How do I get enough protein in a vegan diet? (food, meat)

[Peggy Anne]

I soak raw almonds, and raw cashews in water overnight in the fridge, and eat them. They are healthier that way, and tender. They can be incorporated into smoothies, too. They don't beat up the blades as much. Same with shelled raw sunflower seeds. Nut butters, seeds, and beans have protein. Iron I get from spinach, and b-12 from nutritional yeast.

[AnonChick]

How do vegans view nutritional yeast though? The vitamin B12 added to it, is cultured from bacteria. Bacteria is a living micro-organism - animal in nature. But vegans eschew all animal products and ethical vegans won't even touch honey - which isn't even animal-based; it's plant based, but uses animals to process. If they won't touch honey, how do they explain accepting B12? I realize that yeast is not bacterial in nature, but the B12 added to nutritional yeast, is.

[Green Irish Eyes]

Originally Posted by AnonChick

How do vegans view nutritional yeast though? The vitamin B12 added to it, is cultured from bacteria. Bacteria is a living micro-organism - animal in nature. But vegans eschew all animal products and ethical vegans won't even touch honey - which isn't even animal-based; it's plant based, but uses animals to process. If they won't touch honey, how do they explain accepting B12? I realize that yeast is not bacterial in nature, but the B12 added to nutritional yeast, is.

McGraw-Hill Science & Technology Encyclopedia definition of "Bacteria":

Extremely small—usually 0.3 to 2.0 micrometers in diameter—and relatively simple microorganisms possessing the prokaryotic type of cell construction. Although traditionally classified within the fungi as Schizomycetes, they show no phylogenetic affinities with the fungi, which are eukaryotic organisms. The only group that is clearly related to the bacteria are the blue-green algae.

and

Saunders Veterinary Dictionary definition of "Schizomycetes"

A taxonomic class comprising the bacteria; they are typically unicellular organisms, considered plants which commonly multiply by cell division, and which may be freeliving, saprophytic, parasitic, or even pathogenic, the last causing disease in plants or animals.

Bacteria is NOT "animal in nature."


But in case it's still a concern for you:

Vegan B12

Vegan B12

[suzy_q2010]

Originally Posted by Dark of the Moon

McGraw-Hill Science & Technology Encyclopedia definition of "Bacteria":



and

Saunders Veterinary Dictionary definition of "Schizomycetes"




Bacteria is NOT "animal in nature."


But in case it's still a concern for you:

Vegan B12

Vegan B12

To get technical:

Are bacteria plants or animals

[Drowningintherain2]

Originally Posted by AnonChick

How do vegans view nutritional yeast though? The vitamin B12 added to it, is cultured from bacteria. Bacteria is a living micro-organism - animal in nature. But vegans eschew all animal products and ethical vegans won't even touch honey - which isn't even animal-based; it's plant based, but uses animals to process. If they won't touch honey, how do they explain accepting B12? I realize that yeast is not bacterial in nature, but the B12 added to nutritional yeast, is.

Are you kidding? Bacteria are animals? Call it whatever you want to but bacteria are not sentient,so I have no issue consuming them. Honey is basically bee puke....gross. It IS an animal product. Bees make it for themselves not for humans to steal especially when we have no need for it whatsoever.

[modeerf]

Pumpkin seed meal has lots of Iron and Zinc and can be as high as 68% protein. It is hard to find, but if you can find it, buy it. Its great in smoothies and mixed with granola's. Use it as you would hemp seed powder.

Bake in breads and pasta's

Grape seed extract... or grape seed flour has lots of Iron and trace minerals. As well as Pycnogenols bioflavinoids.

[jasper12]

Whole wheat cereal or oatmeal in the morning, cooked slow, with flaxseed, and soy milk. I usually add a scoop of peanut butter to the cereal.
lunch/snacks-stir fry veggies, with brown rice and tofu.
Dinner/snack-lentil soup, or some soup with beans.
I always eat a large dish of greens/kale, spinach, swiss chard before I eat dinner. I also got these wonderful bags of frozen Soybeans, just pop them in the microwave for a few minutes, yum.

And even with all that, I still have very low iron, I can't give blood, because I am too anemic. So, I should take pills, but I forget.

[512ATX]

All the green veggies are packed with protein from Kale to Spinach.

and the myth that red meat is the only source of protein is just that..
..a myth.

[AnonChick]

When I did the veggie thing years ago, my primary sources of protein were peanutbutter sandwiches, and fresh cut spinach sauteed in olive oil and minced garlic. I'm not veggie anymore but I still love those two things.

Also to Dark and Suzy - thanks for the info on bacteria. I had never thought to question what they were, til reading forums on the internet. I had always just assumed they were animal in nature because you can see them swimming around in a petri dish My education in organic chemistry was exclusively plant-based, so there was no need to examine "what is -not- a plant."

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by 512ATX

All the green veggies are packed with protein from Kale to Spinach.

and the myth that red meat is the only source of protein is just that..
..a myth.

FWIW, I've never met anyone who thinks that red meat is the only protein source.