Vegans and Protein.

amandanilo
amandanilo Posts: 62 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hello!

I've been vegetarian since about 1998 at the age of 13. I didn't do it for ethical reasons because at that age, I really didn't get it. The thought of eating flesh just grossed me out! I relied heavily on pasta, pizza, veg based soups, salads, cheese sticks, fries, etc. Basically all fatty carbs (except the salad and soup). This is why I am heavy! I never learned how to eat correctly without meat in my diet. Of course, this was way before veganism and vegetarianism became so popular and known, so my parents had no idea what to do with me haha

Well, here I am. I am 28 and about 50-60lbs overweight. I started eating white fish (mahi mahi, haddock, cod, tilapia) in 2007ish, while living in FL, where I became really bored with my food choices. I loved it! Mahi Mahi is my all time favorite. However, I really don't eat it too often because it's either not available here in MA, or I just don't want to eat it every day so I just buy it once in a while.

I don't eat dairy very often, either. I am trying to steer clear of it when possible. I do enjoy greek yogurt and sometimes I'll have organic cheese sprinkled on a bean taco or something. However, I think I could live without it.

QUESTION: I have NO idea what to make for lunch/dinner that is packed with protein!! I don't mean protein powders. I have that for breakfast. I'm talking about a full meal. Actual food. SUGGESTIONS???

ALSO - I don't know how many grams of protein I even need!

* Let me stop you non-veggies now by saying, no, I am not going to start eating chicken. Let it go. *

Replies

  • CitizenXVIII
    CitizenXVIII Posts: 117 Member
    Nothing wrong with being a veggie. Just harder to get protein the less animal products you eat. Fat-free Greek yogurt is gold, in my opinion. You can add to it and make it anything you want. Good spoon of apple butter or fresh/frozen fruit and you have a nice sweet snack. Add spices or powdered ranch/onion soup and you have a great veggie dip.

    Eggs are great, I have two as part of my breakfast every morning. They come from my chickens, so I may be biased on eggs.

    Nuts and beans are most of your vegan choices. Soybeans are great, but I wouldn't go overboard on soy products, they can mess up hormone production in excessive quantities.

    As for how much, you really need to get protein about every time you eat. It should be your second-highest consumed macronutrient: carbs-protein-fats.
  • rivka_m
    rivka_m Posts: 1,007 Member
    I feel like I'm pushing seitan every time I post, but I really do love it as a lean source of protein. And you can dig around on the internet for a recipe and make your own - it's basically pure wheat protein mixed with seasonings and steamed or simmered for an hour or so. The recipe I use comes out a lot like a small loaf of lunchmeat, texture-wise, so it works really well for sandwiches.

    I also eat a fair amount of lentils and veggie burgers. Morningstar Farms has a vegan one now, I think most Boca ones are vegan as well. If you're good in the kitchen you can make your own.

    I love soy curls but I haven't tried them since I've been back here counting calories... not sure how big a serving I'll get
  • thriftdiving
    thriftdiving Posts: 11 Member
    I've been a vegetarian for 14 years and I usually go OVER my protein since I've been tracking here on MFP. I do the veggie "meats" and at this very moment, I'm munching on walnuts. We also do chickpeas, black beans, veggies, etc. Quinoa is also really great to eat, too, for protein!
  • salembambi
    salembambi Posts: 5,585 Member
    beans,nuts&seeds,quinoa,lentils,seitan,tempeh,tofu
  • LB2812
    LB2812 Posts: 158 Member
    Ha yes! Vegetarian does not automatically equal skinny... still have to learn to make good choices :) Working on that myself! I personally rely on eggs, tofu and beans the most. I have soy "fake" meats here and there but try not to make a habit of it. Lentils. Seitan. Nuts. Beans, beans and more beans :P

    Chili is a wonderful, high protein, easy veggie meal. You can make it however you want! I usually throw a 2-3 cans of different beans in the crockpot along with tomatos, peppers, onion, spices, etc. mix in whatever other veggies you want. I have a tofu scramble for breakfast almost every morning. I like lentils with veggies seasoned with graham masala (it's an indian spice mix) over rice. You can mash up chickpeas and make them like you would make a tuna salad. You could also make your own burgers - lots of bean based burger recipes out there!

    I think there's some calculator out there for how much protein you actually need. I want to say half of what your weight is? That's about what it works out to for me anyway... I do best when I get 60-70 grams and I weigh 135ish... I also am not active though, that would of course alter things too.
  • daffodilsoup
    daffodilsoup Posts: 1,972 Member
    Oh man, welcome to the beautiful world of plant-based protein!

    I love meals that center around one of my "big three" - tofu, tempeh, or seitan.

    Tofu: As long as you learn how to give it a little love before putting it on your plate, tofu is amazing. Wrap extra firm in a tea towel and place a heavy book or two on top of it. Let it hang out for 30-60 minutes and squeeze the water out. Marinate in your favorite sauce (soy sauce, orange juice, italian dressing, whatever), pat dry and cook in a cast iron pan until crispy and brown on the outside. Or, cut into smallish rectangles, spray pressed pieces with cooking spray, roll in bread crumbs or cornmeal and bake in the oven to make nuggets! Serve with baked sweet potato fries and BBQ sauce.

    Tempeh: I always like Trader Joe's organic 3-grain. This is fabulous cubed and tossed into stir-fries, but I also like to crumble and mix in a big bowl with vegan mayo, diced celery and a little mustard to make tempeh salad! Super nutritious, filling, and awesome on bread or over greens. Amaze your family, dazzle your friends.

    Seitan: This is a super meaty, super high in protein food - it's good in pretty much everything. You can buy expensive pre-made seitan in the store, but it's very easy to make at home with vital wheat gluten, water and spices. I love it sliced and stir-fried, but I also whizz it up in my Vitamix to make ground beef crumbles (hello chili, wheatballs, etc) or form it into burgers and bake. This is a meat lover's vegan protein. I'm drooling just thinking about it.

    There's other good sources of vegan protein that you can use as smaller "building blocks" to get the protein count of the full meal a little higher - broccoli and cabbage have lots of protein per calorie, and nutritional yeast provides a cheesy flavor, B12, and tons of protein! It's a win-win-win.

    Feel free to PM with questions or concerns! I hope you give being vegan a shot - it's a wonderful way to live!
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    The general recommendation for protein/day is 0.8-1g per lb of LBM. Making up numbers: if you weigh 150lbs and have 25% body fat, you have 112.5lbs of LBM and would want 90-112.5g of protein daily.

    You mentioned fish, but do you eat dairy and eggs as well? Cottage cheese, milk, greek yogurt, kefir, eggs, nut butters and soy are all good sources of veggie protein. (Make sure to check the nutrition information on fake meats, since some are good sources of protein and some aren't. Just because a product functions as a meat within the context of a meal, it doesn't necessarily contain the same nutritional profile).

    The key is to prioritize protein and build your meals around your protein source. I've been a vegetarian since I was 11 and have been averaging 130g of veggie protein daily. Feel free to look through my diary if you'd like.
  • Miss_XVX
    Miss_XVX Posts: 8 Member
    beans,nuts&seeds,quinoa,lentils,seitan,tempeh,tofu

    This.

    The average protein requirement for women can be calculated with following equation:

    0.8 g (= 0,028 oz?) protein x your bodyweight = your protein requirement per day

    At least that's what's recommend in Germany.

    It might be off topic: But as you eat fish, why do you consider yourself a vegetarian?
  • saralentz
    saralentz Posts: 3
    Beans
    Nuts
    Seeds
    Quinoa
    Lentils
    are all wonderful, but watch your serving sizes! 15 Almonds = about 100 Calories.

    Seitan
    Tempeh
    and Tofu
    are also wonderful, but this is where things can start to get over processed

    Be very wary of any of the vegan substitutes sold in big chain grocers, some of them are PACKED with sodium/preservatives. Which at that point, they are really not doing your body very good for the amount of Protein they give you. My best suggestion is to get creative and make things yourself. I love making Baked Felafels

    Also I have found the Vega Protein Smoothies to be an awesome addition to my morning, it packs 15g of Protein to 80 Calories.
  • amandanilo
    amandanilo Posts: 62 Member
    beans,nuts&seeds,quinoa,lentils,seitan,tempeh,tofu


    It might be off topic: But as you eat fish, why do you consider yourself a vegetarian?

    Thank you!
    Well I'm no longer vegetarian. I mentioned how I started eating fish after about 2007. I am asking for suggestions of plant based proteins because I only eat fish maybe 2-4 times a month. Not enough to get the proper amount of protein every day. I generally eat vegetarian. I also mentioned vegan in the subject because I don't generally eat dairy either. However, if I say 'pescetarian', I'll get suggestions based mostly around fish and dairy, which I rarely eat so I didnt want to do that. Just saying vegan, I get suggestions free of meat and dairy!
  • amandanilo
    amandanilo Posts: 62 Member
    The general recommendation for protein/day is 0.8-1g per lb of LBM. Making up numbers: if you weigh 150lbs and have 25% body fat, you have 112.5lbs of LBM and would want 90-112.5g of protein daily.

    You mentioned fish, but do you eat dairy and eggs as well? Cottage cheese, milk, greek yogurt, kefir, eggs, nut butters and soy are all good sources of veggie protein. (Make sure to check the nutrition information on fake meats, since some are good sources of protein and some aren't. Just because a product functions as a meat within the context of a meal, it doesn't necessarily contain the same nutritional profile).

    The key is to prioritize protein and build your meals around your protein source. I've been a vegetarian since I was 11 and have been averaging 130g of veggie protein daily. Feel free to look through my diary if you'd like.

    This was very helpful, thank you! I don't do much dairy, only Greek yogurt. I also don't do eggs unless they're already in something I'll eat. I'm so weird...

    Id love to check out your diary. Thank you!
  • sherambler
    sherambler Posts: 303 Member
    I turned vegetarian in 7th or 8th grade. I'm 26 now, and the same exact thing happened to me. I didn't know what to eat...fast forward to 170 lbs later....

    Some of the things I make that i really enjoy...

    Lunch:
    lentil soup (super filling, good protein)

    mock tuna salad (take some drained chick peas, mash them up--makes it flaky like tuna, mix with lite miracle whip or mayo, diced fresh onion or celery, sprinkle in dill to taster--the dill is what give it that fish taste, and sprad in a pita or top on a salad.

    i switched from romaine lettuce to kale, more vitamins and more calcium and iron (important for vegetarians to get lots of iron and calcium)

    make sandwiches with tofurky sliced turkey, ham, or bologna, use avocado or hummus instead of mayo for extra nutrients, a dash more protein, and

    Dinner:

    I make seitan at the beginning of the week. the box of vital wheat gluten is usually found in the organic baking aisle of the grocery store. find directions online. it's pretty much set it and forget it. I cube it up and put in soups, stews, crumb it and bake it, saute it, or marinade it. you can basically do anything with it like you would any other meat product. And it really takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it with. it takes some experimenting but it's super cheap...like 2.99 a box which makes 6 "steaks". my boyfriend puts it in the food processor with a special attachment and makes like a pulled pork with it.

    I use a lot of beans--mix chick peas in a stir fry, make chick pea burgers, three bean chili.

    i hope this helps.
  • Robin628
    Robin628 Posts: 102 Member
    Don't stress too much over your protein intake. I suspect those calculators promote too much protein intake. Humans really only need about 10% of their calorie intake to be protein, and that requirement really doesn't change with increased physical activity. Most people in the US consume 3X that amount which puts unnecessary stress on your liver, kidneys, heart... pretty much everything. So as long as your diet includes a wide variety of whole foods (like vegetables, nuts, legumes, grains ) and products made from them (soy/almond milk, tofu, tempeh, seitan) you are going to meet your body's needs.

    That being said, I feel your pain. I am not a huge fan of tofu or tempeh myself, so it can get hard to be creative and continually mix things up. I find adding beans and legumes to everything a great way to get both protein and fiber in my diet. Lentils, chickpeas, beans (white, black, pinto, kidney, etc) are great in all kinds of salads , soups, stews, pasta dishes, rice bowls. Nuts are great in a pinch too - I did the 15 almonds snack myself earlier today. I add walnuts to my oatmeal, cashews to my stir fry. Just pick a vegetable food high in protein you like and then search for recipes that include it.

    Currently I am obsessed with the "big" bowl idea - you pick a grain, a green (and any other veg you like), and a bean (legume and any other "protein" like tofu). You can change up the flavors however you like with sauces and such. If you pre-cook the grain or use on of those frozen bags of brown rice, you have a meal in literally minutes.
  • Happy_Niss
    Happy_Niss Posts: 95 Member
    I was vegan for a year on-and-off and had absolutely no problem getting protein. Usually I got it from nuts and certain veggies high in protein. Beans are also good. Snacks were usually my go-to for protein rather than full meals.
  • cavewoman15
    cavewoman15 Posts: 278 Member
    i'm not vegetarian perse, but i'm very close. as a triathlete, i have to watch my protein intake. i try to hit 100 grams a day. beans, quinoa, greek yogurt are my main suggestions, and i'll add chia seeds to the mix. i put two tablespoons in my morning smoothie. almonds and pistachios are great snacks. i'm not crazy about tofu, but haven't tried the other 'meat' substitutes. i also recently discovered wild rice, which has some protein and is delicious, but a little expensive (still cheaper than meat!).
  • veganbettie
    veganbettie Posts: 701 Member
    Seitan. Any time I eat Seitan I got over my protein. And it's easy to make. and cheap.

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