What are your favorite protein sources?

[blindly28]

@rhop59 For the hormonal issue, I just noticed it made my period cramps extremely worse. I’ve tried eating varying amounts, and found that in certain weeks of my cycle it leads to unbearable pain, so I try to limit my intake during certain weeks. I don’t completely eliminate it, but I don’t like my diet to be heavy in it since I’ve noticed how much of an impact
It makes on how I feel, and that’s been consistent during the 6 years I’ve been vegan.

I do eat a lot of plants and get 50g-70g a day depending on how much I eat.

I appreciate the input!

 

[rhop59]

@blindly28 Fair enough, well your best bet would be experimenting with other legumes to see what does or doesn't affect your period cramps. Lentils and beans come in a variety of formats and are protein dense. Lentil pasta, for example, is great, and IMO tastes more neutral than chickpea pasta.

Making a mix of ancient grains and quinoa is another really great option if you find legumes in general aren't great for your period cramps. Farro and pearl barley are my personal favourites. Each bowl ends up having about 15g of protein!

 

[blindly28]

@rhop59 Luckily soy seems to be the only legume that bothers me! I’ll look into trying other legume based pastas to try and get a variety. I’ve never even heard of farro or pearl barley so I’ll definitely look into that too! Thank you so much!

 

[ellenp]

@blindly28 Just a heads up, neither farro nor barley are gluten free.

 

[blindly28]

@ellenp Thank you! I was about to read about it so you just saved me a decent amount of time haha.

 

[precha7]

@blindly28 You can use protein powders in meals beside shakes. I add a couple of scoops to baked oats. Chocolate brownie oats are my favorite. You can even top it with vegan Greek yogurt for a bigger protein boost (Siggis is soy free).

Nutritional yeast is great! If you like chickpea pasta, it'd be great to make a nutritional yeast cheese sauce for a high protein mac n cheese.

Have you tried Chickpea flour? It's perfect for savory pancakes topped with hummus or baba ganoush.

Red lentil pasta is fab, especially with lots of veggies mixed in!

Trader Joe's has steamed lentils, too. They work great added in salads or with roasted veggies.

Soy-free tofu exists but can be pricey or hard to find. I've heard great things about Big Mountain Foods Soy-Free Tofu.

Highly recommend getting a big bag of pea-protein TVP. It's great mixed into stews or with sauces to give any meal a protein boost.

Good luck, you're doing great finding meals that work for you!

 

[blindly28]

@precha7 I used to use protein powder in overnight oats, but got out the habit of prepping them. After reading everything on this thread, I’m actually prepping overnight oats for the week right now with Huel protein powder, oats, chia seeds, almond yogurt, almond milk, and sliced almonds (with fruit of course to make it less sad lol). Working towards getting those gains

I will definitely pick up some nutritional yeast later since that seems like a super easy addition to what I already make! I knew nutritional yeast was good for B12 (which I get from supplements so I never bothered to try nutritional yeast), but I didn’t know about protein!

Thank you so much for the advice and encouragement!

 

[blindly28]

@precha7 I had my boyfriend pick up nutritional yeast from the store last night and I added it to my chickpea pasta today… GAME CHANGER. Such an easy way to add a bit of low cal protein and extra B12. I’m definitely going to try it on popcorn too to add a little something to my go-to snack. Thank you for the recommendation!! This is definitely going to be a new staple for me lol

 

[bethany123itsmeeeee]

@blindly28 Beans have a lot of protein! I have a ton of Histamine issues and do better off soy too. I also found I do better with tempeh than tofu

 

[gabriel22]

@blindly28 There’s a brand called ‘big mountain’ they have a soy free tofu. The macros are about the same as firm/extra firm regular tofu. They’re at my local grocery store, maybe you can find it too.

 

[liesje]

@blindly28 Kachava! Tastes way better than Huel in my opinion, packs a lot of protein and other great nutrients too, and doesn't have the extraneous things you're avoiding. There are several flavors, but the chocolate one is my favorite - I make protein smoothies with that, nut milk, banana and peanut butter. Always very filling and tasty.

 

[1nvictus]

@blindly28 I am loving the chickpea pastas these days. Huge fan of tofu and tempeh, and beans, of course.

 

[conqueror007]

@blindly28 Roast fava beans (or other beans/peas etc) can be a good high protein snack .

 

[blindly28]

@conqueror007 I’ve never tried those! I’ll definitely look into it, thank you!

 

[anniejey]

@blindly28 At your height I’d suggest 125g of quality protein a day.

Keeps you full for longer & helps you conserve lean muscle

 

[blindly28]

@anniejey Yeah I hope to get higher soon! I’m new to actually prioritizing protein since I’ve come to actually care about my health. I’m just kinda taking baby steps to increase the amount I eat since it’s a lot to change at once. From what I read online, the bare minimum for my weight and height is 40g, so I started there, then increased to 50g, and now I’m at 60g working towards 70g. Since I don’t lift yet I feel perfectly healthy with where I’m at, but I do want to improve.

 

[blindly28]

I also used to only eat 1,200-1,600cals a day, so learning to eat enough is also a big change. I started increasing my calories to be around 2,000 a few months ago since I found that’s what I can eat to feel healthier and not alter my weight. But I already feel stronger and more energized!

 

[warriorprincess02]

@blindly28 If you live near a Publix, they carry a soy-free tofu (uses favabeans) by the brand Big Mountain Foods. The package is 12 oz and contains 64g of protein! Its been super useful for me as someone who is also weight lifting. Hope this helps you!

 

[blindly28]

@warriorprincess02 I’ll look into that, thank you so much!

 

[seekerfortruth]

@blindly28 Protein I get comes from vegan protein powder, tofu, soy curls, beans/lentils, lentil pasta. Food for life wraps, bread and cereal are all high in protein as well.