I’ve recently been asked “How do you get enough protein as a vegetarian?”… This is such an important question! Asking these types of questions is the first step toward a better understanding of health and for vegetarians to be healthy, they need to be intelligent in their approach to diet. Pasta and tomato sauce will not cut it. Here are some great protein sources and a few ways I like to use them…
- Eggs – 1 egg = 6g
- Chickpeas – 1 cup = 15g
- Lentils – 1 cup = 18g
- Cheese – 30g cheddar = 8g
- Cottage cheese – 100g = 13g
- Nuts – 12 almonds – 3g
- Peanut butter – 1 tablespoon = 4g
- Pepitas – 2 tablespoons = 7g
- Broccoli – 1 cup = 5g
- Natural yoghurt – 125g = 6.5g
- Whole milk – 1 cup = 8g
- Peas – 1 cup = 9g
- Quinoa – 1 cup = 8g
- Chia seeds – 1 tablespoon = 2g
The recommended amount of protein for women is 0.75g/kg bodyweight / day and for men 0.84g/kg bodyweight / day, increasing to 1g/kg for pregnant and breastfeeding women.
So for the average 70kg woman the requirement is 52.5g protein per day. The most effective way of using the daily protein requirement is to eat small amounts at every meal… For example 3 meals each with approximately 15g protein and one snack with about 7.5g protein. A protein-rich day might look something like this… (protein in brackets)…
Breakfast – 2 slices wholegrain toast (about 6g) with cottage cheese (1/2 cup total – 13g) and sliced peach.
Lunch – 2 poached eggs (12g), spinach (1g), mushrooms and tomatoes.
Snack – Smoothie with 1/2 banana, 1/2 cup natural yoghurt (6.5), 1/2 cup full fat milk (4g), 1 tablespoon sugar-free peanut butter (4g), 1 tablespoon chia seeds (2g).
Dinner – Vegetable curry with peas (4.5g), chickpeas (15g) and brown rice (5g).
Total = 73g protein!
Meat, tofu and quinoa contain all the essential amino acids. Otherwise it is important to use a number of sources for protein to get an adequate blend of amino acids.
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