Protein Question for Vegetarians

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  • Robin1109
    Robin1109 Posts: 231 Member
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    Quinoa has a lot of protein and there are plenty of ways to prepare it.

    Yes, definitely quinoa!
  • laurengaugler
    laurengaugler Posts: 45 Member
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    1. Are you open to tofu?
    I am not a fan of highly processed fake foods, but if you choose well made tofu it can be a very minimally processed food (kind of like how cheese is if that makes sense)


    2. Why would you not be happy with more beans?
    Is it because of your body's responses to beans, lack of recipe applications, etc?

    3. What kinds of grains are you eating?

    4. What does your consumption of dark leafy greens look like?

    Eating a primarily plant-based diet takes a bit of food combination skills to keep things balanced. Try making sure that you have a solid serving of dark leafy greens with more meals than not. Don't' be afraid to mix foods. Example: A stir-fried Quinoa bowl with toasted walnuts, sauteed kale, scallions, garlic, chilies, and pineapple. Have you taken a look at any of the Veg/Vegan blogs and websites that are out there for ideas? Try http://happyherbivore.com/ and http://www.lunchboxbunch.com/Home.html
    Good luck and have fun with it :flowerforyou:

    1. I am open to tofu, and have made some which is delicious, but like you said, it's processed and I am trying to eat clean

    2. I'm just not a huge fan of beans. I got bored easily with them, but maybe it's because I need more suggestions on how to prepare them?

    3. I eat quinoa and chia seeds semi daily

    4. I eat dark leafy greens every meal ... in my smoothies for breakfast, a salad for lunch and a salad for dinner.

    Your meal suggestion sounds AMAZING! I am definitely going to check out that website!


    Thanks so much for all the suggestions! I am excited to start altering my diet to incorporate some of these food items. This has been an extremely helpful post for me!
  • Warchortle
    Warchortle Posts: 2,197 Member
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    I'm not sure if you eat dairy, but that will be the best source if not egg whites.

    All other vegetable drives proteins are incomplete like rice, pea, hemp proteins. Quinoa is a complete food.
  • laurengaugler
    laurengaugler Posts: 45 Member
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    I bought this book. Has some good info even if you are not a vegetarian

    The Complete Idiot's Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition
    Awesome! Thanks!
  • zillah73
    zillah73 Posts: 505 Member
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    I am a big fan of seitan (aka "wheat meat"). If you have a gluten intolerance it wouldn't work but, if not, there are some great natural products out there. I particularly like Upton's Naturals and Field Roast. Both are all natural and contain no additives, preservatives or scary ingredients. Both are high in protein. Hope that helps.
  • daffodilsoup
    daffodilsoup Posts: 1,972 Member
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    I am a big fan of seitan (aka "wheat meat"). If you have a gluten intolerance it wouldn't work but, if not, there are some great natural products out there. I particularly like Upton's Naturals and Field Roast. Both are all natural and contain no additives, preservatives or scary ingredients. Both are high in protein. Hope that helps.

    Truth! You can also take it one step further and make your own - it's stupid easy - so you control exactly what goes in it. A basic seitan recipe just uses vital wheat gluten, water and spices.
  • Super_Cee
    Super_Cee Posts: 12 Member
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    So many useful suggestions and links: gotta bump this for when I'm not at work ;-P
  • zillah73
    zillah73 Posts: 505 Member
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    Truth! You can also take it one step further and make your own - it's stupid easy - so you control exactly what goes in it. A basic seitan recipe just uses vital wheat gluten, water and spices.

    Yup! I make an awesome puff-pastry wrapped seitan roast for Thanksgiving every year. Even my non-veg friend comes over for dinner every year that night.
  • SunshineT83
    SunshineT83 Posts: 158 Member
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    I'm not sure if you eat dairy, but that will be the best source if not egg whites.

    All other vegetable drives proteins are incomplete like rice, pea, hemp proteins. Quinoa is a complete food.

    This is why mixing and matching foods can be important, yes most plant proteins are incomplete. But each plant has a different set of amino acids (protein links) from the other. For example rice and beans, they match up together to make a complete protein. Balance can be achieved without (or with little) animal products it just takes some research and experimentation to suit personal tastes and needs.

    OP - I am sure that loading your recipe arsenal will really help you out. Boredom is deadly so don't be afraid of Herbs and Spices to keep things interesting. You can make a serving of chickpeas taste like a dozen different things just by your spice/herb selection and cooking method. Try expanding your whole grain selection (ex: Quinoa, Brown Rice, Corn, Whole Wheat, Sprouted Grains/Breads, even white rice has its place) And maybe challenge your self to a new dark colored veggie each week (ex: Chard, Kale, Watercress, Arugula, Various dark lettuces, etc) Diversity really helps.
  • askeates
    askeates Posts: 1,490 Member
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    I'm not really sure the solution to this problem, so I am very interested in your suggestions to getting more protein. I generally have a serving of beans for lunch and sometimes will have a serving at dinner and I eat a 2 oz of nuts (almonds or walnuts) for breakfast or a snack, but I don't want to add more nuts because of the fat content and I don't think I'd be happy eating more beans.

    Tofu, it is very good for you, and high in protein... I will sometimes use it in my cooking to add a little extra if I'm running low on protein but high on fat in what I have planned out for the week. The fat you get from nuts is actually good (obviously in moderation), but I do suggest sticking to the almonds as they are lower in fat, and get the kind you would bake with instead of the snack variety as they add oils and salts. I also do pecans instead of walnuts because they are less fatty... You could also try to do the raw nuts, and roast them yourself, I have seen several people suggest it (although I have not tried it yet).
  • simplyeater
    simplyeater Posts: 270 Member
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    I think the better question is how much protein do you really need? If you are eating a wide variety of plant-based foods and consuming at least 1200 net calories a day, then you should be getting enough protein to fuel your body's needs. Never met an American vegetarian or vegan who was medically diagnosed with a protein deficiency. There is plenty of reading material online about protein RDA's and it varies widely depending on the source, but chances are you need less than you think you do. Also read about the symptoms of protein deficiency. They are pretty hard to miss. Your doctor can run a test to see if you really are protein deficient.
  • aoney
    aoney Posts: 16 Member
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    I have some of the same issues. No meat due to issues with my gut. I doesn't digest meat proteins fully which causes all sorts of issues. I also have food intolerance to about 15 other main foods like lactose and potatoes.
    I would love to also get some good food ideas for protein.
  • aoney
    aoney Posts: 16 Member
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    I don't eat any meat or fish but I eat like a million egg whites a day. Yesterday I had 1.5 cups of egg whites. It's 100% protein.

    How do you cook just egg whites? Just looking for ideas.
  • bec_232
    bec_232 Posts: 32 Member
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    Tofu is yummy if cooked right. My son loves it.

    Have you ever looked into Vega One Products? www.myvega.com - it's 100% plant-based

    They have a large amount of vegan protein products to choose from. The protein used: Pea protein, flax seed protein, SaviSeed™ (sacha inchi) protein, sprouted whole grain brown rice protein, hemp seed protein. They have smoothie mixes, all-in-one mixes, savi seeds and bars.

    I'm not a vegetarian but believe too much soy and meat is unhealthy so I use their products often in my smoothies. The tropical smoothie is so good!
  • harleenarang
    harleenarang Posts: 174 Member
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    I am a meat eater but only - chicken, eggs, fish. Not many meats. But my vegetarian sister is a dietitian and runs a weight loss centre. She told me some simple ways to get in proteins from vegetarian choices.

    1) Yogurt - You all had fruit flavored yogurts but try this savory one and you will fall in love.
    Add fine chopped red onion, tomato (seeded), cucumber to the plain fat free yogurt. Season with salt, pepper, chopped mint leaves and roasted cumin (not cumin powder - very important). You can make up a big bowl and it will last you a couple of days. If you don't like fresh mint (though i have not seen anyone who doesn't like that) add chopped cilantro.

    2) Lentils - Though its a Mediterranean or Asian thing to eat lentils everyday - it gives you a big boost of proteins from vegetarian diet. If you want to know recipes how to cook lentils that taste yummy as a meal size soup - you can message me and i will send the recipe.

    3) Beans - I mean Garbanzo beans, kidney beans, etc. I do have a very simple (masala) recipe that you can make and keep in the refrigerator for upto 10 days and you can use that for all your lentils and beans.

    4) Tofu, Paneer, Low fat cheeses,etc.

    Hope you guys like the suggestions. :)
  • ChristineH1001
    ChristineH1001 Posts: 65
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    My diary is open, I am plant based and am close to meeting my requirement most days. Take a peak if you like. Beans, Tofu, Edamame, Seitan, Quinoa .....lots of good things out there.
  • redraidergirl2009
    redraidergirl2009 Posts: 2,560 Member
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    So are you feeling bad or something and what do you consider "low daily protein"? I say if you feel fine its not an issue if pure getting 50 grams or 90...
  • aldousmom
    aldousmom Posts: 382 Member
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    I don't have any health problems that require a high protein diet, so I'm not sure I can offer any suggestions on where to get an excessive amount.

    If you want to add meat or dairy to your diet and you don't see any problems with it (morally, health wise, or whatever), I'm not sure what your question is? If you don't want to eat the animal products because of ethics or you're concerned with preventing lifestyle diseases, you might want to avail yourself of the (numerous) books on the topic. The PCRM ( http://www.pcrm.org/ ) has a website that answers health and nutrition questions regarding obtaining proper nutrition without animal products, if Furhman wasn't thorough enough (I can't recall how deeply he delves into specific nutrients)

    good luck with solving your problem!
  • RunReadEat
    RunReadEat Posts: 37 Member
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    A stir-fried Quinoa bowl with toasted walnuts, sauteed kale, scallions, garlic, chilies, and pineapple.

    This sounds delicious!

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