Vegetarian Protein Sources
Most Americans eat a lot more protein than they need in a day and vegetarians already get more than enough from plant-based foods (vegetarian protein sources) anyway.
Major concern for people that want to turn vegetarian is how they could actually get their daily protein needs. The more environmental issues come to surface and the more people realize what the factory farmed animals suffer on a day to day basis, the more people become vegans or vegetarians and find out about the different vegetarian protein sources.
An easy way to calculate an average person’s daily protein needs is to divide their weight in lbs by 2 and subtract 10. Only 1 calorie out of 10 should come from protein, more is not necessary. And this is for an adult that doesn’t work out at a gym regularly.
You do not need to eat meat to be able to build muscles, run, swim and be fit. And if you are someone that works out quite a lot to gain muscles then you may need to get protein powders (whey, hemp or soy).
Now let’s have a look at the commonly found vegetarian protein sources:
- Avocado (10g in 1 piece)
- Beans- kidney, black or pinto (14-15g in a cup)
- Broccoli (4g in a cup- cooked)
- Brown rice (5g in a cup- cooked)
- Bulgur (6g in 1 cup)
- Cheese (8-10g in an oz)
- Chickpeas (15g in a cup)
- Eggs (6g in 1 egg)
- Hemp (11g in 30g of powder)
- Lentils (19g in a cup)
- Nuts (5-6g in 1oz- all nuts contain protein)
- Oatmeal (6g- 1cup)
- Peas (9g in a cup)
- Peanut butter (8g in a tablespoon- cashew nut, hazel nut and soy nut butters are good alternatives)
- Potato ( 3g in 1 medium baked potato)
- Quinoa (17g in a cup- contains all the essential amino acids and 9g of fiber)
- Seeds (6-7g in 1 oz – both sesame and sunflower seeds)
- Soybeans (29g in a cup)
- Soy milk (8g in a cup)
- Seitan (21g in a cup)
- Spinach (7g in a cup- cooked)
- Spaghetti (8g in 1 cup- cooked)
- Tempeh (30g in a cup- made from cooked and slightly fermented soybeans- great alternative to tofu)
- Textured vegetable protein (16g in a cup)
- Tofu (21g in a cup)
- Veggie burgers (13g in 1 patty)
- Wholemeal toast (7g in 2 slices)
- Yogurt (14g in a cup)
Meat substitutes (usually made from wheat, soy or a combination of the two), chickpea hummus, split pea soup and other soy products (soy yogurt, soy cheese, soy nuts, soy ice cream and edamame- usually fortified with vitamin B12, iron and calcium) are other vegetarian protein sources.
Some of these plant-based protein rich foods (nuts and seeds) are also high in fat, so you need to have them in moderation. More is not always better when it comes to an average person’s protein needs as too much protein may lead to kidney complications and osteoporosis.
So eat a variety of foods from different food groups throughout the day than focusing on protein alone. Also eat a variety of plant-based foods- seeds, nuts, legumes, vegetables, whole grains etc. to make up for the missing essential amino acids of a single food. For example grains are lower in lysine and legumes are lower in methionine and keep in mind that alcohol, fruits, sugar and fat do not provide much protein.
Return from Vegetarian Protein Sources to Glycemic Index home page
Or take me back to Vegetarian GI Diet from Vegetarian Protein Sources
