vegan foods

mmiiaagg
mmiiaagg Posts: 1 Member
i’m going vegan, and having a tough time finding foods that are high in protein, but doesn’t taste like straight grass. what r some good foods that r tasty?

Replies

  • littlegreenparrot1
    littlegreenparrot1 Posts: 694 Member
    The internet is your friend, there are many blogs, sites etc full of vegan recipes, have a look around and see what you fancy.

    It's tricky, because of course I have no idea what you will find tasty, bear in mind it might take a while to get used to not having some flavours as well.

    Look up Indian recipes, many curries with lentils or chickpeas. Falafels, make a chili with beans.
    Smoked tofu.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,950 Member
    Oh! And another quick, cheap, easy, protein packed, and absolutely mouth watering treat I have every night is a frozen banana blended with a tblsp of nut butter and a sprinkle of cocoa powder. I am a recovering ice cream addict, and this hits the spot almost as good as a pint of Chunky Monkey :tongue:

    6 grams of protein is probably not going to fit most people's definition of "protein-packed" (1.6 g of protein in an extra large banana + 3.5 g of protein in a tablespoon of nut butter + 1 g of protein in a full tablespoon of cocoa powder, which is probably more than most people would describe as a "sprinkle").


    OP, beans/legumes (lentils, peas, and beans of all types) and legume-based products (soy milk, tofu), tempeh, seitan, Quorn -- which is made from a fungus protein -- and plant-based protein powders are going to be your best options for foods that are high in protein. The good news is that beans, lentils, tofu, tempeh, and seitan are not strongly flavored themselves and tend to take on the flavors of whatever you cook or marinate them with. Most national and regional cuisines have dishes that include legumes, so you can explore those for spice/seasoning/flavor profiles you enjoy. And pretty much any soupy/stewy/saucy chicken recipe can be adapted for either whole legumes, tofu, tempeh, or seitan. You can substitute meatless "crumbles" (generally made from TVP -- texturized vegetable protein -- or soy, but there are probably other types) in dishes that call for ground meat or ground poultry (aka mince). There are plenty of plant-based "chick'n" patties, "chick'n" nuggets, "burgers," "sausages," "hot dogs," and sliced deli "meats" to try, if that's your thing, but read the labels, because the amount of protein can vary greatly from one product to another.

    Round out your protein sources with grains (FYI quinoa is a complete protein), nuts, and seeds, but bear in mind that nuts and seeds are generally high in fat, and thus calorie dense, so you may need to be careful of serving sizes.

    If you think all those things "taste like straight grass," then maybe a vegan diet isn't for you.

    While some green vegetable are reasonable high in protein for their calorie counts, you will have to eat mountains of them if you're going to rely mainly on them as your protein source.
  • joannie92
    joannie92 Posts: 82 Member
    Jackfruit! Can be shredded like pull pork, look up a recipe for it (I don't have one u fortunately). Just made a vegan curry from it and LOVED it
  • linclass123
    linclass123 Posts: 7 Member
    I use tvp ( textured vegetable protein) in recipes, virtually no fat and very high in protein, I don't eat meat so I substitute this in a few recipes 🙂
  • georgieamber2
    georgieamber2 Posts: 229 Member
    I easy make 40g+ meals:) don’t be afraid to eat big!

    1) 2 wraps with 90g meat free mince, 20g cooked lentils mixed with the mince, 100g frozen peas, 100g red kidney beans, fajita season mix (all these in a non-stick frying pan so no oil is needed). Fill up the wrap with this, tenderstem broccoli, nut butter thinned with water/ lemon juice salt and pepper to make a sort of sauce and nutritional yeast. Any filling I can’t fit I just eat alone:)

    2) pasta sauces are a really good option for hiding protein in. Try to use red lentil pasta and just cook for a bit longer than instructed so it has the same texture as normal pasta. Make your own sauces by blending tofu with roasted veggies (like red pepper, onion and garlic or butternut squash and garlic or boiled cauliflower and garlic - makes Alfredo sauce!) and thin the sauces with high protein soy milk. Or blend the tofu with pesto and soy milk for a higher fat choice. Transfer to a pan and add quorn vegan peices or meat substitutes and peas.
  • lisajaneking13
    lisajaneking13 Posts: 1 Member
    Hemp seeds are an awesome source of protein and nutrition plus they’re super versatile and delicious! Also adding flax seeds with them to sauces create a thickness that is superb! Just add a couple tablespoons of each at the end of cooking. You can sprinkle hemp seeds on anything.. pizza, rice, noodles, alll the foods!
  • 88142855mfp
    88142855mfp Posts: 4 Member
    i went vegan recently also! and had the same problem! try baking/sauté some tofu on your salad, with black beans, vegan daiya cheese, avocado, chickpeas, and balsamic dressing! thats a good lunch or dinner. a good breakfast is non-dairy coconut yogurt with nut butter, and berries, you can also use maple syrup to sweeten! or oats with banana and nut butter! you can also make protein granola at home! oats are very versatile and very yummy! lots of people find oats boring, but theres many recipes! a youtuber name maddie lymbarner has an ebook with tons of vegan recipes and she also does videos on her channel or what she eats in a day, i recommend!
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,899 Member
    edited June 2019
    Beans, lentils, pulses, tofu, tempeh. You can supplement those higher protein sources with nuts and seeds and foods like whole grains and a whole variety of vegetables that don't have that much on their own but can add up.

    You can get higher protein pastas made with lentils or chickpeas or the like too.
  • melfle2010
    melfle2010 Posts: 1 Member
    Banza pasta. For a snack, roast chickpeas in the oven or air fryer with a small amount of oil and your favorite seasonings.
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,154 Member
    Lots of good options. Tofu, tempeh, seitan, and textured vegetable protein are all great basics for cooking. There are also all kinds of pre-made protein sources out there. I've been vegetarian for over a decade, and my diary is open if you want to poke around for ideas.
  • kapjag
    kapjag Posts: 1 Member
    Pumpkin seeds are packed with protein. I make a lunch salad that gets around 30 g of protein. Here is the recipe: 2 oz. baby spinach, 2 oz. chopped kale, 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, 1/4 cup dried cra-raisins, 2 small mandarin oranges, 6 cherry tomatoes, 1 tbsp tahini mixed with water, lemon juice, salt and pepper as dressing. You can also add other protein of choice like tempeh, baked tofu etc.
  • Godswordministries
    Godswordministries Posts: 23 Member
    This site not only lists 49 vege proteins but gives 3 recipes for each one.

    https://theecoguide.org/vegetarian-proteins?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIi4eZ49D-4gIVBcpkCh1IxgHzEAAYAiAAEgIzIfD_BwE
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,950 Member
    kapjag wrote: »
    Pumpkin seeds are packed with protein. I make a lunch salad that gets around 30 g of protein. Here is the recipe: 2 oz. baby spinach, 2 oz. chopped kale, 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, 1/4 cup dried cra-raisins, 2 small mandarin oranges, 6 cherry tomatoes, 1 tbsp tahini mixed with water, lemon juice, salt and pepper as dressing. You can also add other protein of choice like tempeh, baked tofu etc.

    You should double check the data entries you are using. No way that salad has 30 g of protein, unless you're including protein from unspecified amounts of the optional proteins (tempeh, tofu, etc.). As described, it's more less than 20 g of protein.