Protein for a vegetarian?

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ashahl
ashahl Posts: 81
in Food and Nutrition
Does anyone have an example meal plan for a vegetarian that gets about roughly 190 grams of protein in? I find I can usually get about 80-100 grams in easily but never really above that. If anyone had anymore ideas that would be great :)

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  • ronjaa
    ronjaa Posts: 65
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    I am a vegetarian but have no problem with protein intake. I'm always over...
    you should eat spinach, beans, yogurts, milk, cheese (I eat cottage cheese), eggs and so..
    you can find proteins even in pasta and bread, they're everywhere lol
    or you can buy supplement.
  • wingchunrick
    wingchunrick Posts: 267 Member
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    Cottage cheese, quorn, lentils, green vegetables. You can get vegetarian whey protein as well. I've been veggie over 30 years so feel free to ask for advice or add as friend.
    Rick
  • ohthatmomma
    ohthatmomma Posts: 115
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    http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/protein.htm
  • jamiek89
    jamiek89 Posts: 105
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    Bump! My protein amount keeps increasing but Its still not at the levels I would like.
  • hyper_stitch
    hyper_stitch Posts: 180 Member
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    Not sure what you're eating? I've been a vegetarian for 17 years, I used to have a really poor carb heavy diet. As already mentioned you need to start working some good veggies in if you don't already, some eggs and cheese. I love cheese but always worried about the fat so have started eating the cheesestrings to help monitor it. Good luck x
  • ashahl
    ashahl Posts: 81
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    Yeah, I always went over my old protein requirements but I've recently increased my protein intake to 40% which is over 100 grams more than before. Maybe a supplement is the answer? I'm always so hesitant about going there because the selection is overwhelming and none of the locally sold products seem that natural or healthy :/
  • Grokette
    Grokette Posts: 3,330 Member
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    Hemp protein..............
  • VixFit2011
    VixFit2011 Posts: 663 Member
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    Hemp protein..............

    there's omegas in these. I've used a product that you sprinkle on things like salads or whatever you want.
  • sweet_lotus
    sweet_lotus Posts: 194 Member
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    You would probably have to go really heavy on the soy, gluten (seitan), high protein beans such as kidney beans, and vegetables.

    Seitan, for example, has 18g protein per 90 calories (from what I could find online), and tofu is about 10g protein per 100 calories, and kidney beans are about 7g per 100 calories. 2 tbl of soy nuts have about 11g of protein so that would be a good snack.

    So, if you eat a lot of tofu and beans with every meal (about 15-20g protein per meal, 60-80g protein for the day), and add 2 servings of seitan in every meal (that's about 36g protein per meal and 100g of protein for the day) and 1/4 cup of soy nuts for snack (20g of protein), you could do it. If you mix in lots of veg and high protein grain like quinoa, you could cut back on seitan.

    Hope that helps! good luck!
  • ellenangel
    ellenangel Posts: 106 Member
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    ^ I second the seitan! I limit soy products (I don't avoid but am wary of relying on them) so seitan is a great alternative- I like it better, to be honest!

    Other great sources:
    - greek yogurt (15g or so for a serving- I have this for breakfast and snacks all the time!)
    - eggs (egg white omelettes are low calorie and delicious- make a sweet one with cinnamon and jam, or savory filled with veg! Hard boiled egg whites are great stuffed with salsa or hummus for a snack, or thrown into a salad)
    - cottage cheese (I love this on baked sweet potatoes, slads in place of dressing, or with sweet stuff like granola)
    - Quorn- not sure what country you are in or availability, but the pieces are great for cooking, and in the UK there are a ton of ready-to-eat things like "ham" slices, "fajita chunks", etc which make great lunches.

    If you are in the UK, seitan isn't easily available but Marks and Spencers recently brought out a new range of vegetarian meat- the "soy strips" are half soy/half seitan and really good (also do mince which is 100% soy). Chinese supermarkets also have some cool seitan products in cans marked as "mock duck/chicken/etc".
  • VenusEnvy
    VenusEnvy Posts: 92 Member
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    I recommend this:

    http://allproscience.com/complete-veggie-protein.html
  • ashahl
    ashahl Posts: 81
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    Those are all such great suggestions! Thank you so much. Next time I go shopping I will be on the look out for greek yogurt, hemp seeds, and seitan (though i can NEVER find it, where do you guys usually get yours?).

    VenusEnvy - That looks great! I'm going to try and find this! Thank you =D
  • Grokette
    Grokette Posts: 3,330 Member
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    Hemp protein..............

    there's omegas in these. I've used a product that you sprinkle on things like salads or whatever you want.

    I use Nutiva Hemp Protein powder to make protein shakes. I also use Hemp seed granola on my greek yogurt.
  • sweet_lotus
    sweet_lotus Posts: 194 Member
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    Next time I go shopping I will be on the look out for greek yogurt, hemp seeds, and seitan (though i can NEVER find it, where do you guys usually get yours?).

    I don't eat a lot of seitan but when I do, I get it in the natural foods part of the grocery store. If you have a Whole Foods, they will have it, or ask at an asian market, you can buy it there. (Asian markets usually have better prices on other stuff too like sesame seeds, different kinds of bottled sauces, rice, etc. if you like to make asian meals they're definitely worth a shop!)

    I've also seen recipes for seitan on vegan sites, so if you like to cook it might be cheaper to make it yourself.

    I've never found hemp seeds locally, but, nutsonline.com has hulled and unhulled seeds and hemp protein powder. Their shipping price is expensive, but they ship fast and everything is pretty fresh.

    Hope that helps, too! Good luck!
  • ellenangel
    ellenangel Posts: 106 Member
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    Seitan Recipe:

    4 servings: about 130 cals each, 22g protein, 1g fat

    Ingredients:

    1 cup (120g) vital wheat gluten (Bob's Red Mills make a good one)
    3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
    1 teaspoon thyme
    1/4 cup soy sauce
    1/2 cup water or vegetable stock

    Directions:

    1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Mix gluten, nutritional yeast, and thyme together in a bowl.

    2. In a separate bowl, mix water or vegetable stock, soy sauce, and oil. I prefer to use water since the vegetable stock makes the gluten too salty for my taste.

    3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients evenly, and stir together making the ball of gluten. Knead for a few minutes. Dab any excess moisture from the gluten with a paper towel if you want to.

    4. Form the gluten into a cylindrical shape. Press down and with a sharp knife, cut the gluten into thin strips. Oil a cookie sheet, and place the strips on the cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, then flip them over and bake for an additional 3-5 minutes.

    Enjoy! You can eat them with ketchup, barbecue sauce, or any other vegan condiment, or add to stir-fries, sandwiches, etc.

    Preparation time: 20 minutes, Cooking time: 15 minutes
  • ellenangel
    ellenangel Posts: 106 Member
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    Another popular recipe is Chickpea Cutlets:

    Serves 4-
    Serving Size: 1 cutlet
    Calories 190

    • Total Fat 1.8g (Saturated Fat 0.5g)
    • Protein 20.0g
    • Total Carbohydrate 23g (Dietary Fiber 6g)

    1. 1 can chickpeas
    2. oil spray
    3. ½ cup (60g) vital wheat gluten
    4. 1/2 cup oats
    5. 1/4 cup veggie stock
    6. 2 tablespoons soy sauce
    7. 2 cloves garlic, crushed
    8. ½ teaspoon dried mixed herbs
    9. zest of ½ medium lemon (about ½ teaspoon)
    10. ½ teaspoon paprika
    11. shake of cayenne pepper

    Mash the chickpeas with a little of the liquid from can in a bowl until all chickpeas are smashed into a smoothish mixture. Add the remaining ingredients and mix till a smooth dough forms. Knead the dough for about 3 minutes, until gluten strings form. Divide the dough into four pieces and flatten them into patties, 1.5 cm thick (or thinner).

    Bake or fry them. For both golden crunch and health, the best option is to fry in a little oil for 2-3 minutes or til golden on both sides and then bake a further 15 minutes at 180 C to cook through.
  • schup21
    schup21 Posts: 2
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    There are many many high protein vegetarian options. Its a myth that vegetarians can't get enough protein...although it does require a bit more planning. http://VegetarianProteins.com is a site I frequent to find high protein snacks and supplements

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