Protein for Vegans and Vegetarians

Protein is essential no matter where you are in the Calibrate food program. It can help regulate hunger hormones so you have reduced cravings and feel fuller for longer. It is also slow-digesting, meaning that it helps to keep your blood sugar stable and helps your body to burn energy instead of storing it. Protein also helps build and support muscles, which is critical during weight loss (we want to keep the muscles but lose the fat).

For vegans and vegetarians, protein is often a big concern. As you learned in Level 2 Food, getting the right amount—and the right kind—of protein is crucial. Complete protein sources tend not to be vegan or vegetarian. But with a varied diet and regular meals, you can absolutely get enough protein to keep your body and muscles humming along just fine.

If you’re 100% plant-based, or just want to get more of your protein from plant-based sources, the challenge is that you generally have to eat more volume, from sources with more calories and carbs, to get the same amount of protein and balance of amino acids that you’d get from animal protein. So it takes some work to get the protein you need while keeping your portions in check.

For example, if you ate 5 ounces of salmon, you’d get 32 grams of complete protein, 185 calories and 0 grams carbohydrates. To get around the same amount of protein from plant-based sources, it might look like this:

Tofu (extra firm): 12 ounces, 32 grams protein, 320 calories, 8 grams carbohydrates
Quinoa (2 cups) + lentils (1 cup): 34 grams protein, 670 calories, 117 grams carbohydrates (you would get about 26 grams of fiber, but even subtracting that from the carbs, that still leaves 91 grams of carbs)
Brown rice (1 cup) + black beans (1 ½ cups): 27 grams protein, 575 calories, 112 grams carbohydrates (subtracting the 29 grams of fiber, it’s 83 grams carbs)

You can see that these are larger portions than you would normally eat, and they come with significant caloric and carbohydrate load. But there are strategies you can employ to get more protein efficiently from plant-based sources:

Use a high-quality plant-based protein powder. Make sure it’s a complete protein; so it’s likely to either be soy-based, or a combo of ingredients, such as pea protein, flaxseed, hemp seed, sunflower seed, pumpkin seed, or brown rice protein. Combos are generally designed to fill in the gaps around amino acids—for example, rice protein doesn’t have enough lysine but does have methionine. Pea protein is the opposite, so they’re often paired in protein powders. Add protein powder to smoothies, stir it into nondairy yogurt, blend it into your coffee or tea, add it to pancake mix, sprinkle it on oatmeal, or blend with nuts, oats and a few dates and roll into energy bites.
Tofu, tempeh and edamame. These are whole-soy items, so they’re better for you than soy milk or a soy protein isolate, which are highly processed. Plus, soy is a complete protein. Try blending silken tofu; it works in place of egg in pancakes (¼ cup blended equals one egg), as a creamy and protein-rich swap for sour cream or mayo in dressings, or as a base for a healthy version of chowder or bisque. Toss edamame with a little bit of olive oil and spices and roast for a crunchy snack or to add texture to a salad. Marinate tempeh in low- or no-sugar barbecue sauce, then grill or roast and serve on top of a vinegar-based cabbage slaw.
Nutritional yeast. This bright-yellow seasoning is dairy free but loaded with delicious cheesy flavor, great for adding a hit of umami to vegetables, soups and other dishes. It’s also luscious on popcorn. One tablespoon has 5 grams of protein and 2 grams of fiber, so use it liberally (it’s a great substitute for Parmesan cheese).

Once you start focusing on getting the protein you need, and become more familiar with the many sources available to you, you’ll see opportunities to add it to every meal and snack.