Protein - Ideas and advice please!

do you eat fish or eggs? fish, eggs and dairy are where i get most of my protein from, and every now and then a protein bar.

cazzcampbell wrote: »

Hi all - I'm not new to MFP but this is a fairly new account after rejoining a couple of months ago as I wanted a fresh start. I've got a complicated history with diet (in the broad and restrictive sense) but I seem to have found a good balance and now the lbs are coming down, albeit slowly but I'm okay with that.

I'm now at a point where I'm feeling okay about my calories and where they're at but something that I really need to work on is my protein intake. Since going vegetarian-ish (as in, I cook 99% veggie at home but will eat meat if we order or eat out) my protein is lower than I'd like because it's not something I've looked at so much. I looked at the James Smith Academy calculator, which suggested that for good fat loss I should aim for 196g a day which is never going to happen but I would like to aim for 100g plus a day I think.

I'm going to look into seitan, which is meant to be a great source of protein, and work on increasing things like greek yoghurt and cottage cheese but a lot of other things like nuts, seeds, avocado etc are high in protein but really high in calories too so they're only good to have in moderate amounts. So any suggestions, advice or tips welcome, particularly for good breakfast ideas!

Thanks in advance.

I'm not familiar with the James Smith Academy calculator but 196 g seems really excessive and 100 g far more reasonable.

What do you get here?

https://examine.com/nutrition/protein-intake-calculator/

I shoot for @ 500 calories of exercise per day, and when I do, using the MFP default of 20% protein aligns with the protein recommendation from examine. If I were completely sedentary, I'd need to bump it up to 30%.

It's better to consider nuts, seeds, avocado, etc. sources of fat rather than protein

For breakfast, do you eat eggs? People also bump up their protein at breakfast by adding protein powder or Greek yogurt to foods.

I would add a hard-boiled egg to your diet (if possible...I know you said you are somewhat vegetarian).

Otherwise adding PB2 to foods is a good idea as well.

Not vegetarian, but using Greek yogurt and cottage cheese in my smoothies and desserts helps bump my protein up quite a bit. I was making kefir and using it in smoothies, and to bake with. It made amazing fluffy, light baked goods, but I couldn’t keep up with production.

I’ve been adding Bob’s Red Mill unflavored whey powder and extra eggs to my pancakes.

I'm a self-proclaimed "Goddess of Seitan"--my bbq "fibs" have made confirmed omnivores moan in delight. But it's not necessarily a low cal option, so be careful :-)

@AnnPT77 has a great tip about "one big protein" and finding ways to add "little proteins" other ways.

One of my faves is making salad dressing or "creamy" simmer sauces with hummus or silken tofu as a base (I don't dairy so yogurt is out for me).

I'm also big on nutritional yeast, which adds a cheesiness to oatmeal and veggie casseroles, and can produce a passable queso with plenty of tomatoes, serrano peppers and cilantro.

And like @ehju0901, I keep PB2 peanut butter powder on hand-- which I add to veggie stirfries and salads with soy sauce and maybe some ginger garlic paste for a southeast Asian satay vibe.

In the dairy family, skyr yogurt is a great option too. I put protein powder into my skyr with some fruit which gives me 35 grams of protein for 200 to 300 calories.

cazzcampbell wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

I'm vegetarian (ovo lacto), 5'5", 125-ish pounds (in weight maintenance now). I have a protein minimum of 100g, which I hit the overwhelming majority of days, and exceed very often. I'm a believer in the "0.6-0.8g per pound of healthy goal bodyweight" rule of thumb for protein minimum, which is roughly equivalent to 0.8-1g per pound of lean body mass, for quite a range of people (but most of us don't have a good body fat/lean mass estimate, so it's easier to math out based on healthy goal bodyweight).

The link @Lietchi gave you is super-helpful: You'll just want to scroll down past the meat/fish heavy top of the list, to find more plant-based options. They're there.

For protein amounts, here's some more food for thought, from a source generally considered neutral, evidence based (they don't sell supplements; they sell research, but offer some for free):

https://examine.com/guides/protein-intake/
https://examine.com/nutrition/protein-intake-calculator/

My guidance to newer vegetarians (from my perspective of having been veg for 47+ years now) is to continue getting that "one big protein per meal" thing that omnivores do. That'd be your tofu, tempeh, seitan, legumes, bean/pea/soy pasta, some faux meats (watch out: not all are protein/calorie efficient!), etc. . . . or calorie-efficient dairy (nonfat Greek yogurt, lowfat cottage cheese, a few other cheeses, nonfat milk, etc.) , or eggs.

In addition to that, think about getting at least a little bit of protein in almost any other thing you eat. There are veggies with more protein, even fruits with a little protein, nuts/seeds to add crunch instead of croutons, snack foods with protein (dry-roasted soybeans, crispy chickpeas or broad beans, bean chips, frozen Greek yogurt bars, etc.), and so forth.

Look at your food diary, note foods that have quite a few calories, but not much protein. Are they foods you could reduce or eliminate and still get other good nutrition, feel full and happy? If so, cut some calories there, add in something you enjoy eating that has a little more protein. Across the day, those small amounts add up. Keep reviewing, keep tweaking your eating, before you know it, you'll have your protein levels where you want them, eating vegetarian foods primarily, if that's what you prefer.

Based on your method, I should aim for 170g of protein a day. It feels like quite a lot but it's something that I could try and work up to, although I'm not sure I'd get quite that high as that's around 35-40% of my calorie intake. I've set it at 30% for now, which is 143g which is still going to take a bit of planning and working up to.

I think my issue is a bit like you've said, I don't know that I always have a big protein thing per meal. Some meals, at least my main evening meal, but not always and I could do with working on those and additional sources of protein a bit more.

Your tips are really helpful, thank you.

A couple of specific things I like, that are reasonably high protein meals (or a big chunk of a meal):

Smoked tofu, lowfat mozzarella, thin-sliced onions, mustard on small Ezekiel tortilla, heated in microwave to melt the cheese a bit, then add raw sauerkraut. (Around 350 calories, 26g protein.)

Edamame pasta, peanut sauce (PB2 + soy sauce + a mild vinegar, optionally other spices/seasonings or some chile sauce), stir-fried or stir-steamed veggies of choice. (Calories depend on the the veggies, but excluding veggies, it's about 260 calories, 31g protein. Something like bok choi would add volume with few calories; green beans or peas would add a bit more protein.)

Both of the above are pretty high-sodium, which isn't a problem for me. If it is for you, then something like a vinaigrette coleslaw on the tortilla instead of sauerkraut, and a swap-out of the soy sauce on the pasta, would take it down a lot.

I mentioned bean pastas in passing in my PP, but if you haven't explored those, you may find them helpful. The chickpea and red lentil pastas I've tried have a flavor/texture more like wheat pasta (especially the red lentil ones), but around 13g protein per 2 oz dry portion, substantially more than wheat pasta. There's also chickpea "rice" (really an orzo-shape pasta, but labelled "rice"). The edamame or black bean pastas I've tried are either chewier than wheat, or (in the case of larger black bean shapes like penne) kind of mushier textured. I don't care for the larger black bean types, except in soup/stew, but you might like them better than I do. While I enjoy the chickpea or lentil pastas in Italian-like sauces/preparations, or in mac'n'cheese, I don't enjoy the edamame or black bean ones that way. IMO, though, the chewier edamame or black bean pastas in thin shapes (spaghetti, fettuccine) are good in pseudo-Asian-styled dishes, like the peanut sauce idea above.

I don't like protein powder or protein bars, so don't use them. (I don't think there's anything wrong with them in theory, I just don't personally find them tasty/satisfying). I also don't much care for faux meats, so don't usually eat those, either.

I do eat a lot of dairy (some regular cheese, but also some reduced fat types in certain contexts, like lowfat string cheese as a snack; nonfat milk; lowfat cottage cheese; some of the more calorie-efficient cheeses like chevre, parmesan (not genuine parmesan if avoiding animal rennet, but there are some parmesan-style cheeses made with vegetarian enzymes instead); and in my case really a lot of nonfat Greek yogurt.) Greek yogurt can be used as a sour cream sub in some cases (like a dab on a taco, tostada, bowl of hearty soup/stew), as a basis for a cold soup (fruit or cucumber are especially good IMO), as a component of home-made salad dressing, mixed into smoothies, used to top oatmeal or protein pancakes, etc. I don't personally eat lots of eggs, though I like them. As a generality, it seems like goat cheeses are a little more calorie/protein efficient than cow cheeses.

I'm not a big pancake person, but the Kodiak mixes are tasty and high protein, if you like pancakes or waffles. (They have protein powder in them). A serving of those with nonfat Greek yogurt and some fruit is protein-rich and tasty. For a little more sweetness, I might mix some blackstrap molasses with the yogurt - it's an added sugar, but a good brand also adds a meaningful amount of micronutrients like potassium and iron.

rosebarnalice wrote: »

I'm a self-proclaimed "Goddess of Seitan"--my bbq "fibs" have made confirmed omnivores moan in delight. But it's not necessarily a low cal option, so be careful :-)

@AnnPT77 has a great tip about "one big protein" and finding ways to add "little proteins" other ways.

One of my faves is making salad dressing or "creamy" simmer sauces with hummus or silken tofu as a base (I don't dairy so yogurt is out for me).

I'm also big on nutritional yeast, which adds a cheesiness to oatmeal and veggie casseroles, and can produce a passable queso with plenty of tomatoes, serrano peppers and cilantro.

And like @ehju0901, I keep PB2 peanut butter powder on hand-- which I add to veggie stirfries and salads with soy sauce and maybe some ginger garlic paste for a southeast Asian satay vibe.

@rosebarnalice: recipe, please!

I find it hard to get in alot of protein too and Im not vegetarian lol My goal is 130g I usually have a shake a day post workout and I like mixing greek yogurt and cottage cheese for my afternoon snack and sometimes ill have a protein bar if im low on protein. Try protein cereal and theres protein granola you can add to your greek yogurt.

Salt4Stone wrote: »

Cover Everything in Peanut Butter!!

Great fat source, lackluster protein source, in calorie efficiency terms, IMVO** . . . unfortunately, because it's yummy.

My fave peanut butter: 190 calories, 8g protein, so 23.75 calories per protein gram.

I figure 10 calories (from all macros) is a calorie-efficient vegetarian protein source, 20-30ish calories per protein gram may be reasonable for a complete food/meal (sandwich, stir-fry, soup, casserole, whatever).

That's just a personal rule of thumb . . . but I'll assert that there are darned few food (not supplement) sources much better than 10 total calories per protein gram.

** In my vegetarian opinion

JennBona wrote: »

I find it hard to get in alot of protein too and Im not vegetarian lol My goal is 130g I usually have a shake a day post workout and I like mixing greek yogurt and cottage cheese for my afternoon snack and sometimes ill have a protein bar if im low on protein. Try protein cereal and theres protein granola you can add to your greek yogurt.

I see no mention of lean meat, which is a more efficient source of protein for omnivores