Protein sources for vegans

[Anonymous]

I have adopted a vegan lifestyle and soy milk, tofu, lentils and beans have been my sources of protein. I want to cut down on soy. How much lentils/legumes/beans/nuts should I eat? Nutrition websites give confusing information.

This is what I plan to do. Please let me know if this makes 40+ gms per day.

1/2 cup cooked/boiled beans either black, kidney or garbanzo as part of my lunch
1/2 cup cooked yellow/red lentils in the evening in the form of soup
A handful of peanuts and almonds for afternoon snack

[Anonymous]

Just eat a cage free egg once in a while, for goodness sake.

[Anonymous]

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-4771/10-Vegan-Sources-of-Protein.html

[Anonymous]

Given that i lift, and aim for 1 gram protein per 1 k lean body mass, i could never do this. Too many carbs! You will be fat and flabby---eat some real food

[Anonymous]

Don't forget quinoa is an excellent source of protein.

Also nut butters are good sources of protein, so even if you don't like peanuts, almond butter and cashew butter are both good alternatives.

This site gives you pretty good information about estimates that should help:
http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/protein.php

[Anonymous]

That's around 30-35 grams of protein. But even 40 is not enough for the average person. And is it really realistic to eat beans with every lunch and lentils soup for every dinner?

Being vegan is hard, so kudos to you for going down that path. But I think it would be unwise to cut out soy as a protein source.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Given that i lift, and aim for 1 gram protein per 1 k lean body mass, i could never do this. Too many carbs! You will be fat and flabby---eat some real food

Oh good grief. Why bother to comment on a lifestyle you know nothing about. And anyway, I'm assuming OP is not a body builder like you.

Here's an insanely active, fit vegan for ya!
http://scottjurek.com/

[Anonymous]

Vega protein powder (vegan)- I add it to smoothies, oatmeal, in my shakes.

There are TONS of successful vegan athletes, (Scott jurek as mentioned, Brendan Brazier)-so there's lots of good information out there from them.

[Anonymous]

But why do something that requires so many tweaks to work? It's pretty obvious it's not intended to be?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But why do something that requires so many tweaks to work? It's pretty obvious it's not intended to be?

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't forget quinoa is an excellent source of protein.

Also nut butters are good sources of protein, so even if you don't like peanuts, almond butter and cashew butter are both good alternatives.

This site gives you pretty good information about estimates that should help:
http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/protein.php

I don't know why people say this. I think they are confused. It is a source of a "complete protein" which is different that being high in protein. Per 100g, white bread has 13g of protein and quinoa has 14. Chicken breast has 30g. It has less protein that oats and certain types of rice.

OP, I'd eat lots of nut butters. Though I will say, I hope you're under the care of a physician or a nutritionist if you've adopted a truly vegan diet. It is not healthy without supplements.

[Anonymous]

The point with quinoa is that it has all the amino acids- something like rice you have to combine with a legume to get all the amino acids. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think consuming all the amino acids together in a meal is important. Quinoa you could have on its own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The point with quinoa is that it has all the amino acids- something like rice you have to combine with a legume to get all the amino acids. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think consuming all the amino acids together in a meal is important. Quinoa you could have on its own.

Doesn't have to be the same meal. It's not like they work in tandem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The point with quinoa is that it has all the amino acids- something like rice you have to combine with a legume to get all the amino acids. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think consuming all the amino acids together in a meal is important. Quinoa you could have on its own.

Doesn't have to be the same meal. It's not like they work in tandem.

Well, back when I first went vegetarian, that was the guidance actually....but it's since been shown that it doesn't matter. A nice rundown from the CDC:
http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/basics/protein.html

IME, it's still easier to combine at the same meal, less to keep track of!

[Anonymous]

quionoa and buckwheat has a lot of proteins.