Vegetarian protein boosters - Hemp hearts and Chia seeds

naturalpsychol103
naturalpsychol103 Posts: 4 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm vegetarian, my daily avg protein intake is on the lower border for my weight, about 67g. I was looking for protein supplement foods. Hemp hearts and Chia seeds daily are a healthy supplement. I alternate, hemp hearts one day, chia seeds the next. Hemp hearts seem to have a little more protein per calorie. These are the highest of the seed family in protein.

Put them in yogurt and salads, smoothies, one or two tablespoons a day.

I bought Nutiva Chia seeds on Amazon.com - much less expensive than Whole Food Store. Also, Manitoba Harvest hemp hearts. Canada seems to be the place through which U.S. gets their hemp hearts (seeds). Great protein supplements, low calorie. 80 calories of chia seeds have 7g of protein. Hemp hearts a little more I think.

Any ideas?

Replies

  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
    edited December 2017
    Google Holy Crap cereal. It’s a mix of hemp, chia and other goodness made in Canada, and available on Amazon. It’s not cheap, but it’s fantastic,
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,752 Member
    If you want something to bump up protein, why not look in to a protein powder - WPI is likely to give you the best protein to calorie ratio but you could look in to plant based powders too. They are great stirred in to yoghurt or added to smoothies, I also make protein pancakes regularly.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    I found nutritional data on the two foods here:
    http://www.care2.com/greenliving/chia-seeds-vs-hemp-seeds-which-are-healthier.html

    Chia seeds have less protein than hemp seeds.

    I would have to eat 20 tablespoons of hemp seeds reach my daily protein goal (100 grams) from it.

    Just an observation.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Are you looking for ways to use them? I sometimes put hemp hearts in oatmeal. Chia puddings are tasty if you want to experiment with desserts. (They aren't great sources of protein for the calories, IMO, kind of like nuts and seeds in general, but are good for you in other ways and add a bit of a protein boost.)
  • litoria
    litoria Posts: 239 Member
    Not sure if it's available in the U.S., but have you tried Quorn? It's a mycoprotein that is really low in calories and (in my opinion) tastes delicious
  • tiffaninghs
    tiffaninghs Posts: 200 Member
    litoria wrote: »
    Not sure if it's available in the U.S., but have you tried Quorn? It's a mycoprotein that is really low in calories and (in my opinion) tastes delicious

    love that and yes we hav it here in the states!!
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
    Siggi's Icelandic yogurt. 75 delicious grams of protein for breakfast.
  • lolliopopsnrainbows
    lolliopopsnrainbows Posts: 101 Member
    I wouldn't want to depend on it as my sole protein source (for the cost if nothing else!), but I've used the Garden of Life Raw products before (they're vegan) and liked them. I've also used pea and hemp protein powders in the past in smoothies - though they are a rather stronger flavour! Is 67g/day your usual protein intake before trying to bump it up with hemp and/or chia seeds?
  • naturalpsychol103
    naturalpsychol103 Posts: 4 Member
    All these ideas were great. Awesome. Who knew Siggi's yogurt had double the protein of Chobani! Here we go: 1. Holy Crap cereal from Canada, about $8. US - not too expensive 2. WPI protein powder 3. Hemp seeds have more protein than Chia seeds, good source of Iron - Chia seeds have other benefits, both have a lot of fat. 4. Nuts (almonds good source of protein). Hemp in oatmeal. 5. Quorn 6. Siggi's Icleandic yogurt 6. Garden of Life Raw products. I upped my protein from an average of 67 with just a regular diet - which is the minimum for male at my weight, to about 80, so doing a little better with that. Great suggestions!!! Thank you.
  • OceanAddict
    OceanAddict Posts: 55 Member
    I don't use much in the way of milk products, (not to mention I find greek yogurt disgusting), so I struggle with protein too. So far I've been taking the easy way out and snacking on protein bars. And that's even after making sure to have beans, nuts, or soy at every meal.
    I am hoping that once I reach maintenance the protein requirements won't be so high.

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