Tips on getting enough protein?

Question

Bonjour. :] So, I've been a vegetarian on and off again for the past few years, but my problem is with my protein, I can never seem to get enough of it. Any ideas? What f oods are good in protein/high in it. Thanks. :]

BTW, I won't eat fish or anything else like that. I don't really like eggs or milk.

Answer 1

If you eat enough calories, you should never have a problem getting enough protein.

http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/prot...

Unless you spoke to a dietitian and had your blood tested, you do not know if you were ever protein deficient or their was another issue that made you feel less than well.

Bread, pasta, cereal, rice, beans, peas, lentils, nuts, seeds, fruits and veggies can easily offer everything that you need except B12.

http://www.veganhealth.org/sh

http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo

All vegetarians should take a B12 supplement regularly since most people eat meat, dairy AND fortified cereals yet still have a B12 status that is lower than recommended.

http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/b12

It may help you if you see proof that vegetarians have the same potential as anyone else.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/sto...

http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/phpBB2/...

http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/phpBB2/...

http://www.macdanzig.net/bio.php

http://www.scottjurek.com/career.php

Answer 2

Tofu! It's loaded :]

Answer 3

If you're getting enough calories to meet your energy needs and you're not living on junk food, you're probably getting enough.

Eat a wide variety of plant foods including soybeans and soy foods (tofu, tempeh, edamame, faux meats, tvp,) beans and other legumes (lentils, peas, peanuts, peanut butter, chickpeas,) whole grains of all types, nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables (especially dark green ones.)

Here is some additional info on protein, including why it's important to get enough but also why it's not desirable to get too much (which most meat eaters do): http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/prote...

Answer 4

PROTEIN IN LEGUMES: Garbanzo beans, Kidney beans, Lentils, Lima beans, Navy beans, Soybeans, Split peas

PROTEIN IN GRAINS: Barley, Brown rice, Buckwheat, Millet, Oatmeal, Rye, Wheat germ, Wheat, hard red, Wild rice

VEGETABLE PROTEIN: Artichokes, Beets, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Green peas, Green pepper, Kale, Lettuce, Mushrooms, Mustard green, Onions, Potatoes, Spinach, Tomatoes, Turnip greens, Watercress, Yams, Zucchini

PROTEIN IN FRUITS: Apple, Banana, Cantaloupe, Grape, Grapefruit, Honeydew melon, Orange, Papaya, Peach, Pear, Pineapple, Strawberry, Tangerine, Watermelon

PROTEIN IN NUTS AND SEEDS: Almonds, Cashews, Filberts, Hemp Seeds, Peanuts, Pumpkin seeds, Sesame seeds, Sunflower seeds, Walnuts (black)

you can also get like a powder protein, which you put in water and drink.

Answer 5

What do you mean you can't get enough protein?  Are you eating enough?  If you get enough calories, you get enough protein.  The urban myth that vegs don't get enough protein is exactly that: urban myth.  Not to mention it's propaganda forced on us since childhood by the meat industry.

Answer 6

Lentils are an excellent source.  If they seem a bit of a hassle get the small red lentils - they cook really quickly and you can add them into soups, vege stews etc.  Nuts, nuts, nuts.  Seeds, seeds, seeds.  Bean, beans, beans.  Tofu, tempeh.  

A few practical ideas:

Hummous is great, use instead of butter or as a dip.

If you go to make a vege pasta just chuck in a tin of butter beans or chickpeas.  

Sprinkle salads with toasted sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pepitas, etc.

Butterbean skordalia, yum! Mash a tin of butter beans, bit of lemon juice, bit of olive oil, pinches of salt, white pepper and paprika.

Mix some cooked lentils, grated carrot, cumin, salt, parsley and breadcrumbs and voila, lentil burgers.

Baked beans on toast.

Hope I've given you a few ideas.  Indian, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines have lots of meatless dishes that are high in protein - you'll get lots of ideas from there.

Answer 7

nuts, seeds, greenie veggies like spinach, broccoli etc.. personally, i hate all those greenie veggies but i find ways to make them delicious! like spinach, i cook it nicely with rice and maybe even some tofu. for broccoli and other veggies, a really great idea is cook them in the oven, with some great creamy gravy (im a vegan so i make my creamy gravy with soy/rice milk). another way which is AGAIN so great is to cook them in the oven again but instead of cream you can put cheese (i use vegan cheese). it melts over them and it's SOOOO GREAT!! By the way, if you are vegan and you wanna go with the vegan cheese, firstly search around some good brands of vegan cheese. most of which i tried taste really bad but there was one which was great! sry, dunno the name! xD :p but in anyway, when the cheese melts, it becomes so tasteful, even if it tasted gross when u ate it raw.

best of luck!

=]

peace!

xD

=]

Answer 8

Vegetarian sources of protein:

nuts

seeds

pulses (beans)

lentils

soya products (tofu, soya milk and textured soya protein)

cereals

free-range eggs

dairy products (milk, cheese and yoghurt)

wholemeal bread

potatoes

brocolli

Quorn

brown rice

peanut butter

If you eat a variety of different proteins throughout the course of the day, you should easily get enough protein. :]

Answer 9

peanut butter, fish, peanuts, nutella (its a chocolaty hazel-nut spread! really, really good!!)