Friday, June 27, 2008

In Search Of Vegetable Protein


I wasn’t always a vegetarian. Back in the day, I used to be seated right beside some of you, gnawing away on that rib bone, masticating that filet mignon, devouring a double double from my (former) favorite burger place, In-n-Out. I was an animal-eating carnivore most of my life—just like over 90% of the population. Then I had some blood work done and got a glimpse of my cholesterol levels. Yikes!

Here’s the thing: I was never what you would call a BIG meat eater. More often than not, I was just as interested in the vegetable and salad portion of my meal as the animal protein part. And once I’d done further research about the contributing factors of high cholesterol (mine, by the way, was closing in on 300) and unhealthy weight gain—namely: saturated fats—it made perfect sense to gradually cut down on the meats. Years before I became a full-time vegetarian, I often would go days without consuming any animal protein. My palette, as well as some deeper region of my subconscious, was changing, sounding an alarm: Reduce your saturated fats or die!

Okay, Mike, you can stop with the dramatics. But it was a wake-up call, and my unhealthy cholesterol and weight gain (I was up over 200 pounds—far too heavy for my barely 5’ 11’’ frame) forced me to do something else—discover healthier eating options. More to the point: I needed to reduced saturated fats, which meant limit the consumption of animal proteins. The answer:

VEGETABLE PROTEIN!

Here are some of the best sources of vegetable protein that I incorporate into my daily eating routine. Eat as much of this stuff as you can and you will not only get the necessary amount of protein into your diet, but tons of fiber (a good thing!). All without those harmful saturated fats; instead filling up with the good fats: monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.

NUTS
I eat nuts every day—mostly almonds, but all nuts have a decent amount of vegetable protein. In addition to almonds, eat walnuts, Brazil nuts, pistachios, even peanuts. They have anywhere from 6-8 grams of protein and 3.0 grams of fiber. I also suggest trying some of the butters. Almond butter is delicious and has 8.0 gms of protein per serving.

BEANS
I love Mexican food, and eat it at least twice a week. I’ve found that you can replace just about any of the meat dishes with healthy black beans (7.0 gms protein/7.0 gms fiber) or refried beans (be sure to check if they are made with lard, in they are, opt out). There are dozens of varieties of beans (see one of my previous blog posts, You Don’t Know Beans…or Do You?); pinto, navy, garbanzo—add them to salads or eat as a side dish. Most have around 6-8 gms of protein and about the same amounts of fiber.

And don’t forget lentils. These tasty tidbits are loaded with vegetable protein—10.0 gms. And 9.0 gms of fiber.

WHOLE GRAINS
I eat a high-protein, whole grain cereal every other day. Kashi makes excellent products. Try their Go Lean. It has 13.0 gms of protein per serving, also 10.0 gms fiber. I mix mine with their Good Friends (5.0 gms protein/12.0 gms fiber) for a vegetarian protein and fiber blast (pun intended!) The days I don’t eat whole grain cereals, I have some toasted whole grain bread (4-6 gms protein; shop around and read labels, some have more protein than others. I recommend Milton's) with almond butter. You can see how the vegetable protein is adding up, huh?

Pastas, especially whole grain pastas, are another great source of vegetable protein. Most have at least 6-8 gms, while some go as high as 12-15 gms. Again, read labels, and you will be pleasantly surprised by all of the healthy vegetable protein options available to you.

I also eat oatmeal (8.0 gms protein/ 6.0 gms fiber) every day. And wild rice will get you around 5.0 gms of vegetable protein per serving.

VEGETABLES
Not all veggies are created equal. Some have more protein than others. Here are the ones you should look for when looking to increase your vegetable protein consumption:

SOY
I eat edamame, or soybeans, (11.0 gms protein/ 6.0 gms fiber) several times a week. I like to mix in another vegetable, usually broccoli (5.0 gms protein/ 4.0 gms fiber), add a little olive oil, salt, pepper. How’s that for veggie protein? Also, soy chips are a wonderful source of protein: 6.0 gms--I like Glenny's and Gen soy. And Dr Soy makes a tasty soy bar (11 gms protein) that I devour most days.

ALSO:
Avocado: (4.0 gms protein/8.0 gms fiber)
Peas: (5.0 gms protein/ 4.0 gms fiber)
Corn: (4.5 gms protein/3.0 gms fiber)
Lima beans: (6.0 gms protein/4.0 gms fiber)
Brussels sprouts: (4.0 gms protein/3.0 gms fiber)
Artichoke hearts: (4.0 gms protein/4.0 gms fiber)
Asparagus: (4.0 gms protein/3.0 gms fiber)

This is by no means a complete list, and a lot of it is personal preference. But, as you can see, the variety of vegetable proteins available to you are endless. And the best part—they are low in saturated fats, high in good fats, loaded with fiber, vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that contribute to a longer, happier, skinnier, healthier life.

As always, you can watch me talk about all of these healthy topics at my video website, livelife365.com

peace,

Mike

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent post for vegetarian sources of protein. I just wrote a post on the vegan diet for fibromyalgia if you want to stop by and leave the link to this in the comments, I am sure others will find it very beneficial.

http://kitchentablemedicine.com

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for writing this article. I have fibromyalgia and I found it informative.

Anonymous said...

Hi,
Isn't it amazing? The first question everybody asks when they find out you are a vegetarian is:
Where do you get your protein from?

I personally have been vegetarian for six years and have never felt better.

Thanks for the informative article.
Peace. :)

Carol King said...

Hi, great post. I am not a vegetarian but the information is still relevant and helpful, thanks.

Anonymous said...

Great post on learning how to eat more healty being a vegetraian or not! I always love great "healthy eating" advice. Thanks for sharing!

Dr. KC
www.DOCintheBiz.com
www.GLCzone.com

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry for all typos in that comment. Here are my corrections being such a perfectionist that I am.

That's why they have the preview button on here. LOL!

Vegetarian
Healthy

Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Great article and very informative and useful to everyone.

Have to admit though I am not a vegeterian. Then turn around and say my fav food is salad. Any kind will do.

my new blog http://wendysreel.com

Da Old Man said...

Great post, Mike. I starting a more or less vegetarian style about a month ago, and feel noticably better.

Da Old Man said...

Oy. I understand the perfectionism Doc KC spoke of.

Great post, Mike. I started a more or less vegetarian style about a month ago, and feel noticably better.

LOL

HEALTH NUT WANNABEE MOM said...

This is one of the best posts I have read anywhere. I am a vegetarian and enjoy the foods you mentioned as well. I did find the whole grain information especially helpful as I was not aware of how much protein was in that. I love soybeans and probably have them 5-6 times a week!!!

Sheri Fresonke Harper said...

I love nuts and vegetables but haven't been able to give up the meat, glad to see you're staying healthy.

Susan said...

Great post. I recently read In Defense of Food, and while I can't say I'll be giving up animal protein any time in the near future, I have found myself looking more and more for alternative protein sources.

Stay strong.
Peace.

Susan

www.catapultfitnessblog.com

Anonymous said...

Is it normal that when you eat only vegetarian food, you eventually get tired?

I tried being one before, in a week, I found it difficult to get out of bed cause I really had no energy

Anonymous said...

interesting.

Im sadly a big carnivore.

well, more of a chickenfishavore ;)

Miz.

Anonymous said...

Great post. I like nut and seed butters as well. Your post made me hungry....I love everything you mentioned :)

Bhavesh Chhatbar said...

There's so much of information here!

My First Computer
Birdhouses, Birdfeeders, Birdbath

kelly said...

Excellent post! I too eat lots of nuts. That makes me nutty! haha By the way, not all nuts are created equal either.

Will visit your awesome blog again!! :)

sb.marianna said...

I'm not a vegetarian, but I eat as many vegetables and fruit as I can. And I stay away from fast-food.

I would like to give up on meat, but I have to gather a lot of information like this.

Thanks!

Cialis said...

Being a vegetarian, this was very helpful to me!