problem for vegetarians. As it will say you are getting it, but unless you are high in vitamin C your body will not absorb it from anything other than meat.

I will look into spirulina, do they sell it at grocery stores?

I think in health food places. I'm in the UK so I ordered mine from a website called "Holland and Barrett". I think you have to be really careful to make sure you get a pure, organic kind.

redraidergirl2009

I love protein smoothies. Grab a whey or soy protein and mix with berries and a banana or half a banana and use tea instead of water or some almond milk.

RodaRose

Vegetarians get plenty of protein without having to take protein shakes.