Vegan Protein?!

jbibla1
jbibla1 Posts: 2 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi all! I have been a vegan for the past 2 years and vegetarian prior for 8! I have always been an intuitive eater and have provided my body with natural food sources including high amounts of veg and fruit! Recently I have been strength training and have been working on the best possible diet with protein as a main goal! What are some of your favorite plant based proteins?

Replies

  • ericadcruz32
    ericadcruz32 Posts: 48 Member
    Hi, I'm Erica and I've been a vegetarian for 25 years (2+ of which were vegan). I am raising 2 children who have never had meat (girl, 14 years old - vegetarian / boy, 11 y.o. - vegan). We have to be super careful that we get enough protein and pay attention to the sources it comes from as well. My first goal with my son who went vegan 2 years ago was to swap Rice for Quinoa and then I recommend just eating plenty of dried beans, lentils, nuts like almonds or pistachios, seeds, and tofu. I do eat the processed vegetarian meat alternatives, but I just can't resist and it can keep the meals a little more interesting for my kids. I would look into what the vegan athletes and body builders eat because there are a ton of them! You don't want to hit their calorie goals I'm sure (lol!) but you can get an idea of how the mainly source their proteins since you're doing strength training. I usually go over my protein goals that MFP gives me, but since reducing my calories I'm not eating quite the same things at nowhere near the same quantities as before...so I'm afraid my diary won't help too much! I'm just trying to lose and survive! haha. I don't know f you do eggs or are straight vegan but you can get 6g protein from 1. I eat one literally every day for breakfast.
    Feel free to friend me! I'm new here.

    Erica
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Beans, tofu, tempeh, and seitan are my favorites. I also like hemp or rice protein powders and mock meats made with pea protein.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    ericadcruz32 wrote: »
    Hi, I'm Erica and I've been a vegetarian for 25 years (2+ of which were vegan). I am raising 2 children who have never had meat (girl, 14 years old - vegetarian / boy, 11 y.o. - vegan). We have to be super careful that we get enough protein and pay attention to the sources it comes from as well. My first goal with my son who went vegan 2 years ago was to swap Rice for Quinoa and then I recommend just eating plenty of dried beans, lentils, nuts like almonds or pistachios, seeds, and tofu. I do eat the processed vegetarian meat alternatives, but I just can't resist and it can keep the meals a little more interesting for my kids. I would look into what the vegan athletes and body builders eat because there are a ton of them! You don't want to hit their calorie goals I'm sure (lol!) but you can get an idea of how the mainly source their proteins since you're doing strength training. I usually go over my protein goals that MFP gives me, but since reducing my calories I'm not eating quite the same things at nowhere near the same quantities as before...so I'm afraid my diary won't help too much! I'm just trying to lose and survive! haha. I don't know f you do eggs or are straight vegan but you can get 6g protein from 1. I eat one literally every day for breakfast.
    Feel free to friend me! I'm new here.

    Erica

    OP has been vegan for two years, which means eggs aren't an option.
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
    My favourites are lentils, chickpeas, black beans, tofu and seitan. I also like nut butters but they're a lot more calorie dense so a bit more limited in terms of the amount I have!
  • jbibla1
    jbibla1 Posts: 2 Member
    Chickpeas for the win!!!
    HeidiMightyRawr wrote: »
    My favourites are lentils, chickpeas, black beans, tofu and seitan. I also like nut butters but they're a lot more calorie dense so a bit more limited in terms of the amount I have!

  • ekaterinagorbacheva
    ekaterinagorbacheva Posts: 1 Member
    Vegan bodybuilders load up on tofu, seitan and protein powder - rice or hemp. Lupini beans, buckwheat

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