Protein failure!

DashaBars

Sun Warrior - Vegan Protein Powder Vanilla Flavor is great! Add some Soy, Almond, Rice Milk or water or half/half and anything else and it's delicious! I like to add chia seeds, banana and some strawberries

mariabee

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned, but...

Quinoa

A million recipes on this site too.

jadedone

I don't know how you feel about lentils, but I love this: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/red-lentil-curry/detail.aspx. Just ate this for lunch over spinach. One and a half servings of it comes to 288 calories and 18 grams of protein. Plus it's ridiculously filling.

There are SO many ways to dress up quinoa and couscous, etc. so as to not get bored. I like to take quinoa, black beans, mushrooms, corn, etc., and throw it all together with some seasonings. Good hot or cold. I also have been making quinoa mixed with sweet potato cubes, onion, mushroom (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/quinoa-with-sweet-potato-and-mushrooms/detail.aspx). I make some changes to it depending on my mood (like i sometimes throw in kale massaged in a little bit of olive oil during the last 15 minutes or so) but it is delicious. I recommend going over to allrecipes.com and typing in whatever you've got on hand to work with and seeing what it comes up with. They have a TON of recipes to try out.

Good luck!

I personally like lentils over most beans here are a few ideas:
make your own hummus
I make a similar curried lentil dish, adding coconut milk and also sweet potatoes
used mashed white beans or chickpeas instead of mashed potatoes. Add some garlic, oil/butter (you don't need much), milk (milk subs are fine) or water. You can also add fresh herbs too. Pretty tasty
Head to the farmers market and get fresh beans: they cook fast and taste different than their dried equivalents
Marinate your beans in some acid: lemon juice, vinegar and some fresh herbs. Add to salads, quinoa or eat plain. Or make it into a chopped salad
make minestrone with your summer veggies

Look into other cuisines that have veggie and bean recipes and get some cookbooks:
Ethiopian
Indian
Lebanese
Turkish
Mexican
Brazilian

All of those have a ton of interesting recipes for beans and lentils.

pgp90xer

Roasted pumpkin seeds and very high in protein, more then any nuts. They are high in fat but that is a good fat. a 1/4 cup of seeds have 18 g of protein!! and 23 g of fat.

Jaxter888

Firstly, kudos to "ilovedeadlift" for pointing out the tofu thing... small amounts is OK though.. as long as its processed thoroughly though... would expect most people simply dismiss an EliteFTS article though LOL.... meatheadz?... danger danger... steroid alert LOL...

ANYWAY....

Secondly, it is very important to remember, that not all proteins are created equally... L'Oreal style "here comes the science bit..."

There are basically 2 types of protein source, complete vs incomplete... a protein just basically means a collection of amino acids.

Now the amino acids your body requires can be split into essential vs non-essential

There are 22 amino acids in total and 14 of them are non-essential... this means your body can make them itself.

So that leaves 8 essential ones...which means they can only come from your diet...... and whether or not a source of protein has ALL 8 determines whether or not it is classed as a complete protein.

Generally speaking, animal meat, or things that come from animals (eg eggs/milk/cheese) are COMPLETE proteins.

Everything else, generally are incomplete.

So what I'm saying basically, is that please DO NOT solely rely on plant based protein sources... if you do, you HAVE to be smart about it and see which ones give which amino acids and try to create a full profile from your diet... i dont really know the answer for this because it doesnt apply to me so not looked into it... some simple research im sure would come up with some simple combinations that would equal a complete amino acid profile from a diet you can tolerate.

Just because a herb/plant/nut says its high in protein (vs its weight), doesn't make it a quality source of protein (too many general public are tricked with this marketing trick as already evident in the replies to this thread)... its ok for a while, but depending on all sorts of factors, not giving your body the full amino acid spectrum it requires over time may have negative affects... i say 'may' because i don't know myself as I eat alot of animal products so dont have first hand experience of that deprivation... plus because it doesn't really relate to me, I haven't researched much into this myself... but considering we are animals that have evolved to generally include meat AND veg in our diet, dismissing either for an extended period of time will have negative affects.

Now, protein requirement is arguable... it heavily depends on who you are (age/gender/dimensions/genetics), what you do (activity) and what your goals are... you obviously need some... but not knowing anything about you, I cant say for sure... but 1g per kg of your bodyweight would be a minimum in my book.... unless you are really overweight.

So anyway.. after all that geek speak, what should you eat?.... true and honest answer, you gotta look for yourself... considering all the amino acid stuff i mentioned above....i give you the net, you gotta catch the fish yourself ..... ok, here's one fish for starters then.... i think you said you can prob stomach a protein shake but want a good tasting one?.... try a brand called "PhD"... a little more expensive than the MyProtein / ownbrand ones, but is a good tasting product (i've only tried chocolate though) ...actually the own brand stuff is pretty good too, but i DEFFO know that PhD is really well known for its taste amongst other people.... also... I would recommend trying Whey Protein ISOLATE (as opposed to whey concentrate)... again, a little more expensive, but its basically a really processed product so free from lactate (whey is made from cheese...kinda)... this may be something you can tolerate more-so with your health issues (ask your doctor/specialist if you're not sure).... 2 scoops (50g) mixed with about 200-250ml of WATER will give you about 40-45g of protein....and trace (if not zero) carb and fat (if you got the isolate stuff)... and that of course is a COMPLETE protein source... price wise, prob looking at about £40 for 2kg.. You can get samples for £1 though probably, so you can try all kinds of brands before committing to a large tub.... always remember though, its just a supplement... and that means its not really supposed to replace a meal... its meant to complement a food diet... always best to get your nutrients from whole foods... then top up if really needed with this stuff.

Hope that helps.

jadedone

RE: amino acids in "non-complete" proteins

You can look for targeted pairings, like black beans + brown rice = complete protein. Or just eat a variety of forms of protein. Beans, grains, nuts, seeds.... just have a good mix of them, and you'll get all of your amino acids.

RE: tofu
Look for organic tofu, since pretty much all soy is GMO. Also, play around with the types/textures. Soft tofu is good for a smoothie. Firm tofu for stirfry. Yuba or tofu skins have a nice chewy texture.

Melanie_RS

you don't have to eat beans plus rice to get a complete protein AT THE SAME TIME. it's a myth that's been debunked.

jillianlovesyarn

I make my own protein blend out of hemp powder (Hemp Pro70), pea protein powder, brown rice protein powder and pumpkin seed protein powder. Hemp protein has the most fat of them all if you compare fat to protein ratio, but only 4 grams of fat gets you 21 grams of protein in the Pro70 brand which should still fit your needs. I know it can sound kind of boring if you say "All I can eat are beans!" but it might help to look at a sample day because it really is all in how you look at it.

A sample "all bean" day:

Breakfast: Tempeh and white bean "sausage" patties (http://www.chow.com/recipes/10118-tempeh-and-white-bean-sausage-patties) and steamed or sauteed spinach (6 grams of protein per cup if you're using frozen).

Lunch: Black bean-quinoa salad (I make mine with black beans, quinoa, mango, corn, cilantro, chopped garlic, avocado and salad dressing of choice . . . the avocado isn't necessary and I tend to make a ff agave-mustard-lime dressing but you could use salsa, oil and vinegar, etc.)

Dinner: Chana masala (http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/2007/01/28/chola-chana-masala/) over brown rice

Also, things like spiced, roasted chickpeas or other beans make for great snacks and are lower in fat that nuts. You can also add some seeds into your diet as seeds are typically lower in fat than nuts but pack a great protein punch and, in some cases, are also a good source of Omega 3 fatty acids.

wftiger

I don't understand why restricted fats would rule out protein shakes? The ones I drink (Pro Performance and Optimum Nutrition) have at the most 1 gram of fat. They are also low carb, decent on sodium and decent on calories.

Jaxter888

you don't have to eat beans plus rice to get a complete protein AT THE SAME TIME. it's a myth that's been debunked.

true, but no-ones really said that?... have they?.... just to be smart about what you are eating to make sure you are getting the full spectrum.... but certainly eating at the same time might be alot easier... just because you dont have to eat at the same time to get a complete protein doesnt mean you cant eat it all at the same time!!!

SelkieDiver

you don't have to eat beans plus rice to get a complete protein AT THE SAME TIME. it's a myth that's been debunked.

true, but no-ones really said that?... have they?.... just to be smart about what you are eating to make sure you are getting the full spectrum.... but certainly eating at the same time might be alot easier... just because you dont have to eat at the same time to get a complete protein doesnt mean you cant eat it all at the same time!!!

yes, studies have proved you do not need to eat plant sources at the same time. The body stores the amino acids and puts them together as needed and as required. You do still need to make sure you are eating a widely varied diet as a vegan or vegetarian though so you do have all those amino acids "in the bank" so to speak. Since I track my food here, I don't worry about eating complementing proteins as part of the same meal - I can always look back and see if I'm slacking off somewhere.

The only thing you cannot get from a Vegan diet is Vitamin B-12 so that must be supplemented in some way. You also need to be vigilant you are getting enough EFA's (essential fatty acids - Omega 3/6/9) Meat eaters get it from fish, but we need to get it from other sources. Flax seed in particular is good for that.

kooltray87

Does that protein water have artificial sweetners? I have a form of liver disease that makes dairy, meats, and artificial sweetners a no-no.

Here is a link to the nutrition facts http://www.specialk.com/protein-water-mixes/pink-lemonade/

jadedone

Does that protein water have artificial sweetners? I have a form of liver disease that makes dairy, meats, and artificial sweetners a no-no.

There are some sweetened with stevia, which may or not be OK with your diet.