People often ask me, “Neha I am a vegetarian, what should I eat to ensure my protein intake is substantial?” Trust me, if I had a penny for every time I have answered this question I would be a billionaire.

So this definitely deserves a blog post and with the month of Shravan and Ganpati around the corner even the non vegetarians are stressed. I hope this helps you and gives you more than enough choices on veg protein.

I feel most vegetarians are simply confused thanks to the western culture diets that are meat based, which leads them to believe that we do not get enough protein in plant based diets and even if we do, the choices are limited or expensive. By eating variety of combinations and mixing certain food we can get enough protein in vegetarian diet. So here are some options for you.

  • Almonds
  • Walnuts
  • Tofu
  • Kidney beans
  • Chickpeas
  • Soyabeans
  • Amarnath (rajgri)
  • Quinoa
  • Edamame
  • Broccoli
  • Mushrooms
  • Cauliflower
  • Spinach
  • Sprouts
  • Soy milk
  • Soya chunks
  • Spinach
  • Low fat panner (cottage cheese)
  • Low fat milk
  • Low fat curd
  • Cheese
  • Whey protein
  • Pea protein
  • Lentils
  • Legumes
  • Chia seeds

 

How to add protein in everyday diet ?

– Substitute rice for amaranth (rajgri) or the popular western fad quinoa
– Have a bowl of chickpeas, rajma ( kidney beans) or sprouts everyday
– Eat tofu,paneer, soya bean for lunch or dinner
– Hummus is another excellent snack have it with sliced carrots and cucumber
– Have handful of almonds and walnuts as a mid snack
– Nut butter (peanut/almond) are an excellent source of protein, so slice those apples and bring out the loaf of bread
– Have milk/yogurt/curd/buttermilk during the day ( if you are trying to loose weight then low fat diary)
– Eat Mushroom, spinach,cauliflower and edamame regularly either for lunch or dinner

My favorite super food protein Amaranth and Quinoa are whole-grain foods and they are not true cereal grains.These seeds are prepared and consumed the same way as rice and oats. Amaranth has slightly higher protein content than quinoa, but they both provide double the amount of protein as compared to eating brown rice, oats or whole wheat. Amaranth has 9 grams of protein in a 1-cup serving, while quinoa has 8 grams. Apart from higher protein, the second advantage you’ll get from amaranth and quinoa is the quality of protein which is far superior than any vegetarian options.*

The Institute of Medicine recommends women consume 46 grams and men need 56 grams of protein daily.

NO MORE EXCUSES VEGETARIANS HAVE YOUR PROTEIN

 

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*Source livestrong