Getting enough protein

JackiBurkhardt · November 2015

I am a pescatarian - sort of. I usually get all of my protein from plant based sources and eggs from my own happy chickens. When I go out to eat, I will eat fish if there is no other option. I am having trouble eating enough protein without going over my carb allowance for the day. Even when I add in fish once a day, I am still struggling. You have to eat a lot of rice and beans to get 60 grams of protein a day! Help anyone?

Michael190lbs · November 2015

You are a human that requires protein and fat adjust your diet accordingly and get passed Labeling your diet with some trendy name. Try Shrimp, more fish etc I can't imagine not eating steak??

My 2 cents

jgnatca · November 2015

Difficulty comes with your diet choices. It is easier if you add protein to every meal, every snack. So an egg at breakfast. Tuna with lunch. Edamame for snacks. Then you can afford the higher carb option of beans for dinner.

SideSteel · November 2015

Eat more eggs and more fish.

steph2strong · November 2015

Add a protein powder into your diet, if you don't want a whey based one there are tons of great plant based protein powders and bars (VegaOne and Warrior). Do you eat dairy? Cottage cheese and greek yogurt are excellent source of protein.

paulinemacca · November 2015

I am the same. Have been vegetarian most of my life and just started eating fish. I've been on a high protein diet, set by my trainer, for 2 weeks now. I struggle to keep carbs under control and I'm SICK of eggs, cottage cheese & high protein yoghurt.

Let me know if you find any solutions.

becgraceevemaggie · November 2015

I sympathise. I have been trying to up my protein whilst lowering carbs and fat with mixed results. It's incredible the amount of fish, dairy and pulses that I need to get to approximately 30% of my daily calories. I'm sure it just takes practice though and it is interesting too! I was trying to eat more nuts but not sure they are that high in protein considering their fat content.
Keep practicing!

cerise_noir · November 2015

Legumes and beans.
Tofu
Eggs
Greek yogurt
Protein shakes.
Peas
Seeds
Nuts
Nut butters
Mozzarella cheese
Quinoa
Tempeh
Oats
Hummus
Brown rice

No need to lower fat unless you have a medical reason to do so.

steph2strong · November 2015

There's also tons of "meat alternative" products out there... Yves Veggie Cuisine has a ton of products and recipes to use them (meatless chicken and beef strips, veggie ground, lunch "meats", hotdogs, burgers, pepperoni, bacon, etc etc). Morning star is another company with all sorts of products. Tofu is great too. You can add it to stir fry, scrambles, shakes and baked goods, skewer on kabobs and marinade.

jgnatca · November 2015

JackiBurkhardt · November 2015

Thanks for all the great suggestions. This really is a learning adventure.

JackiBurkhardt · November 2015

I had no idea tempeh was so high in protein!

distinctlybeautiful · November 2015

I'm a vegetarian. I eat dairy to get my protein. My staples are Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and whey protein mixed with milk. By lunch most days I easily hit my 100 gram protein goal without coming even close to my carb and fat goals.

distinctlybeautiful · November 2015

Dairy is also a complete protein!

JackiBurkhardt · November 2015

Doing much better having added cottage cheese and protein powder. I found a protein powder I like at the Vitamin Shop called Raw Protein. Instead of drinking it as a shake, I have been adding it to oatmeal for breakfast.

keepitcroosh · December 2015

Dymatize iso 100 in gourmet chocolate is so good and has lots of protein! Without lots of cals, sugar etc

Oflamez · December 2015

simple - eat more fish and sea food, tofu, and buy protein shakes made from plant sources - like Soy shakes.

becgraceevemaggie · December 2015

I don't know if you can get it where you live Jackiebukhard, but I've discovered the joys and high protein content of icelandic skyr. It is available in UK too.

chelsea7162 · December 2015

JackiBurkhardt wrote: »

I am a pescatarian - sort of. I usually get all of my protein from plant based sources and eggs from my own happy chickens. When I go out to eat, I will eat fish if there is no other option. I am having trouble eating enough protein without going over my carb allowance for the day. Even when I add in fish once a day, I am still struggling. You have to eat a lot of rice and beans to get 60 grams of protein a day! Help anyone?

chelsea7162 · December 2015

I'm a vegan and I manage to get 80+ grams a day! If you have no problems with soy, you can try drinking more soy milk. One cup has 7g, it's a great way to get more protein if you don't mind the taste. You can try Gardien brand meatless meat, I quite enjoy the crumble and the "turkey" which are both high in protein and isn't too expensive for a meat replacement. It's available in the frozen section if you're curious. Tofu is fantastic, try different methods of cooking it. One of my favourite meals is a coconut cream pasta sauce (coconut cream plus vegan beef bullion as well as salt and pepper to taste) with black bean pasta (loaded with protein, you should try it) and tofu that's been pan fried after being marinaded in a mixture of soy sauce, a strong vegetarian broth of your choice, and some pomegranate juice.

mbaker566 · December 2015

jgnatca wrote: »

oh you beat me

Nutbutt24 · December 2015

To add to the list above. if you can find and want to take the time to make. Look for Lupini beans. They have 26 grams of protein per 1 cup. 197 calories and only 16 grams of Carbs

AnnPT77 · December 2015

I'm ovo-lacto vegetarian (have been for 40+ years (not a typo) and typically get 75-100g protein daily. Others have made lots of great suggestions for specific foods. What I'd like to add is more a way of thinking about your way of eating. This would be to put you over the top, in addition to getting those "big" protein sources in a good spot.

Take a look at your diary for a few days, especially items that are (relatively) calorie-contributing, but have no protein. Are there other alternatives to those foods that are equally tasty & satisfying, but include at least some protein?

Examples: Thicken a sauce or soup with pureed white beans, dress a salad with a homemade yogurt-based dressing, eat crunchy chickpeas or dry-roasted soybeans instead of chip/cracker kinds of snacks, find breads or pastas that have a little more protein, put seeds or nuts on salad instead of croutons, substitute vegetables with a little protein (cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, asparagus, spinach, green peas, more) for veggies with less or no protein. I could go on and on.

If you were to look at my diary (open to friends only, by intention), you'd find relatively few items that contribute significant calories, but zero protein. These tend to be vegetable sources, so lower quality, but quite varied so one can hope the amino acids balance out.

And let me be explicit: I'm *not* suggesting eating things you don't like. (I mostly don't like fake meat products, or protein powder, so I mostly don't eat them.) Life is too short to eat yuck. I'm suggesting finding things you *do* like, across all categories of food in your day, that contribute a bit more protein. It's surprising how a gram here and 5 grams there add up.

Also, if you haven't reviewed it, this thread has an excellent resource (has animal & non-animal sources): List of foods with highest Protein Calorie Percentage

Getting enough protein

Replies

Categories