Alternative Protein?

[Jembru]

Hey everyone. I consider myself pretty health-conscious because I had a bit of a bad experience with a deficiency while at uni, so I have always tried to eat a good balanced diet. I recently took this up a notch and now eat mainly raw and wholemeal foods with only light cooking and plenty of fruit and vegetables. It's not perfect, I do drink alcohol and caffeine and enjoy a little treat when my boyfriend is over, but it's not every day and I think a few treats are okay.

Where my diet seems to fall down is on protein and I could really use some advice. I calculated that for my height and weight, I should be getting around 32g of protein per day. This is lower then the recommended daily intake because I am very short, but even so, I don't think I am getting anywhere near this.

I have read that most people get too much protein and that a vegetatian diet based on wholefoods should contain more than enough protein. Then I did the maths and I can't say I agree.

Apparently for just 20g of protein I would have to eat 400g of brown rice (I eat about 40g a few times a week), 600g of broccoli (I eat this daily but not 600g of it!), 4 large potatoes (I eat maybe one, once a week, but have sweet potatoes a few times a week) and 250g of tofu. I do eat eggs, but not every day and an egg, although apparently offering a complete balance of essencial amino acids, is only 10g of protein.

I'm at a loss. I read that quinoa is a great source of protein too (complete and balanced, like the egg). I went rushing out to buy some but when I got it home, I found that 100g only gives 4.4g of protein (and I hope they meant cooked because the lable doesn't say!).

I am vegetarian so meat and fish are not an option, I would prefer not to eat quorn or other 'fake' meats, and I have to watch my calories because I am very short but also have a heavy frame, so even a little extra weight makes me look chubby, so cheese isn't a good idea either.

Does anyone have any advice? I really don't want to make myself ill by not eating properly. I'm also worried about omega oils but think I'll start taking flaxseed oil for this.

[habbalah]

Re: Alternative Protein?

Can you eat peanut butter? Peanut butter is a pretty good source of protein. Also, I've been using Flat Out wraps for sandwiches. I'm not sure if they have this brand where you live, but you might want to look at wraps--one wrap has nine grams of protein, which is even more than a serving of peanut butter (about 8).

[DanieMarie]

Re: Alternative Protein?

Quinoa and oats for sure!

If you're not vegan eggs are a great option. Also nuts, lentils, peas and beans...they all have protein.

I'd recommend staying away from tofu. Soy isn't really good for you when consumed in large amounts. If you go for the soy, it's better to have fermented soy products like tempeh.

But yeah, I'd recommend all the stuff I can't eat....my allergies are a big reason I never became a vegetarian, because it's just too hard to get protein!

[Caelia]

Re: Alternative Protein?

Don't forget leafy vegetables. Leafy vegetables, like spinach, are chocked full of protein.

Also, you may have to look at supplements. You can only get certain vitamins from meats, B12 being one.

[Jembru]

Re: Alternative Protein?

Thanks so much for the advice everyone. I have a few questions..

Habbalah, is that a kind of tortilla? I'll see if I can find them or something similar. Peanut butter is a great idea. I had no idea there was so much protein in it!

Danie, is that all soya or just refined products that I should watch my intake of? I ask because I frequently eat edamame (the beans served boiled in their pods) and natto (fermented soya beans, that should really be written 'nattou' in romaji but never is somehow). Natto in particular, is considered somewhat of a superfood in Japan. Here's a link in case you're curious http://kimonobox.com/post/en/3858/na...ical-benefits/

My only worry with natto is the salt in the soy sauce it is eaten with! I would eat it daily if I had the choice but it is expensive in the UK, I have to travel to Newcastle, to a specialist oriental supermarket, to get it and it sadly doesn't last long after I get it home... If I buy 3 boxes, I eat 3 boxes that day. If I buy 15.. I eat 15! ^^ Come to think of it, it is probably because I am so deficient in protein, that I crave natto this way!

And Caelia. I take a multivitamin containing B12 and twice a year, take a month course of a B12 complex. This is what caused my issue at uni. I had been vegan for a few years and had not only used up all my stored B12, but I had also been trying to function without it for months. The result was that I had a pretty bad episode of psychosis and although I laugh about it now, (I thought I was Gollum from LOTR), it was actually horrible. I have been veggie since I was 6 years old, so it must be available in a sufficient amount in dairy too, but although I have dairy these days, I won't take any chances with the B12!

[habbalah]

Re: Alternative Protein?

Kind of! It's a flatbread. This is Flat Out's website, to give you an idea: http://www.flatoutbread.com/

[Corvus]

Re: Alternative Protein?

Beans are the only thing that comes to mind. The poor man's meat and all that.

[DanieMarie]

Re: Alternative Protein?

Thanks so much for the advice everyone. I have a few questions..

Habbalah, is that a kind of tortilla? I'll see if I can find them or something similar. Peanut butter is a great idea. I had no idea there was so much protein in it!

Danie, is that all soya or just refined products that I should watch my intake of? I ask because I frequently eat edamame (the beans served boiled in their pods) and natto (fermented soya beans, that should really be written 'nattou' in romaji but never is somehow). Natto in particular, is considered somewhat of a superfood in Japan. Here's a link in case you're curious http://kimonobox.com/post/en/3858/na...ical-benefits/

My only worry with natto is the salt in the soy sauce it is eaten with! I would eat it daily if I had the choice but it is expensive in the UK, I have to travel to Newcastle, to a specialist oriental supermarket, to get it and it sadly doesn't last long after I get it home... If I buy 3 boxes, I eat 3 boxes that day. If I buy 15.. I eat 15! ^^ Come to think of it, it is probably because I am so deficient in protein, that I crave natto this way!

And Caelia. I take a multivitamin containing B12 and twice a year, take a month course of a B12 complex. This is what caused my issue at uni. I had been vegan for a few years and had not only used up all my stored B12, but I had also been trying to function without it for months. The result was that I had a pretty bad episode of psychosis and although I laugh about it now, (I thought I was Gollum from LOTR), it was actually horrible. I have been veggie since I was 6 years old, so it must be available in a sufficient amount in dairy too, but although I have dairy these days, I won't take any chances with the B12!

I pay a lot of attention to health stuff about soy because I'm allergic to it and I hate how everyone thinks it's a 'superfood' and it gets put in so much stuff....but from what I've read anything fermented is ok, and that's how most Asian cultures have used it for so long without negative effects. I wouldn't buy into it being a 'superfood' though....I'm kind of skeptical that there is such a thing personally....overall the most 'super' thing you can do is get a good amount of healthy fatty acids, protein, fibre, and vitamins.

[Jembru]

Re: Alternative Protein?

I don't pay much attention either, but I just happen to like natto and Japanese people really, really like to tell foreigners how great it is and what a pity it is that most of us don't like the smell so won't eat it! ^^ I can't deny that it DOES appear to be packed with awesome stuff, but I'd eat it regardless. I think there is much more to the Japanese diet than just the natto, that keeps them all so bloomin' thin, youthful and refusing to die! If I could bring myself to eat fish and seafood, I'd convert to a traditional Japanese diet in a heartbeat!

Funny coincidence but there was an interesting TV show on earlier 'Ten things you should know about losing weight'. It made a good argument for eating a protein rich diet and I couldn't help thinking what fitting timing that was!

[Thjoth]

Re: Alternative Protein?

Why not just use whey protein powder? Most protein powders will give you around 40g of protein per serving. Just mix it with some milk and you have even more, in a good tasting drink form. My post-workout meal is a serving of the powder in 2 cups of milk with an omlette made of 4 large eggs, for a grand total of over 80g of protein (81.2g to be exact). My total protein consumption winds up being way over 100g daily, usually.

[DanieMarie]

Re: Alternative Protein?

I don't pay much attention either, but I just happen to like natto and Japanese people really, really like to tell foreigners how great it is and what a pity it is that most of us don't like the smell so won't eat it! ^^ I can't deny that it DOES appear to be packed with awesome stuff, but I'd eat it regardless. I think there is much more to the Japanese diet than just the natto, that keeps them all so bloomin' thin, youthful and refusing to die! If I could bring myself to eat fish and seafood, I'd convert to a traditional Japanese diet in a heartbeat!

Funny coincidence but there was an interesting TV show on earlier 'Ten things you should know about losing weight'. It made a good argument for eating a protein rich diet and I couldn't help thinking what fitting timing that was!

Yeah I credit eating a lot of fish for most of my life for my figure and skin!

[Jembru]

Re: Alternative Protein?

Why not just use whey protein powder? Most protein powders will give you around 40g of protein per serving. Just mix it with some milk and you have even more, in a good tasting drink form. My post-workout meal is a serving of the powder in 2 cups of milk with an omlette made of 4 large eggs, for a grand total of over 80g of protein (81.2g to be exact). My total protein consumption winds up being way over 100g daily, usually.

It's an option if nothing else helps, but I think if I make just a few changes, like the peanut butter, I should just about manage the 32g I need.

The problem with whey protein is that again, it isn't real food to me and seems to have all kinds of chemicals added to it. It is also often from non-vegetarian whey so contains rennet.

@DanieMarie. I have often considered introducing fish into my diet but can never quite bring myself to try it. When you haven't eaten it since early childhood, it is really gross to even look at. I am too aware that it is a dead thing and I have an issue with dead things anyway (for example, I can catch a wasp and put it outside, but I'm so scared of dead ones that I can't even pick them up with a dustpan. I have to get someone else to remove dead things for me, including when my goldfish die!).

I'd also have to seriously think about the ethics before I could start eating fish. I know stocks are better regulated here in Europe, but there is still so much over-fishing and a lot of wastage. As much as two thirds of the catch can be thrown back.. usually left with ruptured swim bladders so they can't swim and are quickly picked off by gulls and other animals... then the gulls get too overpopulated and we start culling them too. Seems like too much unneccessary death for a few cod fingers in breadcrums.

I could probably eat fish caught with a line though. I mean, if I knew someone who fished and was offered. This is similar to when I was vegan; I would eat eggs from a friend's hens because I knew how well cared for they were and that they weren't being force fed chemicals.

There is of course, the time when I was eating frozen or even raw fish at uni.. presumably in a desperate attempt by my body to get some B12, but lets ignore that.

[DanieMarie]

Re: Alternative Protein?

I do understand that. I eat a lot less fish here in Europe actually than I did back home, just because at home it was fresher, but also I come from a fishing town and there are a LOT of programs to help avoid wastage, damage to both the fish and their environment, and to help them keep up their populations. Because fishing is a livelihood for a lot of people on the West Coast of Canada there are government and community programs to try to keep it sustainable. Here I'm not on the ocean, so I just don't really have that same connection with it. But I still do eat it just because I grew up on it and I really, really hate pork. Like a lot. I have to eat meat because I'm allergic to most meat alternatives barring some nuts and eggs, and chicken and fish are the most affordable options...beef and other red meats are more 'sometimes' foods.

I can see how people who didn't grow up eating fish would think it's gross though, even if they weren't veg. I know quite a few people who hate it.

Also, not trying to talk you into eating meat because that's totally your call and if you feel it's wrong to eat it, there's nothing wrong with that, but I just wanted to point out that the sustainability argument is very flawed. I think cutting out meat is not the answer, but rather avoiding wastage, making people understand portion sizes (ie getting them to eat a serving and not overeating) and making sure animals are farmed or fished in a humane, sustainable way is the answer. I read a stat once on how much meat is slaughtered in the US on a daily basis, and it FAR exceeds the needs of population or even export (I can't remember the stat but it was a lot). That right there is the problem, not the fact that people eat meat at all.
Also people have this attitude with fish that more=better. That's not going to help sustainability. Even people who grow up on coasts and have fish as major parts of their diet don't usually eat it every single day. Usually, it works like this: someone in your family goes fishing, and catches a fish or two. You cook some and freeze the rest. Sometimes, you go to the docks and buy a fish, and then it's the same deal. You don't go to the supermarket and buy fish filets and eat them every single day! If you're really hardcore (I am) you boil the heads and the bones and use it for stock.

[LadyGarnetRose]

Re: Alternative Protein?

Beans beans and more beans.

Black beans especially. 1 cup of Black Beans will give you 15 grams of protein, 15 grams of fiber and only 1 gram of fat.

[DanieMarie]

Re: Alternative Protein?

Have you thought about eating kelp? It's relatively high in protein for a vegetable, and if you like Japanese food you might like it. I get dried kelp at the Asian markets and throw it in stuff like soups and stir fry.