Vegetarian protein
carlaringuette
Posts: 158 Member
I know it's the age old question how do you increase your protein.
I'm not completely vegetarian yet only because of crazy schedule and picky eaters. Haven't got enough recipes that the whole family likes but I am working on it.
Looking at my macros and coming up short on the protein every day.
I put peanut butter on my apple, had an egg with breakfast and snack on these Pure Protein bars but still come up short. Eat lots of broccoli too.
Tips please.
I'm not completely vegetarian yet only because of crazy schedule and picky eaters. Haven't got enough recipes that the whole family likes but I am working on it.
Looking at my macros and coming up short on the protein every day.
I put peanut butter on my apple, had an egg with breakfast and snack on these Pure Protein bars but still come up short. Eat lots of broccoli too.
Tips please.
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Replies
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Low fat dairy like cottage cheese or greek yogurt can be helpful.
I often have a 2-egg omelet with vegetables for breakfast and will add cottage cheese or yogurt on the side for a boost.
Nuts and nut butters aren't that high in protein since they are so high fat -- people often think they are better protein sources than they are, although if you are mostly veg they will help. So will greens and many green veg, for few cals.
The highest protein options that are plant-based are going to be seitan, tofu and tempeh, and then beans and lentils generally.4 -
Low fat dairy like cottage cheese or greek yogurt can be helpful.
I often have a 2-egg omelet with vegetables for breakfast and will add cottage cheese or yogurt on the side for a boost.
Nuts and nut butters aren't that high in protein since they are so high fat -- people often think they are better protein sources than they are, although if you are mostly veg they will help. So will greens and many green veg, for few cals.
The highest protein options that are plant-based are going to be seitan, tofu and tempeh, and then beans and lentils generally.
This plus TVP/soy curls. Those tend to be high protein and relatively low calorie. Those things are also shelf stable, so they can be bought in bulk.
If you include dairy, Greek yogurt is quite high protein for the calories. You can get nonfat, reduced fat, or full fat versions depending on your preferences/macro goals.
There are also protein powders and bars, which some people enjoy.
My usual breakfast is 0% Greek yogurt, chocolate PB2, protein powder, and fiber cereal. I usually get about half or so of my daily protein and fiber that way.3 -
Beans, lentils, other legumes and pulses, etc.2
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I like seitan which has a great protein to carb ratio if you are not wheat gluten averse. Indonesian tempeh is also a lesser known source of vegan protein. Quorn if you don't mind that it is highly processed.0
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In addition to the above mentioned, I try to fit in more eggs and quinoa as they are "complete" proteins. I haven't been veggie long, one might say I've been flirting with it a few months.2
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I've been using a lot of the Beyond Meat beef crumbles in my meals. 12g protein per 1/2 cup.
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Thank you. I have to be careful with the processed foods, soy and eggs because of food allergies. I can tolerate egg once no more than twice a week. Same thing with the soy.
I will look into adding more beans. Would half cup serving give you a good amount of protein?0 -
- Protein powders (whey, hemp, pea and unflavored mixed in food such as oatmeal, smoothies, homemade proteins bars )
- I add collagen powder to my smoothies
- Eggs a couple times per week
- Dairy: cheese, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt (very little)
- Seeds
- Nuts
- Beans (chickpea, pinto and black beans mainly)
- Lentils
- Veggies & greens
- Steel cut oatmeal
I try to stay away from those fake meats, but I recently tried some crumbled fake ground beef for my tacos and was pleasantly surprised at the taste and the macros.1 -
I find that when eating low-calorie, I have to be super careful to not include any "wasted" calories if I'm going to hit a variety of nutrition goals. So no added sugars or white flour products like pasta, bread, etc. I like tofu or red beans mixed with guacamole, almond butter sandwiches, veggies, some of which contain more protein than others, tempeh mixed with hummus, roasted eggplant and roasted red peppers, unsweetened soy milk sometimes, seitan sometimes, and whole grain breads but not too much if possible. I'd choose legume pasta over regular, for example, or just eat beans or tofu in place of pasta in dishes. I make a frozen banana-cocoa-powdered peanut butter and unsweetened plant milk nicecream with one scoop of Evolve protein powder (both powdererd pb and Evolve contain small amounts of sugar, admittedly, but not a lot) in it, more for the texture than the protein, though it certainly helps. It's a great dessert, sweet, lots of potassium, etc, too. I'm still conflicted about protein: I exercise but am no athlete or body-builder, and my dr. cautioned me against eating too much protein when I broached the topic with her. I hear from others that higher protein diets are good for seniors (which I am). In general, I aim to get 50g or more a day but don't feel it's essential to go up to MFP's suggested amount and certainly not over that.2
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I don't track macros (like I don't bother entering them for home-cooked items) but I probably come up "short" on protein every day too. My diet is probably at least 2/3 carbs (whole grains and such, not refined, for the most part). I have excellent bloodwork, my blood pressure is finally under control, and I am currently doing recomposition in maintenance and that is going pretty well (I expect it to be slow and I haven't been doing it long but I see progress). I don't eat eggs often because they make me queasy. I do eat a lot of nuts, seeds, legumes, dairy, etc.
Is there a particular reason you have to worry about protein intake?
FYI the collagen powder suggested above is NOT vegetarian. Collagen can only come from animal sources.1 -
Block of super firm high protein tofu - 75 grams.
Cup of black beans - 32 grams.
3 eggs - 18 grams.
Easy 125 grams of protein, a little over 50 grams of fat and under 50 net carb due to heavy fiber. Pretty much I incorporate that into my meals along with other veggie sources and add or reduce based on my workouts.1 -
Looks of tofu, beans, and eggs! Nuts are also a good choice but they can have high calories.0
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carlaringuette wrote: »Thank you. I have to be careful with the processed foods, soy and eggs because of food allergies. I can tolerate egg once no more than twice a week. Same thing with the soy.
I will look into adding more beans. Would half cup serving give you a good amount of protein?
Depends on what you mean when you say a good amount of protein and what your goals are. I couldn't tell you off the top of my head the exact amount of protein, but the MFP tool is handy for that purpose.
If beans are my only protein source in a meal, I usually eat more than a half cup unless I've already reached my protein goal for the day. A lot of things you don't expect have protein, including breads and pastas. I'd log your meal and see.4 -
Also, I totally get why people don't like the processed meat substitutes but if you can get a good deal on them, they're pretty tasty and convenient. Walmart typically has a good price. I think as long as you're balancing it with whole foods you're probably fine. I feel way better when I'm hitting my protein goal with some help than when I'm not hitting my protein goal without it, so I'd rather hit my protein goal and stress about my macros as little as possible.
We tend to demonize frozen foods but in reality a lot of our food is processed in one way or another, and honestly a Morningstar chicken burger is going to be way better than a McDonald's sandwich so I don't think that should be the reason we avoid plant based diets. The only thing I really watch when it comes to processed, frozen meals is sodium -- and I'm not that concerned about that, either.4 -
rainbow198 wrote: »- I add collagen powder to my smoothies
Collagen powder? I didn't know that there was such a thing as a vegetarian collagen powder, I only associate collagen with connective tissues and suchlike. I shall have to investigate further...
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I really struggle to get enough protein as a pescatarian (but mostly vegetarian) on a deficit diet. What has really made the difference for me is protein powders. Protein bars tend to have ingredients that are troublesome for me and/or too many calories. Instead, I buy unflavored unsweetened vegan protein powders to add to smoothies and oatmeal. Plus I found one brand of flavored whey protein powder that has safe ingredients for me to do quick easy shakes.
My other soy and egg free options are higher protein milk, Greek yogurt, beans, and seitan-based faux meats (which I often make myself).0 -
rainbow198 wrote: »- I add collagen powder to my smoothies
Collagen powder? I didn't know that there was such a thing as a vegetarian collagen powder, I only associate collagen with connective tissues and suchlike. I shall have to investigate further...
There's not. I have a PhD in biochemistry and I work in a patent law firm and have worked on a few collagen-related applications and have done reading on many more as part of that work.
There may be products marketed as "collagen builders" that have some of the amino acids found in collagen (it is rich in proline, if I recall correctly) but it is not collagen.0 -
DanyellMcGinnis wrote: »
Collagen powder? I didn't know that there was such a thing as a vegetarian collagen powder, I only associate collagen with connective tissues and suchlike. I shall have to investigate further...
There's not. I have a PhD in biochemistry and I work in a patent law firm and have worked on a few collagen-related applications and have done reading on many more as part of that work.
There may be products marketed as "collagen builders" that have some of the amino acids found in collagen (it is rich in proline, if I recall correctly) but it is not collagen.
I know - there can be no such thing as 'vegetarian' collagen by the very nature of what collagen is I was trying to point that out nicely, in case the person posting was vegetarian and hadn't realised 
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Pulses are great to throw into a curry or stew. Lentil pasta is a great swap for wheat pasta, tastes very similar but much higher in protein! Quinoa is a great protein rich accompaniment to meals instead of rice/couscous. A soy based sausage sandwich is also pretty high in protein. You can get lots of vegan protein shakes but if you are just veggie you can drink whey. Protein powder can be good to add to smoothies etc.0
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rainbow198 wrote: »- Protein powders (whey, hemp, pea and unflavored mixed in food such as oatmeal, smoothies, homemade proteins bars )
- I add collagen powder to my smoothies
- Eggs a couple times per week
- Dairy: cheese, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt (very little)
- Seeds
- Nuts
- Beans (chickpea, pinto and black beans mainly)
- Lentils
- Veggies & greens
- Steel cut oatmeal
I try to stay away from those fake meats, but I recently tried some crumbled fake ground beef for my tacos and was pleasantly surprised at the taste and the macros.rainbow198 wrote: »- Protein powders (whey, hemp, pea and unflavored mixed in food such as oatmeal, smoothies, homemade proteins bars )
- I add collagen powder to my smoothies
- Eggs a couple times per week
- Dairy: cheese, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt (very little)
- Seeds
- Nuts
- Beans (chickpea, pinto and black beans mainly)
- Lentils
- Veggies & greens
- Steel cut oatmeal
I try to stay away from those fake meats, but I recently tried some crumbled fake ground beef for my tacos and was pleasantly surprised at the taste and the macros.rainbow198 wrote: »- Protein powders (whey, hemp, pea and unflavored mixed in food such as oatmeal, smoothies, homemade proteins bars )
- I add collagen powder to my smoothies
- Eggs a couple times per week
- Dairy: cheese, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt (very little)
- Seeds
- Nuts
- Beans (chickpea, pinto and black beans mainly)
- Lentils
- Veggies & greens
- Steel cut oatmeal
I try to stay away from those fake meats, but I recently tried some crumbled fake ground beef for my tacos and was pleasantly surprised at the taste and the macros.rainbow198 wrote: »- Protein powders (whey, hemp, pea and unflavored mixed in food such as oatmeal, smoothies, homemade proteins bars )
- I add collagen powder to my smoothies
- Eggs a couple times per week
- Dairy: cheese, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt (very little)
- Seeds
- Nuts
- Beans (chickpea, pinto and black beans mainly)
- Lentils
- Veggies & greens
- Steel cut oatmeal
I try to stay away from those fake meats, but I recently tried some crumbled fake ground beef for my tacos and was pleasantly surprised at the taste and the macros.rainbow198 wrote: »- Protein powders (whey, hemp, pea and unflavored mixed in food such as oatmeal, smoothies, homemade proteins bars )
- I add collagen powder to my smoothies
- Eggs a couple times per week
- Dairy: cheese, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt (very little)
- Seeds
- Nuts
- Beans (chickpea, pinto and black beans mainly)
- Lentils
- Veggies & greens
- Steel cut oatmeal
I try to stay away from those fake meats, but I recently tried some crumbled fake ground beef for my tacos and was pleasantly surprised at the taste and the macros.rainbow198 wrote: »- Protein powders (whey, hemp, pea and unflavored mixed in food such as oatmeal, smoothies, homemade proteins bars )
- I add collagen powder to my smoothies
- Eggs a couple times per week
- Dairy: cheese, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt (very little)
- Seeds
- Nuts
- Beans (chickpea, pinto and black beans mainly)
- Lentils
- Veggies & greens
- Steel cut oatmeal
I try to stay away from those fake meats, but I recently tried some crumbled fake ground beef for my tacos and was pleasantly surprised at the taste and the macros.rainbow198 wrote: »- Protein powders (whey, hemp, pea and unflavored mixed in food such as oatmeal, smoothies, homemade proteins bars )
- I add collagen powder to my smoothies
- Eggs a couple times per week
- Dairy: cheese, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt (very little)
- Seeds
- Nuts
- Beans (chickpea, pinto and black beans mainly)
- Lentils
- Veggies & greens
- Steel cut oatmeal
I try to stay away from those fake meats, but I recently tried some crumbled fake ground beef for my tacos and was pleasantly surprised at the taste and the macros.
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What brand/kind of flavorless protein powder do you recommend? Or other "real foods" high in protein but mostly flavorless in oatmeal and smoothies?0
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Raisin7916 wrote: »What brand/kind of flavorless protein powder do you recommend? Or other "real foods" high in protein but mostly flavorless in oatmeal and smoothies?
Things that can be blended into foods like oatmeal/smoothies include tofu, white beans (navy, great Northern, etc.), defatted peanut flour or defatted almond flour (a.k.a. peanut butter powder or almond butter powder - but they have non-neutral pleasant (to me) flavor), nutritional yeast (has a pronounced "cheesy" flavor).
If you eat dairy, plain nonfat Greek yogurt, ricotta cheese, or cottage cheese. If you eat eggs, those.
I don't use protein powder, so I don't know any answers about that. (I don't think there's anything wrong with it in theory, but I don't find it tasty/satisfying, and don't have any trouble hitting protein goals above the MFP default while ovo-lacto vegetarian.)
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