Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Yes, a protein bar or smoothie can provide an extra 20g of protein really easily. Plus you can also opt for high protein subs - quinoa instead of rice, oat/quinoa pasta instead of white and add a lot of nootch to things - 2 Tbsp gives you 8g of protein with very little added fat.
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/custom/1323565/2

I feel you pain when it comes to this issue.

For about a year and a half I was very sick; I would black out, and was always feeling dizzy and fatigued. I went to my doctor regularly, and test after test turned up nothing... so I was left to struggle. Until one night I was procrastinating my way around the internet, and found an article on protein deficiency, and my symptoms matched up perfectly.

I have had to relearn how to eat as well. It has definitely been a struggle- I used to eat little more than fruits and vegetables, but now a significant portion of my diet is protein-rich foods. I don't eat a whole lot, so I tend to rely on fake meat and protein shakes.

One thing I have learned is that when I need a break from shakes and mock meats, some surprising foods have a good bit of protein in them. Bread actually has a few grams; I think that the kind I buy is 5g per serving; and when I make bread, it is definitely more than that. Add some nut butter, and it's even better. Peas are also good...

these are great suggestions for how to increase protein - thanks!

i also just tried overnight oats w/ chia for the first time this morning and liked it a lot. i added some peanut butter in so the whole thing was over 20 grams of protein and really tasty.

i rarely ate legumes before this protein awakening, so it's hard to get used to having them nearly everyday. but i'm finding some recipes that i like a lot - isa's chickpea cutlets, lentil burgers, etc. and i got some protein powder to add to smoothies!

my new mission is to use this struggle as a way to discover lots of delicious new recipes.

I think when people were saying, "it's easy to get enough protein on a vegan diet if you eat a variety of foods," they were assuming that included some legumes. I make sure to eat about a cup of legumes every day. If I do that, I can easily get enough protein just by eating whatever I want the rest of the day.

Have you tried Isa's recipe for Snobby Joes? They are lentil sloppy joes and really delicious! A couple other favorite lentil recipes of mine are Isa's Red Lentil Cauliflower curry (in Vcon) and the Arabian Rice and Lentil soup in AFR.

Nooch has protein in it? I seriously did not know that. We eat a shiitake ton of it because a) we love it and b) hey! B12! but I had no idea it had even a little protein. Thanks for sharing Tofulish!

I third the notion of adding protein powders/smoothies. I think I come pretty close to covering my needs without my pea/rice protein shakes, but taking them gives me some piece of mind and makes it so I don't feel the need to track intake as rigidly.

Just one cup and you can eat whatever else you want? One cup of chick peas is only 14.6g of protein. Don't most of us need between 60-70g a day?

I'm a small person and not an athlete. The vegan health site has a calculator to see how much protein and how much of each amino acid you need in a day. I only need about 45g a day, though I usually get more than that. And by "whatever I want," I don't mean I'm eating cotton candy and apples. Just that I don't need to pay attention to the amount of protein in my foods beyond the cup of beans.

http://veganhealth.org/articles/protein.php

Okay. I'm about 80kg, so I need about 64g, apparently. It's a vast spectrum between people! I just know that I struggle to get 64g if I don't ensure I eat higher protein during the day.

I can eat a whole block of tofu in one meal. Easily. I guess that's not helpful if you're trying to cut out soy, but it's lots of protein! I don't think I could eat a whole can of beans at once, though. For some reason, beans are much more filling to me than tofu.

I think my body lets me know if I haven't had enough protein because I end up STARVING. If I find myself wanting to graze in the kitchen all day, I can almost always look back at my meals and see that I haven't eaten very much protein.

Gah! I normally have over 100g of protein a day. I can't imagine anything less... craziness.

If it's a real problem, maybe a protein shake/smoothie might be an option. If you want to avoid soy, then a blend of rice and pea proteins will provide you with good levels of all amino acids. Or there's hemp protein, which is rather questionable in flavour, colour and texture.

I think hemp milk is quite high in protein; I half remember the brand I used to buy saying "7g of protein per serving". It might be worth looking at the box in the shop and comparing the nutritional information of that to whatever you normally buy. It's either really expensive or really cheap, though, so look around.

I'll have to get back on the nooch train. My local HFS swapped out the nice one for one that's more expensive and tastes nasty but is B12 enriched so I stopped buying it as I take a B12 supplement. I forgot it has lots of protein in!

That link is really helpful! I just put my weight into the calculator and it says I need ~55 g protein a day. If I put in my ideal weight, I'd need 47. I calculated an average day of what I eat and realized I'm only getting about 48.

1 serving peanut butter + 2 rice cakes + banana = 11 g
1/2 cup chickpeas + 1 cup quinoa + AFR balsamic tahini dressing (and veggies like lettuce, cukes, carrots etc) = 16.4 g
1 cup whole wheat spagetti + tomato sauce + 1/2 cup lentils + 1 cup broccoli = 21 g
TOTAL: 48.4

So I'm 6g short with only 2 pts left. I could add in a cup of oat milk for 4g, but that's 4pts so I'm now dipping into my weekly points and still 2g short. This also means if I use my weekly points just to up my protein intake, I will never get to have any desserts or treats EVER.

I hate dieting.

In any case, this shows that unless you're careful about things it really isn't that hard to mess up and not get enough protein.

This is pretty much what I do too. I focus on a couple high-protein sources- legumes, tempeh, seitan, etc- and if I'm eating healthy, nutrient-dense foods the rest of the day it's always fine. I've been shooting for 1200-1400 calories a day, and I tend to get between 55 and 65 grams of protein.

Of course, there are the less healthy days! But those don't tend to fall under the "eat a variety of healthy foods" advice either. Those are the coffee and bagel days.

Aubade, I have nothing against carbs, but when you're working with a limited number of points, maybe just try gradually shifting the ratio to more protein / fewer carbs? Like a cup of lentils and a half cup of pasta instead of the other way around? (I know, a half cup of pasta sounds sad, but you know what I mean!)

Yeah, I hear you. The only problem is that sounds gross to me. Like I don't want to eat a cup of beans with a tiny bit of pasta mixed in. I guess it is the picky eater in me but I've never been able to force myself to eat things I don't like.

I'm not sure, but I believe you only need the protein required by your "ideal" weight, especially if you're trying to lose... anyone else hear anything like that?

Try unsweetend soy milk, a tablespoon of nooch, or another cup of broccoli. All under your points count. And if you're getting enough for your idea weight, I wouldn't worry much about it anyway.

If you aren't sure about beans with pasta try this recipe http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/cavatappi-with-spinach-beans-asiago-cheese-10000000222380/. It is amazing! In place of the cheese I either use some homemade parmesan sprinkles (nooch ground up with almonds) or just skip it altogether. I don't like Daiya enough to sub that in.

Oh it isn't that I don't like pasta with beans - I just don't like mostly beans with a little pasta. That recipe has 4 cups pasta with 2 cups beans, which sounds right to me, not the other way around. I dunno, just the idea of eating basically a bowl of beans puts me off, especially when I can't cover it with some delicious cheezy sauce or something because that in itself is two many points.

If nooch really has that much protein though I'm probably ok. I usually drench my pasta in it! And it is 0 points for 2 TBSP. Does anyone know if all nooch has that much protein? I get mine in the bulk section, so I don't think it has nutritional values listed on it...

Well I didn't mean you had to eat that exact thing! :) You shouldn't have to make yourself eat something you don't like. I was just saying to make small shifts in the ratio of things, so that you're getting a little more of the things with protein and a little less of the things that don't have as much. So if you have pasta for dinner, maybe have a lunch that's a little more protein-heavy, and less carby. (I hate dieting too, and pasta- my great food love- has been a sore spot considering the calories/points involved for the small serving size).

I don't know about bulk bin nooch. I think I heard not all nooch is fortified with B12, but I would think it would still have the protein!

Aubade, do you like smoothies? I've successfully blended 1/3-1/2 cup white beans or lentils into my green smoothie and not noticed them at all. I just add a bit more liquid than normal and when I think it's done blending, keep blending for another minute or so. I don't know how beans add up for points, though, so I can't be of any help there.

Glad to see some sensible discussion on protein requirements for once. So often (online in particular) you see vegan/AR folks going on about how too much protein is bad for you & how vegans get plenty from inhaling the fumes of boiling cabbage.

I get 200g protein daily as a minmum (at 96kg bodyweight). Any less & I'd be freaking out about getting injured in the gym due to lack of recovery.

I'm really grateful for this thread. I was just sorta thinking "I eat well, I must be getting enough protein." But this thread has made me realize that I should get a lot more (55 grams a day according to that link from Vegan Health). I definitely don't eat a cup of beans every day. This is a good kick in the butt to pay more attention and eat more responsibly.

This has been my only source of protein for 10 years and I'm doing fine thank you very much!

For anyone trying to get enough protein without consuming too many calories, you might try eating more dark green veggies. Things like broccoli and spinach have a surprisingly high amount of protein for the calories. Per the nutritiondata website, 1 cup of frozen chopped spinach has 6 g of protein and only 45 calories (http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/veg ... cts/2630/2). I think stats for broccoli and dark leafy greens are similar.