vegetarian needing help with protein!

pamalerjean

Hello - I am desperately seeking ways to get enough protein in my diet.  I am an ovo-lacto vegetarian.  In an attempt to get enough protein I have been eating eggs, nuts, beans and some soy products...but I am finding that I need to eat SO MUCH to get enough protein that it's making me feel sick just thinking about it. 

 

HELP!!

tomkat35728

Do you eat tofu or quinoa?  Both are pretty protein rich and can be prepared in many different ways.

Maybe look at some of these recipes and see if there is something that interests you...

https://www.cookingquinoa.net/greek-quinoa-salad/

https://flabtofab-kristi.blogspot.com/2010/05/veggie-quinoa-soup-crockpot-recipe.html

https://smoothies.recipechicks.com/33/peanut-butter-chocolate-smoothie/

GL!

wildfloweragain

You can add whey protein powder to a lot of things.  I get the chocolate flavor - add it to milk, yogurt, smoothies, etc.

jellybean529

I'm also lacto-ovo vegetarian so I know the struggles with getting protein! One thing I've found that I LOVE is greek yogurt. It's got twice the protein of regular yogurt. I get the Chobani kind because it's fat free and free of artificial sweeteners.

Milk and cheese are also good sources of protein...I try to drink an extra cup of milk or add a serving of cheese if one of my meals is low on protein.

Flaxseed has protein in it, as well as omega-3s, which is great since fish is normally the best source for those. I add some to my cereal in the morning.

orangecurls

What has worked for me is to have a small portion of protein at every meal and snack (basically 6 times a day)

 

My protein sources have been:

cottage cheese / ricotta cheese

greek yogurt (trader joes 2% greek yogurt has lots of protein)

string cheese / regular cheese

eggs 

nuts (I like the little snack sized almond packages trader joes sells)

nut butters (I have several in my fridge-peanut, cashew and almond)

lentils / split peas

beans 

hummus

edamame

soy nuts

tofu / tempeh

soy 'meat' products 

Arielle27

The best thing is to try to get protein into everything you eat (every meal and snack), and try to just eat a little more than you usually would. For example, if you have cereal, pour twice the amount of milk you normally would have, if you usually have a yogurt as a snack, have two.

If you tend to like things like pasta or rice that don't have any protein in them, make sure to throw in tofu, nuts or top it with cheese. If you like salad, make sure to throw in a boiled egg, grated cheese, nuts, or some other high-protein food.

It may seem daunting at first, but when you just throw a little extra something into every meal, it really isn't so difficult.

Good luck!