Plant Based Protein
Hi Steph, I am an amateur climber transitioning into vegetarianism. I am doing good so far, except for the protein intake. I should be taking approx 70 grs of protein daily, any advice on a good dense source of veggie protein
Manuel
Hi Manuel,
That’s great to hear! And the good news is that it’s really easy to get as much protein as you need while eating a plant based diet. I think this is one of the best resources I’ve seen for vegetarian protein sugestions, with lists of very basic foods and amounts of protein they provide, and even sample lists of what you might eat in a normal day with standard food choices, and how all your protein requirements are met.
Here’s an older post I wrote about protein, that you should check out as well.
When I eat, I’m always thinking “grain, greens and protein”, or else it doesn’t feel like a real meal to me. So at dinner, whatever I cook needs to have a grain (typically quinoa which is high in protein, or brown rice or rice noodles), something dark green (kale, broccoli, chard, brussels sprouts) and protein (tofu, tempeh, chickpeas, lentils are my top 4, and usually nuts or seeds as a garnish–pan roasted pumpkin seeds finished with apple cider vinegar are my favorite).
For smoothies in the morning, I highly recommend Bob’s Red Mill Hemp Protein Powder, 16-ounce (Pack of 4)
This is a top hit list of my main protein go-to’s, with protein info from nomeatathlete.com:
Lentils (red are my favorites), 18 grams of protein per cup
Chickpeas, 12 grams/cup
(these are my recipes for hummus and falafel, staples I keep in my fridge at all times)
Tempeh, 41 grams per cup
Black beans, 15 grams per cup
Nuts and nut butters (I eat a good mix, usually without peanuts), varied
Tofu, 11 grams per 4 ounces
Quinoa, 9 grams per cup
Also, a great shopping chart from Matt Frazier–the nomeatathlete.com site is amazing:
protein-grocery-list-v2
The one thing I really don’t recommend is fake meats: one of the best things about eating a plant based diet is that it relies on whole foods which are inherently the healthiest nutrition sources, as well as being more economical.
I hope you are having a great time exploring new food options and feeling amazing!
Steph
Green veggies are, of course, great for you, but you don’t eat any other veggies? Lots of veggies are not green, and we should be eating a variety from all the commonly available ones. I am sure you know that, but just wondering since you didn’t mention them.
Sounds positively unappetizing and gross.
Thank you so much for your time and info.!!
Very helpful!☺
Exactly, I will be sticking with my bacon and eggs and couple of slices of butter.
First off I’ve lost 135 pounds over a year and a half, I’m 46 and was obese for nearly 4 decades. Getting in shape is work, but 90%of it is dieting!! My kids are 23&24 years young and they taught me that protein can be plant based! I thought they were uneducated kids, till I did my homework and I don’t need meat to gain muscle!! You’ll realize that red meat is bad and pistachios are high in protein with no side effects like red meat!! Watch and learn is what my kids taught me and I’ll be around for years because I watched and I learned lol
inspiring story, thanks, and congrats!
of course!
i’ll have to write a post all about veggies! This one was about protein 🙂
I get 100g of protein easily on a vegan diet. I track my nutrition daily, especially because I’ve started weightlifting. It’s not as hard are people think it is. Just make sure to have quinoa, lentils, tofu, beans, whole grains, ect and you’ll be fine. I think it’s only hard initially because people are so used to meat but you get used to it super quick. Personally, I’m much healthier as a vegan than I was when I ate meat. I hit about 90%+ of my nutritional goals everyday without even thinking about it. I’ll never go back to meat