Protein as veggie

Arachnapheria

Hey, I'm a veggie and I've been using MFP for the past 2 weeks. I've noticed that I'm always under my protein goal. Has anyone got any suggestion on how to increase my intake?

michiganderrdh

beans, almonds, almond/peanut butter, lentils, quinoa. Do you eat dairy? Maybe some good greek yogurt?

fitnoflab

I'm a vegetarian and I have to use whey to get my protein intake up. I also eat tons of beans, egg whites, yoghurt and greens

reesbrittany

hummus, seeded whole wheat bread and eggs are good too! I'm veggie and often find I'm over my protein limit for the day.

ednawhatnot

I eat a lot of eggs, quorn, whole grains, pulses etc. I was worried at first that I wouldn't be ale to eat enough protein because I've always been a carb queen but I'm often over my protein goal.

holyguacamole

I'm vegetarian and I don't eat dairy either but my protein is usually over what mfp gives me. I eat chick peas, eggs, tofu, quorn, kidney beans, peanut butter, almonds and other nuts.

Dragonfly1996

I am part veggie (eat fish but not everyday) & I also was struggling on protein intake. I have upped my Greek natural yoghurt intake & also have protein shakes which has seemed to help. Also as above nuts & beans etc ate good sources. Good luck :flowerforyou:

714rah714

I eat vegetarian and with border-line high cholesterol I use a plant-based protein powder. It doesn't have as much protein as whey does, but it doesn't contain any fat either.

Arachnapheria

Thanks for all the advice guys. I'm not a fan of beans or yoghurt but will give the other stuff a try. Michiganderrd, what is quinoa?

FitSid, I actually lol'd when I read your reply XD Don't currently have a bf and I don't think the local sperm bank would be happy if I raided their stock haha!

caramkoala

Thanks for all the advice guys. I'm not a fan of beans or yoghurt but will give the other stuff a try. Michiganderrd, what is quinoa?

Quinoa is a non-grain grain. You can buy it in health food stores and use it all over the place. I just had some sprinkled in a salad (cooked first), sometimes I make fritters out of it (search Quinoa fritters in the forums for a recipe), you can make porridge out of it or use it as a smoothie booster. I also use it in place of brown rice and cous cous now.

Wallaby2

Soy products, beans, almonds and lentils are all foods I eat to bump up my protein. Good luck!

Arachnapheria

Thanks for all the advice guys. I'm not a fan of beans or yoghurt but will give the other stuff a try. Michiganderrd, what is quinoa?

Quinoa is a non-grain grain. You can buy it in health food stores and use it all over the place. I just had some sprinkled in a salad (cooked first), sometimes I make fritters out of it (search Quinoa fritters in the forums for a recipe), you can make porridge out of it or use it as a smoothie booster. I also use it in place of brown rice and cous cous now.

Ah, ok. I'll keep an eye out for it. Thanks

Fit_Forever25

I had the same problem initially but now I am always keeping up my protein intake by including these things in my diet regularly
yogurts, semi skimmed milk, egg whites, beans, lentils, quinoa, almonds, Soy chunks, edamame etc etc

determinedbutlazy

I second all the votes for quorn and meat replacement products. Yes they may be a little more "processed" than more traditionally "clean" foods but they are an invaluable source of protein for us non-meat-eaters!

micklespiffy

Don't know where you are or where MFP gets it's levels. Americans get way too much protein as the levels were set by the people that run the beef industry. Don't sweat it. Consult a doctor if you have problems.

richied26

quark (virtually fat free soft cheese) is a good protein source if you eat dairy

mideon_696

Too much protein mikkelspiffy???

Please explain that means?

SanyamKaushik

Two things in my opinion:
1. Protein intake: How much is enough?
Some people argue about the amount of protein that one should have and its heavily influenced by lobbies. I would personally give more importance to World Health Organisation, here is a detailed report http://whqlibdoc.who.int/trs/WHO_TRS_935_eng.pdf with a table on page 87 for ratio of protein calories to total calories for adults and children of different ages and body sizes. My reading is their recommendations are all under 10% of calories from protein. Most vegetables and whole grains easily make this mark.

2. Protein food
Following is the list of typical protein content by calories for these group of food items:
e.g. if a food has 2 grams proteins (4x2=8 calories, each protein gram has 4 calories) and total calories in the food item is 100, then it has 8%)

Fruits 5-10%
Vegetables: 15-50% (e.g. 50% in Spinach)
Grains 15-20%
Semi Skimmed Milk : 16%
Lentils and Beans : 30%

So, I would personally say that eat a variety of foods that have proteins and that you love. You will get bored with same food stuff if you eat it daily and that is infact body's way of telling you that you need variety. Different food items have different amino acid chains and probably one should aim for a good variety as well.

mideon_696

the amount of protein one requires depends on ALOT of factors, age, sex, size, goals etc. Sure if you dont do any resistance exercise, then you wont need that much. Probably 50gms or less, which is about 10%.

Go and try and add serious strength, and maintain all your Lean body mass with just 50gm's per day while training heavy 3-4 times a week and let me know how you go.

Its quite common for me to have 100gm of protein in one meal. 100gms of carb along with that too if its post workout.

My guess?
The people that beleive that 10% or less of your calories should come from protein also no doubt beleive that brekky is the most important meal, and you need to eat 5 or 6 small meals a day to lose weight effectively.

chocolateandvodka

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

mixedfeelings

I second all the votes for quorn and meat replacement products. Yes they may be a little more "processed" than more traditionally "clean" foods but they are an invaluable source of protein for us non-meat-eaters!

I completely agree, they've come along way, much tastier now. The quorn fishless fingers are marvellous. But also tofu, beans, lentils, nuts. I'm always nearly there with my protein unless I exercise, I do plan to start drinking more milk/soya milk to help.

bettyboop416

Yes, but is it vegetarian? and more importantly.... how often does one really intend to consume it? How much pineapple can one man eat??

Arachnapheria

Yes, but is it vegetarian?

I would say yes in the same way eggs are vegetarian. But it's a no no for vegans XD

porffor

I've added a protein meal bar, I've become intollerant to beans in the last couple of years (pain as I love beans), so veggies, eggs and quorn used. I'm not a lover of quorn (and hate tofu) so sometimes this phases out if I get sick of it.
I love houmous but its sooo high in cals. Also love falafels which work well.
It can be done, just needs planning.
There are always arguements on eating and one is that protein isn't 'the' most important thing, but personally I find a lack of protein can lead to spikes and dips in my energy levels.

SuperScrabbleGirl

I second all the votes for quorn and meat replacement products. Yes they may be a little more "processed" than more traditionally "clean" foods but they are an invaluable source of protein for us non-meat-eaters!

QUORN! I eat so much of the stuff.

dianeellen2

Hi

I find protien hard to get into my diet - however i like low fat cottage cheese which can be added to most things (mixed in or as a side) There are lots of flavoured varieties too.

Quorn is a must if you are veggie - it is so versitile too

Add me if you want a veggie firend - my diary is open to firends and i am veggie so you may get some ideas (if you want to)

Diane

micklespiffy

More protein than we need. Too much meat in general and they use that to set the "protein needed" levels.
Full disclosure. Been a vegan for 12 years. Never augmented anything, just switched never had problems. Always checked out fine.

tigersword

Edamame and tofu. As for how much you need, you only need about 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight. Adding more is great for faster strength training results, but isn't biologically necessary. Beyond the essential amino acids required for life (which you can get from a minimum of eating complete proteins,) the human body can manufacture as much protein as it needs.

halhix

A couple that I don't see mentioned here: brown rice, brussel sprouts (I love roasting these with Hawaiian salt), black beans, lentils, and green peas (unfortunately I'm allergic to these).


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PaleoPath4Lyfe

beans, almonds, almond/peanut butter, lentils, quinoa. Do you eat dairy? Maybe some good greek yogurt?

In addition to these mentioned items, add in hemp. It is a great source of protein.

I am not a vegetarian and like hemp protein. Hemp hearts are yummy and I like Nutiva Hemp Protein powder also.

halhix

NatureMade: Excellent point about Hemp. That is one of my biggies.

My breakfast is typically vegan with about 62 grams of protein coming from a shake that I make that consists of brown rice protein, hemp, cashew butter, etc. Feel free to check out my food profile to get what I put into it.

If you are into shakes and are willing to try something a little different, you might want to look at adding spirulina (it's an acquired taste).