Protein intake

I've been an ovo-lacto vegetarian for a bit over 50 years, thin to overweight to obese and back to thin again.

What I'd recommend is what I did when I joined MFP and started working on getting adequate protein on reduced calories. It's not mostly an "eat this" list, it's a process.

I logged my food for a few days, initially just working on getting to a reasonable calorie level while feeling adequately full and happy most of the time. As that got dialed in reasonably well, I started paying attention to protein.

Every day or two, I'd review my diary and notice foods I was eating semi-regularly that were relatively high in calories, but that didn't have much if any protein. With some thought as to whether I needed those foods in then-current amounts to feel full and happy (or for other nutrition), I looked for foods I could reduce to free up some calories. (Reduce = eat less often, eat in smaller portions.)

Having identified such food(s), I'd find other foods I enjoy that I could eat instead that would contribute more protein. I'd start including those in my routine habits.

Simple example: I pretty much stopped eating whole wheat pasta, experimented a bit, and found that a good brand of red lentil pasta was equally tasty to me as whole wheat pasta. 56 grams (dry) of whole wheat pasta was 210 calories, 6g protein; the same amount of red lentil pasta was 190 calories, 14g protein.

That may seem like a small amount, but by gradually tweaking my routine eating habits, those bits added up, and it wasn't super long until my protein was hitting around my personal goal (0.6-0.8g per pound of healthy goal weight, at that point). Personally, I don't feel a need to be exactly exact on every nutrient every day: Pretty good on average over a small number of days is fine with me. These days, on maintenance calories, I shoot for a minimum of 100g protein daily (at 5'5"/165 cm), and usually exceed it.

I do make it a point to get at least one "big protein" food in each meal (similar to how omnivores think), but round that out with bits of protein in most of the other things I eat. This thread helped me find sources I might not have considered:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10247171/carbs-and-fats-are-cheap-heres-a-guide-to-getting-your-proteins-worth-fiber-also

(Scroll down in the linked spreadsheet past the meaty/fishy stuff to find more plant sources.)

I'm also a big label reader at the stores, especially was when reducing calories. I have rough rules of thumb for evaluating new food choices in terms of protein value. When I'm evaluating a food as a main protein source, I figure that if it has 10 or fewer calories (from all nutrients) per gram of protein, it's a good source. When I'm evaluating a pre-made dish or meal (like a frozen entree, say), I figure 20-30 calories per gram of protein is reasonable. Other people (who have different calorie goals) might have different values in mind, but I found it helpful to have at least some metric that was easy to consider when shopping.

When it comes to adding small bits of protein, don't forget to consider even small flavoring ingredients. For example, nutritional yeast is a pretty good protein source (20 calories, 2g protein in one tablespoon), as is peanut butter powder (the one I like in my oatmeal, PBFit, is 60 calories for 8g protein in 2 tablespoons - though you may find those too highly processed for your preferences). Miso (South River 3-year barley miso in my case) is 10 calories, 1g protein per teaspoon.

I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with protein powder, protein bars, or faux meats, but I don't find them tasty or satisfying, so I don't include them in my routine.

In looking at main proteins, I do also consider protein completeness (balance of essential amino acids, EAAs) and bioavailability. I eat traditional soy foods (tofu, tempeh, etc.) and quite a bit of dairy, but that's just my tastes. I don't eat a lot of eggs, probably well less than a dozen a month. I think those are some of the more complete, bioavailable sources in my routine. But that's just my routine, not your food preferences.

Of course, varying other sources through the day will tend to improve net EAA completeness, especially if using some of the traditional complementary combinations (like beans and rice, beans and corn, etc.).

I hope that helps. Best wishes!

Tempeh!
healthy and high protein.