Question for Vegans and Vegetarians regarding protein
lizzie6580
Posts: 8 Member
Hello all, I am vegetarian working toward veganism... I eat vegan 100% at home, but have issues eating out... I am getting there. :-) Anyway, I have a question for both vegetarians and vegans... I am looking for high protein foods. I am one of those crazy people who sincerely hates beans. I don't like them in any form, all I taste is chalk. I saw a nutritionist and she couldn't understand why a vegetarian wouldn't like beans. So, I am looking for foods that you all use to increase your protein intake on a regular basis. I should say that I use nuts, nut butters, soy, cereals, and any/all vegetables with protein (I LOVE veggies), and I have found that I like lentils. I did find one spinach hummus at the whole foods market that I liked, but I generally don't like hummus either. Short of using supplements, what sorts of foods do you use?
I am not looking for an argument on the merits of being/not being vegan/vegetarian. Just looking for a friendly conversation.
I am not looking for an argument on the merits of being/not being vegan/vegetarian. Just looking for a friendly conversation.
0
Replies
-
-
as I use cheese, eggs and beans I guess i'm not much help LOL sorry. but i'm following for ideas0
-
why go veg/vegan if you don't like beans? or is it for ethical reasons? you've basically listed the main sources of protein yourself so i'm not sure what else to tell you besides googling things haha but you could just use protein powder and i believe many vegans cook with nutritional yeast in a lot of recipes for b12 and protein.. other than that fortified oats/cereals and the like are your best bet along with seeds/nut butters and lots of veggies.0
-
Seitan, tofu and tempeh are probably the best sources. Check out my diary if you want; might be some other stuff in there.0
-
Have you investigated all the beans that are out there? I've mostly hated beans, especially the big fleshy white ones, but I also like lentils - maybe you'd like other beans I enjoy (if we like the same flavour/texture family)? I'd vouch for black beans and aduki beans, which have a real nutty flavour and I think are tougher than e.g. those pasty broadbeans. Maybe it's partly because they're small, as well, so there's less 'flesh' and more skin? (not a vegetarian, i just also really like lentils).
Anything wrong with doing a lot of things with different kinds of lentils, or related legumes like split peas?0 -
lizzie6580 wrote: »Hello all, I am vegetarian working toward veganism... I eat vegan 100% at home, but have issues eating out... I am getting there. :-) Anyway, I have a question for both vegetarians and vegans... I am looking for high protein foods. I am one of those crazy people who sincerely hates beans. I don't like them in any form, all I taste is chalk. I saw a nutritionist and she couldn't understand why a vegetarian wouldn't like beans. So, I am looking for foods that you all use to increase your protein intake on a regular basis. I should say that I use nuts, nut butters, soy, cereals, and any/all vegetables with protein (I LOVE veggies), and I have found that I like lentils. I did find one spinach hummus at the whole foods market that I liked, but I generally don't like hummus either. Short of using supplements, what sorts of foods do you use?
I am not looking for an argument on the merits of being/not being vegan/vegetarian. Just looking for a friendly conversation.
But soy is a bean, so I'm confused. If there is some form of soy that you like (what are you talking about, soy milk? soy-based burgers and other faux meat products? soy grits or flour? soy protein powder?), maybe you could work from there, look for similar forms or other beans in that form? If you haven't tried soy milk, that could be a whole different texture for you to try. Have you tried edamame (the "shelly" stage of soy beans)? That seems like a different texture from beans at the dried stage.
Have you tried tofu or tempeh? Some people find the texture of tofu more acceptable if they press the water out (wrap in cheesecloth or a clean dish towel, place in colander or strainer, and put a plate or other weight on top), freeze it, bake it, or broil it.
As someone else said, you can do a lot with lentils. You can probably do pretty much anything with lentils that you do with beans. I used to eat lentil "chili" (a stew with onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, cumin, garlic, and chili powder) regularly as a financially limited grad student. In more recent years, I found a crunchy snack food made with what seem to be dehydrated cooked lentils, called Perfect Snaque.
Have you tried chick peas (aka garbanzo beans or ceci)? To me they have a somewhat different texture from most other beans.
Also, for canned beans, different brands (and different varieties of beans) may be more thoroughly cooked. Beans that are properly cooked should have an almost creamy texture. If you cook your own from dried beans, try to get them from a place that has a high turnover so they won't be old, and soak them until when you cut into one, it looks the same all the way through (that is, there isn't still a hard dry core that the water hasn't penetrated). Then cook thoroughly until they reach a texture you like.
Have you tried seitan (made from wheat gluten)?
Anyway, for a vegan, there aren't a lot of "high protein" foods other than bean products, if by high protein you mean a food that will give you 20 grams or more of protein in what most people would consider a single serving, without providing so many carb and fat grams along with it that you'll probably have problems staying within your calorie goal (assuming you're either trying to lose or maintain weight). There are non-bean vegan protein powders (e.g., pea, hemp, rice). If powders don't appeal, you're probably going to have to meet your protein goal by eating a lot of grains, veggies, and nut products. I'm not vegan, but I do have lots of days when I don't eat meat or eggs, and little or no dairy, and on those days I sometimes eat 400 calories or more of nuts and nut butter and find that without the fat from meat or dairy, nuts fit into my goals just fine.0 -
Protien sources, boca burgers, tofu, tvp... Soy protien powder.0
-
Nutritional yeast and quinoa are good.0
-
If you roast chickpeas in the oven, then they end up with a nuttier texture. It's very good!0
-
Sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds. Green leafy vegetables like Swiss Chard and Spinach and Collards.
It's ok to live on lentils. Maybe experiment with different types of lentils:
http://ohmyveggies.com/a-comprehensive-guide-to-lentils/http://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-brown-gre-1111390 -
We eat lentils, tvp, seitan, chia, spirulina, kale, split peas, along with a whole variety of beans both canned and dried........ honestly on the days I don't eat the typical protein heavy hitters, I get almost enough for the day with all the fruits and veggies I eat.0
-
www.revmodo.com/organic-food/8-plant-foods-that-contain-complete-proteins-for-vegans/
Found this not too long ago because I'm still wrapping my head around food combining and reading tons of stuff. I don't see any beans here, unless you count soy...0 -
you can check out my diary. Go for sprouted breads as well as all the stuff already listed.0
-
hi there! My main sources of protein are soy yoghurt, soy milk, tofu (here in the UK my favorite one is dragonfly marinated tofu) and chia seeds. Good luck! Going vegan 2 years ago has truely turned my health around, even before I started losing lots of weight.0
-
I'm no help... I prefer veal. Nothing like delicious, tender baby animal flesh.0
-
Seitan. It's amazing. and very high in protein.0
-
Points for seitan from here too! The most basic recipes are vital wheat gluten mixed with stock to form a dough and then simmered/boiled, but I find that makes a stodgy/spongy seitan. Cutting the VWG with a different type of flour (e.g gram) or a legume gets better texture
My standard seitan recipe probably wouldn't appeal as it contains a tin of mixed beans in a mild chilli tomato sauce, but it can be left out or subsituted for lentils/chickpeas.
I mix in mixed spices (just a bog standard all purpose seasoning) as well as the stock with a bit of coconut milk. Mix the wet ingredients with the dry and knead until elastic. Cut into chunks and simmer. I then oven bake to get a cripsy outer. Or the whole dough can be rolled into a fat sausage, wrapped in tin foil and baked.
I can post my full recipe if anyone is interested
p.s I was anti-beans for years, but am finding that the 'chalkyness' is less for me now, depending on which bean. I don't like beans in salads because I can still taste that chalkyness, but throw them in a sauce as in curry or pasta bake and I am happy - particulary if they are mixed types of beans. A whole portion of something like cannelini (which to me are chalk masquerading as a bean) would still make me gag, but mixed in with other types its fine.0 -
Well, beans can be disguised in for instanse brownies or bread otherwise, whole wheat breads, nuts and seeds, tofu, soy-milk, soy-yoghurt, green veggies. Basically most of the good foods contain lots of proteins!0
-
-
I have a few friends and family members that are vegan and they use a vegan protein shake. Not sure what the brand is - but I know there are several out there.
-0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.2K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.1K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 420 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.9K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.7K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.5K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions