Protein options for a returning vegan with food allergies

A

airunited4u

New member
Hi guys! New here! My background with vegan diet: I used to be vegan 5+ years ago and maintained it for about 2 years, however I was not financially able keep at it and my health deteriorated from lack of nutrition as I wasnt doing it properly.

Fast forward to now my finances and physical health are much better and in a place where Im even back in the gym for weight training! I finally worked through my ED over the past years and figured out some allergies too. Which brings me to my main Q.

I have gluten allergies, and my body has a hard time processing legumes like chickpeas, lentils and beans.

For someone like me with these food sensitivities, does anyone have any recommendations for high protein substitutes for my food? Im supposed to have at least 30g of protein per meal for my current fitness goals.

Thanks for the help everyone!!

EDIT 1: holy heck thank you everyone for all the incredibly helpful responses!! Was away for work so will respond to each in a few minutes, stopping by the grocery store right now to pick up some options!! Will update again with another edit with how it goes. Im so very excited and also again hella grateful to all your help!! Cheers!!
 
@airunited4u Have you tried TVP? It’s soy based, but it’s processed and only has part of the soybean, so maybe whatever is aggravating your digestive system has been removed? Not likely, but might be worth a shot.
 
@niveuscurrus I have not tried that yet, first time Ive heard of it and will look it up!! I think what bothers my system is the skin/shell of the bean so maybe this powdered version is worth a try!
 
@airunited4u I have a FODMAP sensitivity and soy products tend to be one of the best for my gut compared to straight up beans, lentils, and other legumes. FODMAPs are water-soluble so firm tofu (more water is pressed out) should be a good way to get vegan protein without the gut issues.

Silk soy milk also tend to be good since it is processed more heavily allowing for the FODMAP to be reduced.
 
@airunited4u Hemp powder is good for smoothies. Then, for beans, you may be sensitive to fodmaps. Luckily you can remove a lot those if you cook beans in this way: soak dry beans overnight. Discard water. Add water and boil for 5 minutes. Discard water. Add new water and boil until tender. It takes effort but they are soooo much easier to digest much less flatulence. And the for cereals with no gluten you have rice (rice protein powder also exists by the way). Oh and pseudograins like quinoa and buckwheat I believe the latter has no gluten as well
 
@trueblood Thank you for this response! Im going to try that this weekend. Does the boiling/rinsing process remove some nutrients tho? Would it retain enough protein? Not sure how these things work.

I always forget about quinoa, usually I just avoid any flour based foods/products and stick to rice and the occasional GF certified pastas as a treat. Didnt know buckwheat is GF either!! Thank you again for the detailed advice!!
 
@airunited4u I am a big fan of tempeh. It’s fairly neutral & even healthy than tofu in many ways. I eat about 6-8oz of it every day. Air fried w Thai chili sauce, stir fry teriyaki style. Crumbled in tomato sauce over pasta (I sub cauliflower rice since I’m low carb -T2D). I enjoy it so much. I’ve been making my own for several months. Give it a try .)

https://www.loveandlemons.com/tempeh/
 
@anniejey Oh!! I just googled it, didnt realize it had such a high protein count that’s great to know! Mmm now im craving a tomato pasta. Perfect now i know what to meal prep hahaha thank you sm!!
 
@daizy Meant to reply to this sooner!! Thank you so much. Its really been a long challenge, many ups and downs and even some relapses. But it really was life changing once I was able to hold onto some consistency. Feels amazing to see and literally feel the results of being able to take care of myself after struggling for years. To anyone having a hard time, your efforts always worth it. Keep going!!
 
@airunited4u I had issues digesting diets high in fodmaps which overlaps a lot with your gluten sensitivity and issues digesting legumes. The lowest fodmap high protein vegan foods are:
1) soy protein isolate, fermented vegan proteins (a lot more expensive)

2) tofu

3) chickpea, lentils, mung, edamame, black beans, Lima beans

4) soy milk - technically high fodmaps yet any other milk doesn't register as reasonably high enough in protein

5) pumpkin seeds, tahini, sunflower seeds

Note: frozen peas are technically high in fodmaps and yet my body digests them fine? Same with frozen green beans? 🤷‍♂️

6) whole grains have some protein: quinoa, corn pasta, brown rice, teff, buckwheat

7) cruciferous vegetables: broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower (every bit helps)

Note: think of fodmaps like a bowl of icky stuff your body can process and everyone has a different size bowl. Some people's bowl is small and others is large. If you go over that bowl it overflowed and digestion is affected. At first, the tendency is to obsess over fodmaps and eliminating them. Once your digestion issues are tame, it's completely OK to eat some even to have the bowl overflow every once in awhile - it's just a helpful way of eating - a tool. Not a healthy thing to obsess about (this is not directed at you but totally at past me).

All the best!!!
 
@benabbe Would def recommend fermented protein powders, in particular pea proteins or any that still have some fiber. Genuine Health makes some good fermented powders.

I would like to add amaranth as another grain. Complete protein, awesome.
 
@airunited4u I have similar problems as you have and have not found solution yet least that doesn't feel like you are eating same food over and over again. I can't eat even most gluten free products (only small amount of gluten free oats) and also beans and chickpeas are bad in big amounts. I can eat soy products but eating only soy becomes boring really quickly. There is also a financial problems where I'm a student so I can't buy expensive products like tempeh and which ever option at school lunch is gluten free it's what I'm going to be eating (most of the time it's not the vegan/vegetarian option unfortunately).

I'm hoping once I finish my school and I get a job I can finally transform to more vegan only lifestyle. Until then I try to make the best choices I can when it comes to my diet and adding more vegan choices.

I think with your case you might just want to add a soy based protein shake with your every meal?
 
@airunited4u Have you tried lentil or bean pasta? Since it's more processed, you might be able to tolerate them better. They have 20 to 30g of protein per 100g. Or you might want to eat whatever you like/can tolerate without paying too much attention to protein and supplement your diet with vegan protein shakes.
 
@airunited4u I would recommend basically all Bob's Red Mill products (minus the gluten ones lol) like Kamut, hemp protein powder, tvp, 1-1 "flour", etc. Maybe you could handle chickpea flour too and do "omelettes"?

Best of luck! Also does tofu and processed things like hummus still upset your gut? Maybe try a slow introduction of those since they're not the whole legumes
 
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