Not enough protein?

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tithed
tithed Posts: 11 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hey guys, I have been doing this for about 3 weeks now. I feel pretty good, but I'm worried I'm not getting enough protein. I am a pescatarian, but 95% vegetarian now , and I do accasionally eat egg whites just to help boost it up but I would prefer to eliminate it all together. My goal is vegan ism. Do, I'm getting around 20 grams of protein when I don't eat fish. Any suggestions? I believe I'm supposed to be getting around 45 grams for my weight.

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  • mscheftg
    mscheftg Posts: 485 Member
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    So find non-animal proteins. Kale, nuts, chickpeas, some beans.

    Are you avoiding dairy, as well? I know you said your goal is to be vegan, so I would assume that's not part of your diet... otherwise I would recommend greek yogurt.
  • schandler1011
    schandler1011 Posts: 83 Member
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    Not trying to push anything on you, just the program I use has dairy free protein shakes that are vegetarian/vegan. If you'd like to message me I can send you the info to that.
  • tithed
    tithed Posts: 11 Member
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    I am avoiding dairy, I have been lactose intolerant since I was a kid. Protein shakes are sooooo delicious but I find myself wanting to eat even after using them. Is that just a stage I'm going through or what? I used to eat low fat cottage cheese for the protein but the pain isn't worth it now. =/
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    tofu, edamame, lentils, legumes, nuts...
  • Josalinn
    Josalinn Posts: 1,066 Member
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    tofu and soy milk are the first things that come to my mind.

    Quick google search and I found this http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/protein.php
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    If you skip the fruits and breads, you can fit in soy beans (68 grams of protein in one cup raw ), black beans, pinto beans, chick peas, lentils, almonds, chia seeds, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, tofu, baby lima beans, sun dried tomatoes, sprouts, green peas, corn, kale, broccoli, mushrooms, spinach, collard greens, mustard greens, broccoli, yellow squash, zucchini, soy milk.
    A good powder: Nutribiotic Organic Rice Protein. They have it in chocolate too.
    The trick to not being hungry after drinking a protein drink is to put a lot of greens in it and either flax, chia, or hemp seeds. For example my drink yesterday was this: soy milk (almond milk is o.k. but soy has much more protein), rice protein powder, one or two table spoons of regular hemp seeds, one apple and a few baby carrots, as much Romaine lettuce as would fit in the container, and some more soy milk to top it off.
  • ungeneric
    ungeneric Posts: 60 Member
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    I am not a vegan, but I dated a vegetarian for a few years, so here's what I got:

    There are vegan protein bars and shakes, made mostly from soy as I understand it. Googling "vegan protein bars" gave me this: http://www.vegancoach.com/health-food-bars.html Might want to keep a few of those on-hand for days where you are way under your protein and are closing in on your calories, like when you're out and about and have to eat somewhere that doesn't have good vegan food options.

    You could also add unflavored vegan protein powder to existing meals, like this one, to add some extra protein if you don't like taking supplements: http://www.swansonvitamins.com/now-foods-pea-protein-powder-2-lbs-pwdr#label

    You should be able to get most (or all) of your protein from food, though. The stuff people recommended upthread -- beans, legumes, nuts, etc -- is all good. Even as a carnivore I get a lot of my protein from beans. My best advice to you is that if you are having trouble getting enough of a nutrient, make sure that everything you eat contains that nutrient. If protein is your problem, then don't eat anything unless it has at least a little protein -- this will help you build a habit of getting enough protein from a variety of different sources, since otherwise you would go mad from monotony.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    tofu, edamame, lentils, legumes, nuts...
    That's my answer. Edamame is also a nutritional powerhouse, packing in a great deal of vitamins and minerals with the protein. :)
  • br3adman
    br3adman Posts: 284 Member
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    Sardines or octapus have lots of protein. Almonds is the highest protein nut.
  • ungeneric
    ungeneric Posts: 60 Member
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    br3adman wrote: »
    Sardines or octapus have lots of protein.
    Unfortunately, sardines and octopi are not vegan. Even if they were vegan sardines!

  • tithed
    tithed Posts: 11 Member
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    RodaRose wrote: »
    If you skip the fruits and breads, you can fit in soy beans (68 grams of protein in one cup raw ), black beans, pinto beans, chick peas, lentils, almonds, chia seeds, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, tofu, baby lima beans, sun dried tomatoes, sprouts, green peas, corn, kale, broccoli, mushrooms, spinach, collard greens, mustard greens, broccoli, yellow squash, zucchini, soy milk.
    A good powder: Nutribiotic Organic Rice Protein. They have it in chocolate too.
    The trick to not being hungry after drinking a protein drink is to put a lot of greens in it and either flax, chia, or hemp seeds. For example my drink yesterday was this: soy milk (almond milk is o.k. but soy has much more protein), rice protein powder, one or two table spoons of regular hemp seeds, one apple and a few baby carrots, as much Romaine lettuce as would fit in the container, and some more soy milk to top it off.

    Okay, wow. Your shake sounds freaking amazing! I'll go check out the rice protein and give shakes a try. I wasn't aware such a thing existed... Rice protein. They usually use whey and stuff for that. Awesome suggestions guys!
  • tithed
    tithed Posts: 11 Member
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    Ever tried pea protein powder in a shake? For 20bucks though, you can't really go wrong. Even if you just sprinkle some in when cooking.
  • ffbrown25
    ffbrown25 Posts: 110 Member
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    I'm a vegetarian, and for the past couple of weeks I've been really boosting my protein. Here are some things I've learned...

    Pea protein powder is expensive, soy is chalky, and hemp is good but filling due to the fiber. You can add tempeh to basically any meal and up its protein by like 20 grams. You can do the same with black beans for +10 grams of protein. Shakes with Greek yogurt and protein powder are INDISPENSABLE. If you are trying to go full vegan, look for yogurt that's made with almond milk instead of dairy milk. They also make Greek yogurt with coconut milk. Add beans and nuts to salads. Carry a protein bar at all times. You can sprinkle nutritional yeast over anything for an extra protein kick (especially if you use it instead of salt!).

    I am ALWAYS thinking about protein now. I hate it and love it.
  • FoxyLifter
    FoxyLifter Posts: 965 Member
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    Hemp protein is a good source.

    Also, Body Nutrition sells a vegan protein powder called Gardenia that is tasty.
  • ffbrown25
    ffbrown25 Posts: 110 Member
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    Oh, also, if you're usually hungry after a protein shake, eat a salad with it! My FAVORITE meal now is a chocolate nut protein shake (half vanilla soy protein powder and half vanilla hemp, vanilla Greek yogurt, chocolate PB2, almond milk, one scoop almond butter, a little raw unsweetened coco powder, stevia) aaaaand a salad with mixed chopped veggies, balsamic dressing, salsa and lentils. It is SO filling and good.

    Writing it out, that meal sounds really complicated, but it's easy to find prepped chopped veggies at the grocery store. And dumping everything into my Magic Bullet blender takes like two seconds. It's much easier than it sounds! :)

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