Protein!!! HELP me!

electricmeow

I don't think anyone can. I am a vegetarian since age 6 (don't like most of it, think it's cruel, won't budge on this one) and just found out I have a CORN allergy!! Yeah yeah...corn whatever...don't eat corn, don't eat high fructose corn syrup...but no! It's worse than that!!

There are 180+ ingredients to watch out for...

Most common are:
Added calcium
Citric Acid
Corn flour/starch
Corn sugar
Dextrose
Fructose
High fructose corn syrup
Hydrolyzed corn/protein
Lecithin
Lysine
Magnesium citrate/fumarate/stearate
Maltodextrin (in Muscle Milk)
Splenda
Xanathan Gum

There's a lot more, I just copied the ones that commonly stand out. I haven't found a single safe protein powder. I used to take a scoop if I felt deficient that day. The last time I did this I ended up in bed with the worst body cramps all over and had to take a 2pm nap!! Even at Whole Foods, none of the powders are safe!

In addition:
No Cottage Cheese
No SmartGround
No SmartDogs
No Veggie patties
No pretend meat, generally
No "vegetable proteins"

SOOOO what I have in my "protein menu" now is:
Greek yogurt
Tuna
Beans
(Nuts, Milk, Cheese) -- not meals


Anyone else have experience with a corn allergy? Anyone kind enough to check their protein powder and see if it is absent of the above ingredients? ( More here, but its a lot to verify: http://www.cornallergens.com/list/corn-allergen-list.php )

Becoming non-vegetarian is out of the question. Not to mention, the lightest meats, chicken and turkey, are FED corn! So they are therefore, allergens.

Charlottejogs

I sympathize! While I do eat some fake meat products I am strictly vegetarian- no fish. I get my protein from Greek yogurt, beans, nuts, and quinoa. I am interested in ideas though!

It does help that the yogurt has many purposes- I use it to make dressings dip, subs for sour cream, add it to make creamy sauces...lots of uses and ways to incorporate it. Interested in any soy, TVP kinds of things?

electricmeow

Thank you so much. I have forgotten that I have both tofu AND quinoa in my pantry. Finding an appropriate marinade for the tofu will be a challenge, but there has to be a way, right? I've had quinoa since late summer, but have been scared to cook it! You've motivated me to give it a shot! A lot of recipes sound good! And...I just bought eggs at the farmers market, so there are three additional sources!

Unfortunately since many textured vegetable proteins come from corn, you can't trust any of them

Charlottejogs

Of course- made from corn! I forget about eggs also- they kind of weird me out so I usually have to hide them in other things:) Good luck with you protein search. There are tons of yummy quinoa recipes online and on MFP, here is a website and one of my favorite quinoa recipes:

http://www.cookingquinoa.net/quinoa-recipes

Quinoa-Stuffed Acorn Squash:
• 1 acorn squash

• 1 T butter

• 1 C quinoa

• 2 C chicken/veggie stock or broth (reduced sodium)

• 1 T extra virgin olive oil

• 1 small yellow onion, chopped finely

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

• 2 habanero peppers, chopped finely (remove seeds for less heat)

• 1/2 C mushrooms, chopped

• 2 C spinach, uncooked

• 1/2 feta, crumbled

• 1 T parsley, chopped

• 1 T fresh lemon juice
(Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees)

Sprinkle with a little bit of salt and pepper and put 1/2 T butter in each squash half.
Place on a baking tray and roast at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes. Make sure squash is tender to the fork upon removal (otherwise, stick it back in the oven for a few more minutes).
In the meantime, start cooking your quinoa, according to directions. You can use water, but I find chicken stock/broth to be a bit more flavorful. I generally try to get low-sodium, so I can control levels of salt. And, of course, use vegetable broth if you want to keep this dish vegetarian-friendly.
While the quinoa is cooking and the squash is roasting, pour your extra virgin olive oil into a skillet over medium heat. Sauté mushrooms, onion, garlic, and habaneros until they’re slightly browned, about 7-10 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper to taste and squeeze lemon juice over.
Now, turn heat to low and add the cooked quinoa to the veggie mixture. Throw in 2 cups of spinach and stir to combine and wilt spinach a bit.
Add in feta cheese and parsley here, as well. Save a little of each for topping, if you want.
Spoon quinoa mixture into acorn squash halves and top with a little extra feta. And parsley too, if you desire.

Charlottejogs

Hello MFPers! I always see posts about quick lunch ideas, eating healthy on a budget, and protein. So I just wanted to share one of my favs for this predicament.

As a grad student I try to be budget conscious, never have enough time, always trying to be healthy, and always need more protein.

I love to eat/take to school taco soup for lunch. For me this is a great solution because I can make a big pot of it and put it in containers and grab it on the way out and you can always have the ingredients on hand.

I am veggie so I do it like this:

black and kidney beans, some recipes include refried also (protein!)
fresh veggies like corn, onion, peppers, whatever you want really or need to use
canned tomatoes (no sodium)
jalapenos/ cumin to preference- I like spicy
garlic, taco seasoning (my own concoction to avoid sodium)
greek yogurt (instead of sour cream for more protein)
add light cheese and take some whole wheat bread or crackers
flax

You could add some kind of meat, fake hamburger meat of some kind or whatever you want to create this low fat, quick and easy meal that is fairly high in protein.

Perhaps it will work for you too!
Have a great week:)

IronSmasher

Right, so you've got eggs, fish, dairy, nuts and legumes.

What was the question again?