VEGETARIAN PROTEIN SOURCES

Vegetarian Proteins

For those who are not big fans of meats or have chosen the vegetarian path for their own reasons, here are some protein sources you could try. The list is still growing PLEASE DON'T HESITATE to give me your input =)

1.     Quinoa

Unlike many vegetarian protein resources, quinoa contains all of the amino acids that makes it a “complete protein”. One cup gets you about 18g of protein.  GET THEM IN BULK its cheaper. Look for them in Whole Foods/ Wild by Nature or any health food stores. J

2.     Beans & Legumes

These are awesome sources for proteins to vegetarians & those who don’t like lean meats! There are so many different kinds and different ways to cook them! For example, a cup of red kidney beans contains about 13g of protein.  They are cheap and easy to find at any grocery stores J

3.     Tofu & Tempeh

I personally LOVE these 3, these were my main protein sources when I was a vegetarian! When you cook them the RIGHT way they taste super delicious! A half cup of tofu contains about 10g of protein. Not a lot of people are familiar with Tempeh.  This baby came from my homeland, Indonesia and LOADED with protein, fiber and vitamins including vitamin B12! 4 Oz of tempeh actually gets you 20g of protein & 9g of fiber!

4.     TVP

Last but not least, TVP (Textured Vegetable Proteins) ¼ cup of TVP is only 80 calories and is enough to make a meal for 1. Its cheap about 70 cents/lbs at whole foods.  The great thing about TVP is that it has 0 fat, 0 cholesterol, at 80 calories for ¼ cup it gives you 12 grams of protein per serving and 4g of dietary fiber! I love to make spaghetti with “meat” sauce using TVP it’s so good! My pasta lovers check my blog for this recipe J

5.     Edamame

These soy beans often served in Japanese restaurants contains about 24 g of proteins per serving (8oz).  At 150 calories it actually fills you up when you get “peckish” around that time between lunch and dinner. 

6.      Almond and Almond Butter Instead of peanuts and peanut butter

So peanut butter is NOT the worst as long as you choose NATURAL. Always go for natural! Have you ever look at Skippy’s regular peanut butter label? UGH! Makes me want to spring 5 miles away from it! However, almond butter and almonds are definitely the better option in this case (Don’t forget almond is also considered one of the top fat burning foods out there while peanuts have close to 0 nutritional value). The amount of protein between almonds and peanuts are about the same, however as far as quality goes, almonds are far more superior than peanuts. 

7.     Greek yoghurt

YUM! Probably one of my FAVOURITE protein sources there is! Especially if you are on shakeology! Put a scoop of that in one cup of greek yoghurt and throw some berries in there! Yum!! Absolutely heavenly delicious! I know sometimes the taste is a problem to some people, that’s why go for Vanilla 0% fat greek yoghurt J adding stevia helps to! A typical 8 oz serving of greek yoghurt would get you about 18g of proteins (usually ranges between 15-20g).  This is awesome to have when Mr.Softee is calling your name!

8.     Lentils

Those of you who LOVE indian food will appreciate this! HELLOOO LENTIL CURRY! ;)  A 100g serving of this can get you somewhere around 26 grams of proteins & 31 g of dietary fiber! They also help get rid of cholesterol and reduce blood cholesterol levels! Thus, lowering your risks of heart diseases, high blood pressure, and stroke.  It also improves your digestion and absorption which helps to control your blood sugar levels (goodbye diabetes!). On top of helping your digestion, it also aids in weight loss, it has few calories, which prevents “over-indulging”.  Last but not least, research shows that it actually lowers breast cancer risks for us ladies.  Be kind to your boobies!