Recommendations for Increasing Non-Animal Protein Intake? (vegetables, smoothie, daily basis, vitamin)

[erjunkee]

Hi All,

I'd really like to increase the amount of non-animal derivative (eg no beef, no chicken) protein in my diet.

I eat chicken and seafood enough, and in general, I'm not a big fan of beef. However, for my own personal health reasons, I'm looking for healthier alternatives.

I purchased brown rice protein powder and use it in smoothies, but I find that the protein shakes have a chalky aftertaste that I'm none-to-happy-with.

Overall, I'm looking for ways to improve my protein intake.

For those of you who eat healthy and like protein but don't like consuming large amounts of chicken, beef, or other animal-derived protein, what do you eat? Would you mind sharing any recommendations?

Thanks so much .

[Luckyd609]

Nuts
Soy - tofu
Quinoa
Eggs
Yogurt
Whey protein powder is great for smoothies.

[user_id]

All whole plant foods contain, at least some, protein and if you're eating meat on a daily basis there is no reason to seek out high protein non-meat foods since you'd already be getting enough via the meat and other foods. But if you're thinking of doing meatless days, combinations of grains and legumes provide a good amount of high quality protein. So, for example, a bean burrito, peanut butter on bread, rice and beans, beans and toast, legume curries over rice, pea soup with bread, etc. A ton of options.

I don't eat any meat but like to keep my protein well above the recommended intake (57 grams for a man) and my meals, almost always, are based on a legume combined with a grain or starchy vegetable.


Nuts are commonly thought of as a high protein food but in reality they just have moderate amounts of protein and have similar amounts of protein, on average, to grains on a calorie basis. Almonds and peanuts (which are really a legume) have some of the highest levels where as walnuts and Brazil nuts have low levels.

[clevergirl05]

1. Non-fat/plain Greek yogurt: I sweeten it with cut up oranges, tangerines, mandarins, red seedless grapes, black seedless grapes, blueberries, or strawberries. Sometimes I'll even go "hardcore" and it eat straight with no fruit .

2. Smucker's Natural Creamy Peanut Butter: it contains only 2 ingredients – peanuts and 1% or less salt.

3. Boiled eggs (yes, I eat the yolks, and yes, I'm aware that eggs are animal-based, but your post sounded like you wanted to avoid meats, not animal-based foods like eggs, milk, cheese, etc.).

4. Scrambled eggs (I always eat the yolks).

5. Field peas with snaps (frozen, not canned): 3 ounces contain 7g of protein (Calories in Fresh Frozen Field Peas with Snaps and Nutrition Facts) – most eggs contain 6g of protein, therefore, a serving of field peas with snaps contains more protein (7g) than an egg (6g).

6. 2% Milk (skim milk is nothing but "white water" and 1% milk is "whiter water" ).

7. Colby and jack cheese: I never buy the overpriced/overhyped low-fat cheese, instead, I just buy the regular full-fat cheese and eat half an ounce (half a serving) instead of a full ounce (a full serving).

8. Mixed nuts.

9. 100% Rolled Oats or Quick (not instant) Oats: I sweeten it by dicing half of a red apple (with the skin) and sprinkling it on top of the cooked oatmeal and then adding a quick splash of 2% milk.

10. Broccoli: not only does broccoli contain more vitamin C (135%) than an orange (93%), it also contains more protein (4g) and more fiber (5g) than a slice of 100% whole wheat bread (3g protein/2g fiber) . (vitamin C)

Here's a pretty good list of protein-rich foods: protein.

[user_id]

There is really no point in replacing meat protein with egg and dairy protein, if anything, one is better off eating lean meats than they are eating eggs and dairy. If one is interested in reducing the amount of animal based protein they eat, which has been recommended for years, one obviously needs to look towards plant foods. And, in the case of plant foods, you're going to want to think of combining proteins from grains,legumes, nuts and starchy vegetables rather than thinking of them, individually, as replacements for animal based protein.

[California831]

Nuts, yogurt, eggs, and of course GRASS FED BEEF, BACON, DUCK, and LAMB!!!