How do vegans get protein?

Question

I go on a vegan diet for summer. No meat, dairy, and/ or animal by products. So what do I do to keep this commitment? How much protein do I need anyway? Any good formulas for a good filling yummy meal

Answer 1

Table 2: Protein Content of Selected Vegan Foods



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

Answer 2

Beans and grains are great sources but almost everything else has protein as well.  Broccoli even has it!  Your protein requirement depends on gender, age and physical activity.

Answer 3

First, I get this question about protein all the time, especially from other males, frequently from my co-workers -- who obviously grew up reading muscle magazines, asking either where do I get it from or commenting that I need more (because I'm thin; an endurance athlete, not a muscle man).

First, protein is in every living thing.  Amino acids and protein are the building blocks of life.  They are everywhere.  Literally.  You cannot avoid protein unless you simply stop eating.  How much protein?  Who knows.  Nobody knows.  We can guess, by how much food you require dependent on the amount of exercise you do, your metabolism, the digestibility of the food etc.

See, eating easy to digest quality foods that you eat slowly and chew very well will get you the same amount of nutrients etc. as eating a lot more of a lower quality food that is just quickly chewed and swallowed.  This is just to give you an example that there are many factors involved rather than simply eating something and calculating the numbers of calories, protein, etc.

So, eat what you like to eat first of all.  Try new things -- so many foods from all around the world.  You should think less about protein and more about things such as where you are going to get your 'good' fats from, for example.

Answer 4

nuts...lol

Answer 5

buy some lentil

its good in soups and its very filling

and a person can easily eat half a bag at a time, which would give 50-60 grams of protein

Answer 6

Here is a great article by Dr. John McDougall on this subject.

http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2007nl/a...

2 thoughts here

1) VeggieS have PLENTY of Protien

2) The human body does NOT need tons of it to be healthy...that's THE PROTIEN MYTH!

Answer 7

SOY!

Answer 8

legumes. espescially chickpeas and a variety of nuts

Answer 9

Vegans get all of the protein and other nutrients they need by eating fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, and grains.

Especially good vegan sources of protein are almonds, black beans, cashews, fake meats, garbanzo beans (chickpeas), kidney beans, lentils, peanut butter, pinto beans, soybeans, soymilk, sunflower seeds, and tofu.

It helps to make a list of your favorite foods and recipes. Then, figure out how to "veganize" them. For instance, you can have pasta with veg meatballs, quesadillas with soy cheese, fried chicken with Morningstar vegan chicken strips, etc.

List of popular meat and dairy alternatives:

http://www.vegcooking.com/guide-favs.asp

Vegan recipes:

http://www.chooseveg.com/vegan-recipes.a...

Cheap and easy vegan meal ideas:

http://www.tryveg.com/cfi/toc/?v=07budge...

Good luck!

Answer 10

honestly bro i dont see how Vegans do it...

Without Protein you become weak.....

Answer 11

beans and nuts are the easiest sources..But canned pumpkin is a really great source too. Add it to anything, especially sweet potatoes.

i prefer cashews for nuts

and black beans with corn :)

Yes it is ture that the tofu and fake burgers are high in protien, but they contain high sodium and other things that are bad for you. Dont eat those things everyday! I would recommend taking a multi vitamin as well, just to help you out a little :)

Some helpful sites

http://www.goveg.com

http://www.vegcooking.com

Simple Protien Calculator, Type in your age etc. it will tell you how much you need

http://www.indoorclimbing.com/Protein_Re...

I agree with the person below me. You need to learn to read your labels!

Answer 12

soy, nuts, beans

Answer 13

There are 2 grams of protein in a tablespoon of tomato paste.  It is extremely easy to get protein. Mixing grains with corn, nuts, beans make a complete protein. For me, my personal trainer said I need 80 grams of protein per day for a woman my size with an athletic life style. I usually get 120 or more per day. Don't worry about protein. It is overrated. Try worrying about having a varied diet with whole grains, beans, and plenty of veggies.

Answer 14

I take a protein shake (it's soy protein with vitamins & minerals and if you are going vegan, you can mix it with juice.

Answer 15

soy nuts have 17g of protein per serving. yves jumbo veggie dogs have 15g of protein for one.(AND only 1g of fat!) beans have lots of protein, as well as other nuts. Soy milk is good 2. tofu packs a lot of protein but for me is an aquired taste, tastes awesome when marinated then baked though

Answer 16

-tofu (1 serving of this stuff has double the protein of a serving of meat)

-all types of nuts

-beans

-soy

Answer 17

Tofu and beans are a great way to get protein.

Answer 18

FORGET THE TOFU SOYBEAN GARBAGE eat morning star farm food they have everything, it tastes JUST like the real stuff, they have corndogs,chick-pattys,bacon,sausage,hamb... Google it! I LOOOOVVVEEE IT!

Answer 19

You are not reading your labels, that's obvious.  Tofu has more protein than any meat!  I'm a vegetarian and have been eating tofu for years and I not only love it, but I'm super healthy.  Eating meat can clog up your arteries (meat is like eating clay, hard to get thru the arteries).  If you don't know much about cooking tofu (I stay with the firm and extra firm when I'm cooking from scratch) then go on the net and get some vegetarian recipes.  It's easy to cook with, you can eat darn near anything non-vegetraians can eat, only isntead of meat you use tofu.  Trust me, it's wonderful.  Use lots of garlic POWDER in your cooking (great taste and healthy for you); not garlic salt.  Also use lots of 'green ' seasonings - like Dill weed, marjarom, etc.  Adds lots of flavor to your tofu.  If you have a natural food co-op or a store that sells natural foods, check in there and ask questions about cooking tofu.  Use softer or silk tofu in your blender, making a smoothie.  They're delicious - and add any fruits you want.  My favorite is with strawberries, frozen blueberries, lots of soft tofu or soy milk, and one container of (I use vanilla) yogurt.  Blend it all, adding some sweetener and a few ice cubes to make it thicker.  Yum!  I had one tonight.  I love them.  They're the same drink as sold at Jamba Juice - called Bright-eyed Blueberry!  Again, if you're not sure how to cook tofu, go on the net, type in vegetarian or vegetarian recipes, and you'll find lots of them. I do it frequently.  Also, there are lots of pre-'fixed' veggie things you can buy - 'chickn' (tastes just like real chicken) tuno - tastes just like tuna fish that comes in a can; various types of 'meats' (veggie, of course), lots of good veggie stuff.  If you have a Trader Joe's nearby, they sell lots of that.  Otherwise, check whatever store is close.  Most of them now carry veggie products because they're becoming so popular.  And if you aren't yet 'into' soy milk, you might want to start with vanilla soymilk.  Delicious, tastes like a milkshake! Rice milk (comes in strawberry and banana) is also great.  Again, like a milkshake in taste.  Good for you for going this route.  You're taking good care of yourself and you'll have a really healthy body.  Not to mention that you're saying something about the cruelty that happens to animals to put a steak on someone's plate.  I won't go into that here.  But trust me, it would make you sick.  Congratulationson becoming a smart well informed individual who cares about his/her body.  And again, don't worry about protein.  You will get plenty of it from eating tofu, and then some!

Answer 20

You need to eat lots of legumes, beans, red kidney, pinto, garbanzo (we call em chick peas) tofu if you go there, all the beans have great protein, lentils, etc.

Answer 21

By eating pulses , green peas  and pea nuts in any form , we get  sufficient proteins to meet our daily requirement .

Answer 22

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine recommends taking your body weight in pounds and multiplying by 0.36 to get the approximate number of grams of protein you need daily.  They also state that there's a margin of error in that calculation, so you can get by on quite a bit less.  The World Health Organization's estimate is markedly lower, though it's probably measuring the bare minimum needed (due to the nature of their work.)

Anyway, vegans get theirs by eating a variety of protein-rich foods from all of the vegan food groups.  Protein, as the "building block of life," is widely available in the plant world.  Good sources include soybeans and soy foods (like tofu, tempeh, edamame, and faux meats,) beans and other legumes (lentils, peas, peanuts, chickpeas,) whole grains (quinoa is a complete protein and is also rich in calcium adn iron,) nuts and seeds, and vegetables (especially dark green ones.)  If you're eating a varied diet and getting enough calories to meet your energy needs, it's unlikely that you'd have to worry about protein for a moment.

Even though you're just doing it for the summer, you should check out a copy of "Becoming Vegan" by Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina.  It's pretty much the bible of vegan nutrition.

Answer 23

my friend eats stuff called Quorn. It looks like meat, tastes like meat but is actually a kind of mushroom. Thats how she gets protien. Also stuff like eggs and tofu. But if you don't like eating meat and make a point of it, why eat stuff that looks like it?? People are weird.