Vegetarian/Dairy Free Protein

foxflakes
foxflakes Posts: 5 Member
edited December 4 in Food and Nutrition
I'm a lactose sensitive vegetarian, so naturally I have problems trying to make up my protein every day.
I eat at least a couple of eggs per day, and often some kind of soya based meat style food, but struggle to get my protein macro above 15% :(
I was wondering if anyone has any tips on how to lift protein intake without eating any animal products other than eggs?

Replies

  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    I do! I'll send you a link to a list i developed for myself and others (p.s. i'm also a lactose free vegetarian). I would share here, but since it's from MY blog it will get flagged as "advertising".

  • neldabg
    neldabg Posts: 1,452 Member
    edited October 2016
    If you have room and want a treat, Lenny & Larry's Compelete Cookie tastes really good.
    Otherwise, D's Naturals The No Cow Bar is a great option offering 20+ grams of protein for under 200 calories. I'm not vegetarian nor lactose intolerant myself, and I've tried many protein bars. The No Cow bar has a different texture than standard protein bars, a little gritty, but I personally love it.
    Lentils and beans are also pretty high in protein.
  • kathrynjean_
    kathrynjean_ Posts: 428 Member
    edited October 2016
    I'm sure @rainbowbow has got you covered with the list she'll send, but in my experience, the key is all about mixing different kinds of proteins in meals. For example, this week I made a big pot of spicy lentils and I've been eating them with tempeh. I made a chickpea salad to put in a wrap and I also mix in seitan.

    Adding some sort of protein shake can be a relatively low cal way to bump up your intake too.

    ETA: there is nothing wrong with those faux meats, and I eat them too. But I would just say that there are so many tasty (and easy to make and prepare) veggie based protein options that there is no need to eat only faux meats. Or, you can make your own with seitan!
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    I am not a vegetarian but I used to be.
    Eat less fruit. Eat a little less bread, pasta, rice too. Focus on vegetables that have more protein: kale, broccoli, yellow squash, cauliflower, bok choy, pumpkin, peas, green beans, pinto beans, black beans, soy beans, tofu, tempeh, soy milk, lentils, almonds, peanuts, hemp seeds, flax seeds, chia seeds, sunflower seeds, nut butters, sprouted grain bread (Ezekiel is a bread that comes to mind. There are others.)
    Here are some recipes:
    http://www.thegardengrazer.com/2014/12/50-awesome-vegan-black-bean-recipes.html
    http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/mediterranean-salad-with-crispy-chickpeas/
    http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/shaved-brussels-sprouts-salad-2/
    http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/pesto-spaghetti-squash/
  • littlechiaseed
    littlechiaseed Posts: 489 Member
    Yuck two eggs a day? Why? Dude just make a smoothie with protein powder for breakfast or a snack. Also look at your diet and see what you're eating. Can you post a typical day of what your diet looks like? So we can help you see where you can make changes.
  • bamwendo
    bamwendo Posts: 2 Member
    Add a meal of beans, make a smoothie with flax seeds, tvp to add to any meal, nuts (a handful will not make you fat), pumpkin seeds, try soy flour
  • sst036
    sst036 Posts: 58 Member
    I also am a lactose intolerant vegetarian (biopsy disaccharides showed 0 lactase enzymes lol), and I struggled like crazy to get my protein up to normal levels until my PT showed me a whey protein isolate (ISO-100 chocolate flavour) that didn't give me any issues because it's lactose and gluten free. So that's 25g of protein made with a cup of almond milk because I don't hate myself enough to use water, and I would have that and a cup of egg whites with some veggies for breakfast. That's a total of 50g of protein for 275 calories, 45% of my goal in one meal. Boom. Chickpeas and rice for lunch, high-protein tofu stir fry for dinner, and I'm at 90g of protein. Plus even though I'm lactose intolerant, I can handle a max of two lactose containing protein bars a day (special k cranberry ones are my bliss), so I normally hit the macro. If I don't, it's no big deal as long as I got my morning food in. Some is always better than none.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    I know you said no dairy products but hard cheeses have very little lactose and generally do not bother people who are lactose intolerance
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    edited October 2016
    I like lentils a lot. I also use Beyond Beef crumbles. I'm soy intolerant in addition to being lactose intolerant so they're one of the few brands of meat substitutes I can use. I can't eat their chicken stuff since it has soy, but it is tasty. I can still eat cottage cheese if I buy the Lactaid cottage cheese, though. I also drink Fairlife milk since it's lactose free. It has extra protein.
  • AndiJH
    AndiJH Posts: 84 Member
    If you're into protein, I'm obsessed with Aloha protein powder and bars. No dairy, no animal products, and really really delicious. I add to smoothies, make protein pancakes, make energy balls, add to oatmeal, and drink just with almond milk.
    Food wise, lentils are my jam! Also protein rich greens and veggies, almonds, mushrooms, cauliflower....love a good veggie stir fry with turmeric.
  • Chadxx
    Chadxx Posts: 1,199 Member
    I assume you are familiar with some vegetables actually having quite a bit of protein. As far as the eggs, switching to egg whites instead of whole eggs will up your protein.
  • flagrantavidity
    flagrantavidity Posts: 218 Member
    Soylent is Vegan, animal free, lactose-free, and nut-free. The latest powdered version, powder 1.6, has 45 percent lipids, 20 percent protein, and 35 percent low-glycemic carbohydrates. At 1.93 per 500 calories, it's very cost effectives. https://www.soylent.com/product/powder/
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
    Seitan (AKA "wheat meat" or "mock duck") is available pre-packaged but also is very easy to make. Even my devoted carnivore husband likes it. It's basically vital wheat gluten, water & flavorings. There are a bzillion youtube videos on how to make it and just as many different recipes. I flavored mine with porcini mushroom powder, garlic powder, onion powder, Penzey's Forward! spice mix, soy sauce and sesame oil.

  • Verity1111
    Verity1111 Posts: 3,309 Member
    edited October 2016
    If youre looking for simple the best prepackaged easy meat sub Ive found for protein are Lightlife smart dogs. That is going by calorie count in relation to protein. Some people like them and some hate them. My kid and I love them. Their italian sausage is great grilled or fried and so are the hot dogs.

    Smartdog Ingredients:
    Water, soy protein isolate, soybean oil, evaporated cane syrup, pea protein isolate, tapioca starch, salt, potassium chloride, bakers yeast extract, carrageenan, dried garlic, natural flavor (from plant sources), natural smoke flavor, xanthan gum, fermented rice flour, guar gum, oleoresin paprika (color).

    Only 50 calories each and 7g of protein each so if you could stomach them at all (even smothered with ketchup, mustard or chili...whatever your topping of choice) they are a quick and easy way to add protein. I eat 2 sometimes and its a quick 14g for only 100 calories. I just cover them in mustard which is pretty much calorie free. Im sure theyre not the healthiest but they are kosher and "Nongmo verified". They also sell "sausages" but theyre a bit higher calorie. As I said before, italian is my favorite :)

    The Gardein Seven Grain Crispy Tenders I buy also are decent. 100 calories for two, dairy free and 8g of protein for two small tenders. These are delicious. Even my picky 2 year old likes them.

    One other quick fix is to use extra egg whites. Instead of 2-3 eggs try making 1-2 eggs plus lots of egg whites. You can eat a lot more for less calories and get a lot more protein in your system at the same time. One egg is 60-70 calories and an egg white is only about 17 calories so you could have 3-4 whites instead of one more egg.

    Pasta has a lot of carbs but usually it is higher in protein than in fat and can also give a small boost.

    Im assuming you know the basics of beans/eggs/greens so I was just giving some other ideas. :) Good luck!
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    I used to use MLO vegetable protein powder (not flavored) or Spirutein (lots of flavors, but usually the natural vanilla). Now I use Quest. Quest is said to be lactose free because the whey protein isolate is highly-filtered, so nearly all of the lactose is filtered out. It definitely has more protein than the other brands I've tried before. Other than a powder, you can get more protein from other foods: Lentils, tofu, beans, quinoa, soy milk, peas, nutritional yeast, pumpkin seeds....lots of options.
  • SunflowerSandra
    SunflowerSandra Posts: 70 Member
    Have you ever had a tofu scramble? If you can find black salt, you can add it for the eggy flavour. I also really enjoy tofu scramble with sundried tomatoes, olives & feta (which I can eat without issue). Anything that adds flavour.
    I did a vegan challenge last year, highest protein meal I could come up with was a chili, with TVP. Using quinoa instead of rice ups the protein a little more, but I like rice more.
    Otherwise maybe some indian recipes? Lentil dahls and tofu curry type dishes?
  • SunflowerSandra
    SunflowerSandra Posts: 70 Member
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    I do! I'll send you a link to a list i developed for myself and others (p.s. i'm also a lactose free vegetarian). I would share here, but since it's from MY blog it will get flagged as "advertising".

    Could you send me that list too? :) I am looking at ways to limit animal consumption but still get that darn 100 grams of protein and haven't found a vegan protein powder that doesn't taste like dirt.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    SunflowerSandra wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    I do! I'll send you a link to a list i developed for myself and others (p.s. i'm also a lactose free vegetarian). I would share here, but since it's from MY blog it will get flagged as "advertising".

    Could you send me that list too? :) I am looking at ways to limit animal consumption but still get that darn 100 grams of protein and haven't found a vegan protein powder that doesn't taste like dirt.

    absolutely!
  • leosmith66
    leosmith66 Posts: 69 Member
    flagrantavidity wrote: »
    Soylent is Vegan, animal free, lactose-free, and nut-free. The latest powdered version, powder 1.6, has 45 percent lipids, 20 percent protein, and 35 percent low-glycemic carbohydrates. At 1.93 per 500 calories, it's very cost effectives. https://www.soylent.com/product/powder/

    What? I thought it was proven to be animal protein:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zAFA-hamZ0
  • AndiJH
    AndiJH Posts: 84 Member
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    SunflowerSandra wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    I do! I'll send you a link to a list i developed for myself and others (p.s. i'm also a lactose free vegetarian). I would share here, but since it's from MY blog it will get flagged as "advertising".

    Me as well? Always lookin for non-animal proteins, even though I'm not veg. Just enjoy eating clean proteins!
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