Tips for getting more protein?

[Karma007]

Being veg, I get asked this all the time. Other sources of protien (excluding the obvious soymilk and tofu)-
edamame
almond milk
beans
lentils
quinoa
textured vegetable protien
nuts
broccoli (add sesame seeds!)
spinach
poatoes
almond butter
tempeh

[Karma007]

oh! And Vega is really good mixed in smoothies (I use 2c spinach, 1c kale, 1c blueberries, I banana and Ic soymilk or almond milk. I use a dark glass b/c the color is a little much, but it's yummy!

[Pedal Wench]

Does almond milk contain all that much protein? I thought it was pretty low.

[Karma007]

The almond milk isn't loaded with it, but I've found that small amounts add up by the end of the day. I think the key to it is variety. You can easily limit soy and meat and dairy, and still get plenty of protien.

This info is taken straight from the Vegetarian Resouce Group.

FOOD AMOUNT PROTEIN(gm) PROTEIN(gm/100 cal)
Tempeh 1 cup 41 9.3
Seitan 3 ounces 31 22.1
Soybeans, cooked 1 cup 29 9.6
Lentils, cooked 1 cup 18 7.8
Black beans, cooked 1 cup 15 6.7
Kidney beans, cooked 1 cup 13 6.4
Veggie burger 1 patty 13 13.0
Chickpeas, cooked 1 cup 12 4.2
Veggie baked beans 1 cup 12 5.0
Pinto beans, cooked 1 cup 12 5.7
Black-eyed peas, cooked 1 cup 11 6.2
Tofu, firm 4 ounces 11 11.7
Lima beans, cooked 1 cup 10 5.7
Quinoa, cooked 1 cup 9 3.5
Tofu, regular 4 ounces 9 10.6
Bagel 1 med.
(3 oz) 9 3.9
Peas, cooked 1 cup 9 6.4
Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP), cooked 1/2 cup 8 8.4
Peanut butter 2 Tbsp 8 4.3
Veggie dog 1 link 8 13.3
Spaghetti, cooked 1 cup 8 3.7
Almonds 1/4 cup 8 3.7
Soy milk, commercial, plain 1 cup 7 7.0
Soy yogurt, plain 6 ounces 6 4.0
Bulgur, cooked 1 cup 6 3.7
Sunflower seeds 1/4 cup 6 3.3
Whole wheat bread 2 slices 5 3.9
Cashews 1/4 cup 5 2.7
Almond butter 2 Tbsp 5 2.4
Brown rice, cooked 1 cup 5 2.1
Spinach, cooked 1 cup 5 13.0
Broccoli, cooked 1 cup 4 6.8
Potato 1 med.
(6 oz) 4 2.7
Sources: USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 18, 2005 and manufacturers' information.

The recommendation for protein for adult males vegans is around 56-70 grams per day; for adult female vegans it is around 46-58 grams per day (see text).



It is very easy for a vegan diet to meet the recommendations for protein. Nearly all vegetables, beans, grains, nuts, and seeds contain some, and often much, protein. Fruits, sugars, fats, and alcohol do not provide much protein, so a diet based only on these foods would have a good chance of being too low in protein. However, not many vegans we know live on only bananas, hard candy, margarine, and beer. Vegans eating varied diets containing vegetables, beans, grains, nuts, and seeds rarely have any difficulty getting enough protein as long as their diet contains enough energy (calories) to maintain weight. [See the sections on Pregnancy, Lactation, and Infants and Children (pages 176-197 in Simply Vegan, 4th edition) for details about protein needs during these special times.]

What about combining or complementing protein? Doesn't that make the protein issue much more complex? Let's look at a little background on the myth of complementing proteins. Protein is made up of amino acids, often described as its building blocks. We actually have a biological requirement for amino acids, not for protein. Humans cannot make nine of the twenty common amino acids, so these amino acids are considered to be essential. In other words, we must get these amino acids from our diets. We need all nine of these amino acids for our body to make protein.

Some people say that eggs, cow's milk, meat, and fish are high quality protein. This means that they have large amounts of all the essential amino acids. Soybeans, quinoa (a grain), and spinach also are considered high quality protein. Other protein sources of non-animal origin usually have all of the essential amino acids, but the amounts of one or two of these amino acids may be low. For example, grains are lower in lysine (an essential amino acid) and legumes are lower in methionine (another essential amino acid) than those protein sources designated as high quality protein.

Frances Moore Lappe, in her book Diet for a Small Planet 6 advocated the combining of a food low in one amino acid with another food containing large amounts of that amino acid. This got to be a very complicated process, with each meal having specific amounts of certain foods in order to be certain of getting a favorable amino acid mix. Many people got discouraged with the complexity of this approach. Actually, Lappe was being overly conservative to avoid criticism from the "Nutrition Establishment." She has since repudiated strict protein combining, saying, "In combating the myth that meat is the only way to get high quality protein, I reinforced another myth. I gave the impression that in order to get enough protein without meat, considerable care was needed in choosing foods. Actually it is much easier than I thought" 7.

[Miranda]

I love eggs! I was going to start a thread about it when I found a easy tip for cooking them and taking them on the go.

The South Beach Diet has some type of egg breakfast sandwich thing. That diet makes total sense to me, but way too much time in the kitchen.

To make a healthy home-made McD's egg muffin (that will fill you up, get protein, without mega empty carbs) do this...

small circle microwave dish spray with cooking spray
one large egg with a pinch of salt & pepper, dash of skim milk--stir/scramble
pour in micro dish, cook 1 minute (approx 80 cals for egg, good protein source)

Place cooked circle egg on Thompson's whole grain *MINI* size bagel (110 cals, 3grams fiber) viola...

add low fat slice of cheese for a dairy and more protein

add a bananna or fresh fruit... ya got all four food groups, and good protein "da egg"... yuuummm

Like posted, I also CRAVE red meat. Really bad at the period time (bleeding perimenpausal golf balls thank you very much Mother Nature). I love a big lean steak grilled out. Fresh mushrooms. Nice greens salad with pine nuts, and low fat cheese. Vinegrette dressing with real oils. NO BAKED POTATOE.

Also, I'm on the nut band wagon. They are my staple. If the nut has oil... leaves a lot of oil in your hand etc... then it's not a good nut choice (aka Planter's salted party cocktail peanuts--icky).

Almonds... walnuts... pine nuts... South Beach nut mix (a bit of grease, be careful on calories). Put the nuts in your mouth one at a time and enjoy each one slowly. Makes ya feel fuller by eating slower. I even have a special pretty small cup I eat mine out of... makes it a fancy treat.

[OakLeaf]

The LA Times had another tasty sounding quinoa recipe last week. I haven't tried it yet but usually love their recipes.

[malkin]

However, not many vegans we know live on only bananas, hard candy, margarine, and beer.

But substitute peanut butter for the margarine, and it would do for college students.

[michelem]

kjay - is the protien content in that drink from soy?

Oh, and yeah - it's amaranth - I have a HUGE mental block about that one. I always type it aramanth!

michelem - I would love the recipe!

Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry I missed this request. Here you go:

Amaranth Breakfast Porridge
1 cup amaranth
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. honey
1/4 c. dried cherries or cranberries
1/4 c. slivered almonds
rice milk

Combine amaranth w/3 cups water in medium pot. Bring to boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Stir in vanilla, honey, cherries/cranberries, and almonds. Stir in rice milk if desired.

I seem to recall this making a pretty good size batch, but I really can't remember how many servings . . . Good luck!

[Reesha]

I make edamame hummus with fresh lemon juice, tahini, splash of olive oil and garlic if i'm not going to be close to people

High in protein + fiber and really delicious with celery sticks or green peppers!

[crazycanuck]

Thanks for the tips! I'm searching for more ways to get me protein & appreciate all the info.