Vegan Diet & Nutrition

Here's the problem: you're eating some silly "toxin flush" instead of real food. Find a protein shake that's made out of soy protein. Eat almond or other nut butters. Mycoprotein (mushroom protein, usually the brand Quorn) is fantastic!

Please eat real food and not just coffee and some silly other beverage. I'm vegetarian, not vegan, so its not quite as difficult (I have whey, cheese, etc) for me, but its much easier (and more filling) if you eat real food.

i'm not currently vegan, but was for many years and am moving back towards it. some good protein sources i use--

steel cut oats (1/4 cup) - 7 grams (soon to be doubled to 14)
garbanzo beans (chick peas) - 7 grams
lots of greens + tomatoes - 8 grams
fake meats - 17 grams (this is processed, though)

however, i also eat a protein bar (usually a clif builder bar) and drink a protein shake. though i'm changing up my style soon, and you may want to look into other powders.

for example, I just bought (but haven't tried) Omega Nutrition Pumpkin Protein powder... it's supposed mix well and be flavorless (not chalky). while i understand you might not like the ones you've tried, some are truly terrible but you might be able to find one you like.

I actively avoid soy protein powders because it's too easy to get too much soy.

Get a real meal in during breakfast, for starters. You have space for an extra opportunity to take in more there.

As for sources: beans and lentils, seitan has a bunch, tofu, edamame, there is almond milk with more protein, seeds and nuts for starters.

Also, while it's great to get a bunch of fruits in each day, you can get a lot of fruit, vegetable, and protein in during lunch for fewer calories. I see that you drink it throughout the day, but if that is the case you should have that sort of thing *in addition* to a good balanced lunch.

This site: http://nutritiondata.self.com/ can be very handy. It has a tool where you can search by nutrient and what food type you want to search in. You can use it to find higher protein veggie foods to mix into your diet.

Also, snack on seitan! You can make your own.

add lots of dark greens like kale, collards, spinach. if you ever do decide to do protein shakes i would suggest staying away from soy and do Sun Warrior raw protein powder (the chocolate one is best). Beans are really good and so are nuts and seeds and nut butters.
I enjoy juicing myself and I agree that fresh juices can help with certain ailments so you don't need to give those up. I would try to stay away from processed "vegan" products. In all actuality they aren't really that good for you. Quinoa and hemp seeds are also super good. Hope that helps

Have you checked out "Cooking With The Vegan Zombie" or "Vegan Black Metal Chef" on youtube yet? I get a heap of recipes (and laughs) between them.

Hi there,

I've been vegetarian my whole life and recently went vegan, about 3 weeks. I cut out the milk and replaced it with almond milk, and cut out the cheese, and replaced it with nothing. I quite miss the cheese, but some people on here have recommended some excellent sources of protein already:

Chick Peas
Beans (of any kind are usually great!) - I usually make vegan chilli with them, and I'll be trying to make black bean burger later this week, and let you know how it goes.
Vegetables - You'd be surprised how much protein is actually in a lot of vegetables. By consuming vegetables like broccoli (or brussel sprouts, because I've noticed that if people don't like one, they like the other, and they're nutritionally equivalent,) asparagus, and cauliflower, you could get a lot more protein in during the day. If you want to you could add broccoli to your juice or even soybeans/edamame, if you like those.

I make homemade smoothies because I find it easier to get my daily recommended amount of fruits. I don't add sugar, I just blend the fruit and almond milk every morning, and I love them. It's the easiest way to consume fruits in my opinion. I would juice, but honestly you get so little juice from so much fruit that I prefer to make smoothies. (living life on a budget isn't easy, haha)

Let's see those are all the tips I have, but yes other excellent sources have been mentioned, such as the hummus and the beans. Quinoa is an excellent source of protein! (Tempeh and seitan too actually. You should check out some local vegan restaurants and see if they offer cooking classes, especially classes about "cooking with wheat protein." I think a lot of us vegans would recommend beans.

I don't consume protein powders either, but I've been considering doing so, and I found this website:

http://www.peta.org/living/vegetarian-living/pump-up-your-workouts-with-vegan-protein-powder.aspx

If you decide to try them. If not, then no need, but if it makes you feel better the sources of these are all real life protein sources, such as the hemp!

Also, I agree with the post above me! You could blend Udo's oil into your smoothie to make sure you're getting those omega-3s. He get's them straight from the plant source!

http://udoerasmus.com/products/oil_blend_DHA_en.htm

Also, if you plan to do p90x, you will need energy, which unfortunately comes from carbohydrates. Try adding more complex carbs to your diet! Good luck!

Good luck!

This content has been removed.

Pls be careful. I am a nurse, and 99% of vegans are not healthy. They take forever to heal from surgeries, and often have problems with their iron levels. Also the best "toxin flush" is called water (in adequate amounts, not copious amounts). Your kidney and liver remove "toxins" from your body very effectively, no special diet or powder/pill required. "detox" formulas are a sham. Pls don't waste your hard earned money on that stuff.

I'm not a nurse, but I was vegan for over a decade and know tons of healthy ones. Not only do I heal fast when injured, I never get sick. I haven't even had a cold. Please don't pull numbers like 99% out of thin air, that's just as made up as if I gave you a %. I'm actually moving back towards being vegan now, because I feel much healthier/zoned in both mentally and physically vegan than not.

Check out a blog called FatFree Vegan Kitchen. She has awesome recipes with nutritional values. My son's girlfriend is vegan and I use this website to help me create meals that the whole family will love when they come over. My son's girlfriend is a long distance outdoor swimmer so she is very conscious of her nutrition and has always been very pleased with what I've made for her.

It really is a good idea to calculate the calories and especially the sugar in your juice. It sounds like the juice you are making is really high in sugar. If your goal is only 46 g of sugar daily, your juice exceeds that. I looked it up and 1/2 pineapple has 8 g, 4 small green apples has 44 g of sugar. That is 52 g of sugar and I haven't added in the veggies, which do have a little sugar. You might want to steer clear from juicing fruits with a high glycemic index like pineapple and really reduce the amount of fruit in your juice. Maybe just add only one green apple.

I would say move your juices to snacks and have a meal for breakfast and lunch. Invest in a couple of vegan cookbooks. I just got appetite for reduction and it has all the nutritional info for the recipes and they aren't hard to find processed ingredients. Also consider a protein shakes, yes Its sonetimes gross If you dribk it plaib but the trick is to mix it with fruit or something. I add a banana and sometimes pb2 powder or blueberries and spinach. I use a soy one, but there are many vegan ones also free of soy like vega and raw meal. I didn't see any muscle or strength gains until I upped ly protein to over 80. I used to eat as much protein you do now.

How is something 495 calories but has no carbs, fat, or protein? What's it made of?