Hi,
What protein ideas do you have for those who are vegan/vegetarian? I eat some tofu, edemame, and sometimes egges. Any other ideas?
Thanks!
beans(eg chickpeas, navy beans, black beans etc), nuts, soymilk (if you drink it), eggs are a complete protein (contain all essential amino acids), brown rice. There’s a book called Lean Bean Cuisine by Jay Solomon which has some good ideas…
quinoa. A grain that is pretty high in protein.
I get the majority of my protein from soy milk, beans, and tofu. I keep referring back to this article and it’s tables:
http://www.downbound.com/Vegan_Protein_s/469.htm
Speaking of Quinoa, here is one of my favourite recipes with it:
Quinoa Tabouleh
One cup dry quinoa
Two cups water
Two cups chopped parsley
1/2 cup chopped mint
1 large diced tomato
1 large diced red onion
1/2 diced english cucumber
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and Pepper to taste
Bring quinoa and water to a boil. reduce heat and simmer for around 15 minutes. Cool. Fluff with a fork and mix together all remaining ingredients. Lemon juice and olive oil measurements above are an estimate, I never measure anything 
Serve with Hummus, kalamata olives and Whole grain Pita or fresh baked flax seed bread Yum.
I could eat this every day.
Check here for nutitional content of quinoa, scroll down about halfway for detailed breakdown. Super food.
It all adds up. 2 cups of brown rice with spinach, broccoli, and other veggies can easily get you 20g protein, w/o seeing any traditional protein source on the plate. I keep a pretty strict nutrition log, and since going vegan this month my protein levels have been fairly consistent with previous months, much to my surprise.
quinoa. A grain that is pretty high in protein.
Yep, quinoa is one of the best foods that you can put into your body and it is the only grain that is considered a complete protein since it has all 9 essential amino acids in it.
The Moosewood Collective have some great cookbooks if you’re looking for ideas - The New Classics and Moosewood Cooks At Home have lots of simple, tasty recipes. They also have some fantastic fish recipes if you’re a pescatarian (sp? a fish eating vegetarian).
I’m no longer a vegatarian but I still eats lots of tofu and beans. My post-workout, too-tired-to-actually-cook meal is a spinach salad with chick peas, it’s the fastest reasonably healthy meal I can come up with. I cheat and count the chick peas as protein and carbs!
And +1 on the quinoa suggestion - it’s faster to cook than rice and very tasty. Also, some dairy products have decent amounts of protein and not too much fat, yogurt and I believe cottage cheese.
i second the beans suggestion - lots of beans to try experimenting with. lentils as well - if you’re used to lentils being kind of meh (that always used to be my opinion), try making them in curries (some nice indian recipes) or making ethiopian food, which i drool over dreaming of lentils). tofu is one kind of legume, but try other kinds if you’re looking for a more varied diet.
seeds and nuts as well are great sources of protein, though obviously watch the fat content.
as well, are you properly combining proteins to ensure you are getting complete amino acids? if not, the general idea is grain+legumes, grain+nuts/seeds, and legumes+nuts/seeds.
my favourite high protein meal, though it’s also fairly high in fat, but it’s the best comfort food ever, is coconut brown rice with peanut curry sauce with sauteed veggies, chickpeas, and tempeh. yum! it’s quick and easy and so good.
Tempeh and seitan are other good sources. I use Quorn which you can get in the vegetarian frozen food section. I eat dairy so I use Fage (Greek yogurt) quite a bit, 17g, per serving. Yummy.
I have to roll my eyes whenever somebody claims that you don’t get enough protein on a vegetarian diet. It’s a bit harder on a vegan diet but by mixing bean and grain combos you can actually get a more complete amino acid ratio than with meat.
I’d do a net google and you’ll find all kinds of good urls on this topic.
I have to roll my eyes whenever somebody claims that you don’t get enough protein on a vegetarian diet. It’s a bit harder on a vegan diet but by mixing bean and grain combos you can actually get a more complete amino acid ratio than with meat.
I’d do a net google and you’ll find all kinds of good urls on this topic.
Yep, I get this all the time. I have been on a running binge and as a consequence have lost quite a bit of weight. I am constantly getting the “you need more protein” speech from people that looked like they swallowed a rhino. I did a food log of a typical week and found that I get around 150-160 grams of protein per day easily. All without killing an animal or drinking cow pus.