Recipes for vegetarian salads with lots of protein! (soy, cider, Whole Foods)

[sayulita]

Hi all,

I'm looking for recipes for cold salads/dishes for a vegetarian (not vegan) first grade school teacher. She needs to have at least 20 grams of protein per cup to keep her immune system up. She has no time to wait in line for the microwave, so cold it is. And she loves cheese.

Also something she can make in a big batch on Sunday and eat on it all week long. No time weekday nights to prepare anything.

Any ideas much appreciated.

[Mrs.JT]

Do you have an Instagram account? Just yesterday, I sent my husband a couple of screenshots of high protein vegan (I know you specified vegetarian, but these might still qualify for what you're looking for) meals. They're basically bowls with either pasta or rice as a base and high protein ingredients tossed on top. If you have Instagram, the account name is fritzness_


Examples of his meals:


74g protein bowl
150g white rice
100g red lentils
100g peas
150g vegetable mix
175g smoked tofu
mushrooms
half of a small avocado
tomatoes
season the tofu, veggies and peas with rosemary in a pan and the avocado acts as a "sauce"


50g protein bowl
100g pasta
100g red lentils
200g peas
eggplant
diced tomatoes
15g tahini drizzled on top
mint


Also, I love Whole Foods' mock chicken salad. They sell the mock chicken (soy protein nuggets) in the freezer aisle, so I usually buy and make my own batch of mock chicken salad. They're made by Delight Soy. They're fairly high in protein.


HTH!

[sayulita]

Thanks so much! I don't have Instagram, but I'll try to Google something similar to these. She doesn't care for tofu or other meat substitutes, so lentils, beans and cheese need to be the basic building blocks for her salads.

[Mrs.JT]

You're welcome.


I pulled those from a vegan account, so I'm sure a search for vegetarian bowls will yield more results that include cheese. If I come across any, I will be back to post!

[Mikala43]

Mixed grain and bean salads are super easy, add a hard boiled egg if you want more protein.

These salads can be made in various flavor profiles (various Asian, hispanic, middle eastern, etc.) with a variety of veggies and nuts added.

[Nefret]

I'm curious to know why there's such an emphasis on protein these days. I've been vegetarian for over 20 years, never think about protein and am very healthy.

If seems like there's constant references to "getting your protein".

[sayulita]

Originally Posted by Nefret

I'm curious to know why there's such an emphasis on protein these days. I've been vegetarian for over 20 years, never think about protein and am very healthy.

If seems like there's constant references to "getting your protein".

Because bodies need protein. The teacher I referred to in my OP is my niece who came to live with me in her teens. I eat meat and she does not. We learned that if she didn't get the recommended 40 grams of protein a day, she would get run down and sick. It made a big difference in her health when I started making sure that she was getting enough protein.

To this day, she knows when she isn't being conscientious about her protein intake, she will get sick more easily. And being exposed to a classroom of 6 year old's makes her that much more vulnerable.

[Nefret]

Originally Posted by sayulita

Because bodies need protein. The teacher I referred to in my OP is my niece who came to live with me in her teens. I eat meat and she does not. We learned that if she didn't get the recommended 40 grams of protein a day, she would get run down and sick. It made a big difference in her health when I started making sure that she was getting enough protein.

To this day, she knows when she isn't being conscientious about her protein intake, she will get sick more easily. And being exposed to a classroom of 6 year old's makes her that much more vulnerable.

I seem to remember reading somewhere that the average American diet contained enough protein.

I can see where vegans would have a problem but most vegetarians eat sufficient plant protein.

I do realize that we need protein but there seems such an emphasis recently with commercials for protein supplements---"get your protein". Also, I subscribe to Blue Apron, read the comments on the site for tips on each meal before I prepare it and frequently see comments from other subscribers regarding adding protein to that meal.

[Robinwomb]

Originally Posted by sayulita

Because bodies need protein. The teacher I referred to in my OP is my niece who came to live with me in her teens. I eat meat and she does not. We learned that if she didn't get the recommended 40 grams of protein a day, she would get run down and sick. It made a big difference in her health when I started making sure that she was getting enough protein.

To this day, she knows when she isn't being conscientious about her protein intake, she will get sick more easily. And being exposed to a classroom of 6 year old's makes her that much more vulnerable.

I was vegan for many years and would average around 35-45 grams of protein. It was nowhere near enough for my lifestyle, being very active with cycling, dancing (ballet/modern), weight lifting, canoeing, hiking, Pilates, etc. I made a big effort to get more. As a vegetarian including foods like Greek yogurt, occasional eggs, very small amounts of soft cheese (most cheese I am intolerant of but soft cheeses like cottage cheese are easier) in ADDITION to my usual diet (beans, grains, vegetables/fruits, nuts and seeds) I get more like 50 to 60 grams of protein on average, and strain myself far less with exercise. I also do not get sick as much.

I don't think it is unreasonable to be concerned about protein. If an average person was trying to get over 100 grams per day (not talking about body builders or endurance athletes etc) I would have concerns they were getting too much. The average female needs about 40-60 grams of protein per day, depending on your ideal weight etc. It is easier for some than others as vegans or vegetarians depending on what you eat. I need to severely limit soy due to intolerance and because I have a long term thyroid disease that is worsened with a lot of soy products. I rely heavily on other beans such as lentils, black beans, chickpeas, white beans etc for protein, fiber, calcium, sustenance. I also rely on oats, brown or wild rice, quinoa, millet, spelt bread, Bulgar wheat (makes a nice taco "meat" or spaghetti "meat"). And higher protein vegetables and legumes like sweet potato, broccoli, kale. I usually eat a few servings of nuts and/or seeds each day (chia seeds in smoothies or puddings, mix of pumpkin seeds and chopped dates for a snack, handful of whole almonds for a snack, cashew based sauces.... I'm not big on the processed plant meats but will consume them occasionally. I like Field Roast apple sage "sausages" (they are soy free too) for example, about once a month or so. Or I will make tempeh bacon or use tempeh in a recipe once or twice a month, though keep it to a minimum due to the soy. I have a lot of food sensitivities.

I am very busy during my work week and am not home often (this morning I am usually gone by now so this is a rare exception). I make all of my lunches for my workweek on Sundays. Everything I make keeps in tight fitting tupperware for the week in the refrigerator. I portion individual days except soup which I keep in a large batch and in the morning before I leave I heart a cup or two in the microwave and then put it in a small soup thermos and off I go.

A cold salad recipe I like to make is a big batch of wild rice. I let it cool (or rinse in cold water and drain) and then add whole almonds, sunflower seeds or chopped walnuts, fresh blueberries, finely chopped collard greens or dinosaur kale, some dry oats. I rub in some maple syrup and add cinnamon and nutmeg. I eat about two cups worth per meal.

A cold pasta salad I make is whole wheat macaroni or spiral pasta, chickpeas, cooked peas, celery, onion, and vegan mayonnaise (usually Just Mayo, but have made homemade almond or cashew based mayo also). I sprinkle with a generous portion of black pepper too. I can see adding in shredded chedder cheese to this for added protein, or chopped hard boiled egg.

Not a salad, but I will make a huge batch of whole wheat spaghetti or soba noodles and divide it into five portions with roasted broccoli, black beans, red pepper, and peanuts or peanut butter (I dilute with a little cider vinegar and water and heat on stove to make a sauce with it...some people add soy sauce to this mixture). I love to sprinkle this with ginger powder, garlic powder, maybe some turmeric.

For garden types of salads, I mix different types of leafy greens...kale, collard, bok choy, dandelion greens, arugula etc with romaine lettuce. I add chickpeas, sunflower seeds, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, raw broccoli, sprouts, bell pepper etc. For the dressing I might do the peanut butter sauce, or a tahini based dressing, or cashew "cream cheese". Nut based "cheeses" keep unrefrigerated much longer than dairy based (though the protein content might be slightly less). Sometimes the morning of I add a 1/2 cup of cottage cheese to my salad and bring that to work. A half cup of cottage cheese will add about 13 grams of protein and some extra calcium to the mix. I don't refrigerate it during the day, just keep it in a soft cooler type bag at my desk and it keeps fine. I do this with yogurt too. I buy a large tub for the week, but portion out a cup into a container for work and it keeps until lunch unrefrigerated but in my cooler bag. I add granola to yogurt for a snack.

A really easy one is just adding about 3/4 cup dry oats to a ziplock bag or tupperware dish with lid. I add stuff like pumpkin seeds, dried fruit, cinnamon, stevia or turbinado sugar and mix together in container or bag. At work I bring a cup to the coffee pot where there is a hot water spout on the side, and fill up my cup with hot water. I empty that water into my bowl with the oat mixture and let it soak for five minutes, and eat that for a meal or snack. It makes a cup and a half of oatmeal which is about 8 grams of protein. Two tablespoons of seeds or nuts will add another 7 grams of protein for a total of 15 grams of protein. You can up this by eating the cereal cold and adding soy milk, pea milk, or dairy milk instead of hot water for an additional 6-8 grams protein per cup of milk bringing this to 21-23 grams of protein for the meal.

[sayulita]

Thank you so much! Those are some great tips and recipes. I'm just going to copy and paste your whole post and send it to her!