Protein sources for vegetarians who want to go paleo

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Thin1979
Thin1979 Posts: 48
in Health and Weight Loss
hi fitness pal friends!

I am going to try the paleo gluten free challenge but i am a vegetarian and need some advice on getting more protein. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Cheers!

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  • _VoV
    _VoV Posts: 1,494 Member
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    I know practically nothing about this, but I'm guessing meat analogues are out because they are highly processed. Also, beans and grains are out from what I understand. So soymilk, tofu, and actual beans would be out too.

    Depending on your choices, vegetables can provide more protein than you would think. And there are nuts and eggs (if you eat them).
  • trinitylyons01
    trinitylyons01 Posts: 126 Member
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    What is the Paleo gluten free challenge?
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
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    That's going to be a tough one since the best food item with the most protein for the money - green mung beans - are not allowed if you strictly adhere to Paleo. But they are usually 30g of protein with 45g of carbs for $1.25 at 4 servings.
  • FairuzyAmanuzy
    FairuzyAmanuzy Posts: 221 Member
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    Whey protein powder, fish or eggs if you still eat it, I know some vegetarians do. You could also modify the diet a little to suit your needs by allowing "grain like" seeds like quinoa, hemp seed, etc and legumes.

    THere are lots of articles on it if you google it.
    http://www.nomeatathlete.com/vegetarian-paleo-diet/
    http://www.paleoplan.com/2012/06-28/can-a-vegetarian-or-vegan-be-paleo/
    http://whole9life.com/2012/03/paleo-nutrition-for-vegetarians/
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    With all due respect, you have already cut out a whole food group (which I respect you for as I am also a vegetarian) so why would you want to cut out even more food groups. What is the motivation behind wanting to go paleo? The reason I ask is that it will be really really hard to get appropriate macros doing so. Most of my protein comes from dairy, wheat gluten and soy - these will all have to be eliminated. The majority of the other protein sources are pretty low in protein compared to the fat and calorie content.
  • hummus40
    hummus40 Posts: 72
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    my first question would be...why are you wanting to go to this extreme? are you in training right now? if so, then finding alternate option would be questionable only as training is hard enough without the added stress of such an extreme dietary change. i too am vegetarian and know how hard it is to get my daily protein in and i am in training for an upcoming marathon.

    if you are wanting a major lifesytle change b/c of your own reasoning thats kewl but i would hit a few paleo websites instead of blogging so that you can get the most documented info for your venture...

    either way good luck to you
  • nursevee
    nursevee Posts: 344 Member
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    It's really hard to be a vegetarian and eat paleo. I adhere to paleo (I am gluten/lactose/casein intolerant) and my protein is almost completely derived from meat. My daughter is a vegetarian by choice and despite the fact that tofu and processed food (morningstar etc) is usually discouraged, i do buy these products for her. I also feed her beans (legumes are not encouraged). We drink almond and coconut milk and snacks are things like nuts and fruit and eggs. My lil one also has things like cottage cheese and greek yogurt to bump up her protein. You have to put things in perspective. I don't do dairy BUT obviously for her, it's essential that she does otherwise she is not getting the nutrients she needs. Check out the primal blueprint by Mark Scisson (Marksdailyapple.com). Primal eating allows for dairy whereas paleo discourages it. If you need other advice, feel free to contact me.
  • wellbert
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
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    Here you go.

    http://www.insectsarefood.com/recipes.html

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