Ugh, I hate to bring it up . . .

vegansara

Protein.

I know, I know, I always hate when people bring it up. But I just met with a nutritionist who says I need to get more.

I'm averaging about 40 grams per day, she says I need between 55-75 based on my exercise. How many grams do you guys usually get/aim for?

I'm trying to stick to whole foods - no protein bars - so I'm a little stumped on how to get more in while staying within my calorie limits. This morning I added spirutein (so good!) to my green smoothie and I'm having black beans and rice for dinner (with veggies and guac). Also I snack on raw almonds . . .

Anyway, looking for tips and opinions on this touchy subject. Thanks in advance!

sararooskie1

I aim for about 55 - 75 as well (sometimes 80 if I exercise a lot) and I seem to meet the goal without much trouble. Often times I go 5 - 10 grams over. I usually get it from things like whole wheat pasta, beans, peanut butter and tofu. There are rare times when I end up in the low 40s but I have yet to go under 30 and seem to average around 65 grams per day. It's pretty easy.

greenzebra27

I know I have a hard time reaching my total protein too, especially since doing a mostly raw diet, BUT, I've found that hemp seeds are a great addition to my smoothies and salads----they are 33% protein and have all 8 essential aminos...i make raw hemp milk every two days by putting three tablespoons of hemp seeds to three cups of water in my blender. It's great!

nicolenayima

Something I started doing was making a brown rice/lentil combination to have as the base for any rice dishes I eat, rather than just brown rice. I have a rice cooker and whenever I make a pot of brown rice I just do half brown rice and half dried brown lentils, the amount of water I would need for both combined, and they cook up together just fine and are done at the same time. Tempeh is also a great source of protein, although I don't always like it when I eat it as a tofu substitute, so what I have been doing is steaming chunks of it for about 10 minutes, then mashing it up with a fork and letting it cool before mixing it with vegan mayo or plain soy yogurt (depending on how many calories I have to use) and seasoning to make something that seems similar in texture to chicken salad. I like making it a curry flavor.

vegansara

Thanks for the responses. I'm trying to stay away from soy and wheat right now because I'm having joint inflammation issues and haven't figured out what it contributing. But I do have some peanut butter, and I could try the rice/lentil combo.

Thanks!!

alexsmith01

Hi,
I try not to eat too much soy product (I like tofu, but not all the time, so just have it every now and again).
I'm vegetarian, not vegan, so granted it's easier for me than you, but usually I go way over in carbs and way under in protein too. Lately I've been getting it about right, and it's mostly because of this soup I made (I had it for lunch today, and dinner yesterday and the day before), and a little bit due to the high protein bread I've been eating.

Not sure if you will all get the bread (I live in NZ) but I've been eating Burgen "Womens Wellbeing" bread - it's basically soy and linseed, so if you're trying to cut down on soy/wheat then not really appropriate, but otherwise, it has 11g of protein in 2 slices, which seems to me to be quite a lot!

This is the recipe for the soup I made:
100g carrots, chopped
2 courgettes/zucchini, chopped
4 shallots, chopped
6 stalks of celery (half a celery), chopped
12 spears asparagus, chopped (I estimated 12 spears, because I used a bunch and didn't count)
2 cans Cannellini Beans, washed and drained
1.1L Vegie Stock

Stir fry carrots, shallots, celery in 1 tablespoon of oil for 5 mins until vegies are starting to get soft. Add hot stock and remaining ingredients and simmer until vegies are tender.
4 serves - very filling serves!
261 cal, 36carb, 3 fat, 18 protein, 17 fibre per serve!

Original recipe was slightly different (didn't have celery, had fennell and leek) but fennell and leek weren't at the vege shop this week, so I substituted with celery, and it's so delicious I could eat it every day for the rest of my life! Haha.
If you make it, make sure you use a good stock because it gives it so much more flavour!

VeganGal84

I aim for about 45-60 a day, based on some research that I did for a paper about vegan nutrition. It's pretty easy for me to get 45, but I'm almost never near the 60! I hope that I'm getting enough in.

shannonichole

I get about 40 a day. But whenever I get my blood drawn at the doctors it shows that I'm perfectly healthy and that I am actually over on my protein. Eating peanut butter and drinking hemp milk helps.

JasonSwetland

I shoot for 50 a day. I eat beans at least twice a day on most days (My diary has sucked the last week so dont refer to that.) I also eat nuts of all kinds as snacks and I add them to recipes that I cook. I even add a handful of nuts to my oatmeal, all of which boosts the protien. If you like tofu thats another thing you can add to your diet to up the protien as well. You could also consider a Vegan protien suppliment:

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=vegan+protien+suppliment#q=vegan+protein+supplement&hl=en&pwst=1&prmd=imvns&source=univ&tbm=shop&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=kWDFTrHYGMe-2gWX29mjBQ&ved=0CKABEK0E&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.,cf.osb&fp=5a839b98aba3ef01&biw=1280&bih=609

Some are rice based, some soy, I have thought of getting one for the days I just am not hungry enough to eat more or if I happened to go low.

JasonSwetland

I get about 40 a day. But whenever I get my blood drawn at the doctors it shows that I'm perfectly healthy and that I am actually over on my protein. Eating peanut butter and drinking hemp milk helps.

Thats probably the best advice right there. If the nutritionist is that concerned about it then I would get a blood panel done and measure the actual response your body has had to the protien you are taking in, especially if you feel good. The daily reccomendation is just that, everybody's body responds differently. There are problems with taking in too much protien (over a long period of time it has been shown to strain the liver.)

A blood test will tell you where you are at. Then after making a change get another one done 6 weeks later, to see the results.

adamcrisis

Nutritional Yeast.

Its delicious, makes awesome cheesey sauces, good on almost everything. Good in protein and full of B vitamins

Halloch

Hi, I am doing P90X lean program and working on losing 40lbs. For me I need an intake of 50% protein at this stage of the diet. This equates to about 100g. I start my day with my smoothie and include 2 scoops of Vega Sport Protein(50g) and 2 tbsp of ground salba (3g). My morning snack is The Simple Bar (another vegan product with 16g protein). So as you can see even before I have my lunch my intake of protein is almost 70g. The rest of my protein comes from tempur, tofu or beans. Remember you can get 10g protein from 2 cups cooked broccoli, 4 cups raw broccoli or cooked kale just to name a few. Nuts are good too but be careful if you are trying to loose weight due to the calories.

jenprettyinpink

yum, i cant wait to make the soup!

vegansara

Thanks for all of the responses you guys! Meeting with a new nutritionist tomorrow, if she brings it up I will definitely suggest a blood test.

Sway

What I've been using is Pea Protein!! I HIGHLY suggest it! I use NOW and throw a scoop into my smoothies, but it's tasteless so you can add it to anything.

speedy001

I too am a fan of the Pea protein. I run and find on the days after my run adding it to a smoothie with greens (yes I know sounds weird but kale is great in a smoothie) some fresh ginger mint and blueberries with some lemon (skin and all learnt from reading Jason's blog re juicing) added to an organic tropical juice is so refreshing and yummy and I am positive helps my muscle recovery.

RealChange31

And don't forget Hemp protein: full of wonderful omegas and chlorophyll! I mix it with cooked oats and berries in my morning bowl.

stylistchik

What I've been using is Pea Protein!! I HIGHLY suggest it! I use NOW and throw a scoop into my smoothies, but it's tasteless so you can add it to anything.

Where are some places I could find pea (or brown rice) protein? I've used them before and would like to use them on my hardcore workout days but I can't seem to find any in my area. I used to get it at Publix but we don't have those in our new town and I checked my regular shopping places like walmart, target and TJ's with no luck :-(

vegangirl01060811

I seond that! Where do you get pea or rice protein? I need to start adding protein to my meals because I've been consistently going under. I've been super fatigued and actually started back up with cravings, which had ceased when I started going vegan. So to me that's my body telling me I'm lacking what I need. I also taking a multi-vitamin with iron, B complex vitamin, minerals complex vitamin, and vitamin c with rose hips every day!

bilzprincess

Tofuky jurky. Buy online. High protein, low cal, and doesn't require fridging, so u can throw a pack in ur purse, car, or gym bag to get a between meal snack. Sure. It's a faux meat. But spin it as a food supplement and u can smile about it.

bilzprincess

Oops. Soy product. Well, later if u go back to soy, consider it...