I want to eat less meat; how do I make sure that I'm still getting enough protein in my diet?

September 30, 2011 9:47 AM

What are some good sources of vegetarian protein?

I'm trying to cut back on the amount of meat that I eat, for a variety of reasons (cost, environment, health), and so I'm looking for some vegetarian protein options.

I know about some of the obvious things: tofu, legumes/beans, nuts, quinoa, eggs, dairy, mock-meat.

Are there anythings that I'm overlooking? I'm not a huge fan of tofu, mock-meat can be expensive (and is usually highly processed, which kind of cancels out the health aspect of eating less meat), and even beans can only be prepared so many ways.

Are there other options I can look at? Does it even matter, since I will still be eating meat, just less of it?

I've looked at a few of the other vegetarian-related questions on AskMe, but they seem to mostly be about specific recipes rather than about non-meat protein sources in general.

posted by asnider to food & drink (35 answers total)

Lentils! Sure they're beans but they're incredibly high bang-for-buck sources of protein and have a decent amount of fiber too. Plus you can smush them into anything. Here are a ton of tasty soup recipes.
posted by jessamyn at 9:51 AM on September 30, 2011 [2 favorites]

Would you still eat fish?
posted by Seymour Zamboni at 9:52 AM on September 30, 2011

Well, there's always textured vegetable protein, which is a very flexible ingredient and not terribly expensive. You can find it in the bulk bins at your local health food store.
posted by Nomyte at 9:55 AM on September 30, 2011 [2 favorites]

Quinoa is good; I like this recipe but there are many others out there.
posted by TedW at 9:57 AM on September 30, 2011 [2 favorites]

Wheat gluten
posted by wongcorgi at 9:57 AM on September 30, 2011 [1 favorite]

Tofu is, I agree, kind of boring, and generally a pain to prepare.

Tempeh is made from soybeans, but less processed than tofu (more of a soybean loaf kind of thing). It generally has a kind of nutty flavor and, depending on preparation, can be sliced thin, chunked, or a kind of veggie ground-beef texture.

Seitan is what a lot of mock-meats are made from. It's super-adaptable to just about anything you want to do with it, soaks up flavoring like tofu, and is basically pure protein. It's time consuming, but you can make your own batches of it fairly easily.

Another option is Greek-style yogurts, which have significantly less sugar and significantly more protein than the dreck on most US/Canadian grocery store shelves.

As an extreme alternative, find someone who will let you eat them. It's ethical if they give consent, right?
posted by Panjandrum at 9:59 AM on September 30, 2011 [4 favorites]

Would you still eat fish?

Yes.

I'm not planning to cut meat out my diet entirely, I'll just be eating less of it. So fish, meat, poultry, etc. are still a go. I'm just looking for non-animal-flesh alternatives.
posted by asnider at 10:00 AM on September 30, 2011

Oops, I missed that you know about quinoa; anyway, that is still a good recipe. But to answer another part of your question, even if you eat a relatively small amount of meat, you will still likely get enough essential amino acids. Other than that you don't need much protein as you body synthesizes the other amino acids.
posted by TedW at 10:00 AM on September 30, 2011

It's pretty easy to get all of the protein you need in a day as a vegetarian, especially if you're willing to eat eggs and dairy. I include some yogurt, low fat cottage cheese (Tons of protein, more than greek yogurt, even!), and often an egg in my daily routine and by the numbers don't even need to add much more in the way of protein (though I do). Do you know how much protein you need daily?

Along with the quinoa recommendation, there are a lot of breads and pastas and cereals that have pretty high protein levels based on including quinoa, yellow pea flour, or other fortification.
posted by ldthomps at 10:01 AM on September 30, 2011 [1 favorite]

Starting with foods that are "hiding protein," because we just don't consider them to be protein-y

1 cup of oatmeal has 6 grams
1 cup of soymilk has 7 grams (consume soy in moderation!)
1 cup of cooked broccoli has 4 grams
1 cup of cooked brown rice has 5 grams
1 baked potato has 4 grams
1 cup cooked lentils has 18 grams!


Check out what the CDC has to say about protein requirements for adults. It doesn't actually take much.

How do you feel about fish? I ask because some people consider themselves to be vegetarian and they eat fish. This confuses a lot of people, but hey, you're mentioning that you'll still be eating some meat. So, fish! Lots of variety here. I like to steam shrimp, they're super easy to deal with. Also, fish en papillote is really hassle free to cook.

regarding nuts, keep in mind that there are many different kinds! Cashews, brazil nuts, walnuts, pecans, almonds, peanuts, filberts. Your choices expand when you consider nut butters, which you can put on vegetables like celery, or fruits like apples, if you're concerned about eating too much refined grain.

As far as beans go, you can make so many soups that you could eat bean soup every other day and maybe not get tired of it. Also, bean salads are great in summer, light and refreshing!
posted by bilabial at 10:02 AM on September 30, 2011 [2 favorites]

I can't remember who, but someone on AskMe turned me on to Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain Cereal; 8 grams of protein per serving. I usually eat it with greek yogurt (more protein) and some berries and find it pretty filling. Plus I like that it's not fake soy like Kashi's Go Lean cereal.

And since you said you still eat fish, sardines are actually really tasty. If you like tuna, they're kinda similar to that. Get the expensive kind the first time around, and just mash 'em up with half an avocado. They're huge in protein and because they are so low on the food-chain you miss a lot of the mercury concerns you get with larger fish.
posted by stellaluna at 10:04 AM on September 30, 2011

To jazz up the beans/eggs/soy routine, you can also try adding a broth from dried mushrooms or marmite to any dish. Both really kick up the umami/savory factor of foods, a feature that veg-recipes can sometimes be sorely lacking in.
posted by Panjandrum at 10:08 AM on September 30, 2011

Have you had well-prepared tofu? Honest question, not everyone knows how to cook it well. Take a look at the recipes for pan-glazed tofu in this book, for starters -- the sauces are flavorful and cooking at high heat changes that squishy tofu texture.
posted by clavicle at 10:11 AM on September 30, 2011 [1 favorite]

Teff! It's the grain that's in injera, the Ethiopian staple. I'm not sure how much it has relative to things like beans and such, but given that you use it's a cereal crop and you can use it instead of flour, it's a great way to get some extra protein, calcium, and iron.

Here's a list of recipes for regular ole foods (pancakes, muffins, etc) that use teff instead of flour.

Ethiopian food in general, by the way, has some excellent, high-protein vegetarian dishes. Many days of the year are religious fasting days (ie no meat) for Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, so the culture has developed a tasty array of meatless dishes.
posted by bluedaisy at 10:15 AM on September 30, 2011

I ate a lot of falafel when I was a vegetarian, both on pita bread, and alos shaped into regular sandwich-sized patties. Chick peas are a good source of protien.

Find a place with Thai groceries and try the deep fried tofu in stir frys. It seems more substantial that regular tofu.
posted by Devils Rancher at 10:18 AM on September 30, 2011 [1 favorite]

You can make your own mock meat sausages if you are concerned about strange additives - it is way easier than you would think. Page 138-14- of Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz (available on Amazon Look Inside) has a very simple recipe for sausages. I make them by the freezer full and take them for lunch or saute with greens for dinner.

You also probably need less protein than you think you do, unless you have specific needs.
posted by ChrisHartley at 10:20 AM on September 30, 2011 [2 favorites]

It's quite difficult to *not* get enough protein, unless you're ill or eating a very odd diet. There's protein in almost everything.

Tahini apparently works well with other legumes to provide more protein. Especially in/with hummus and falafel.
posted by BinaryApe at 10:21 AM on September 30, 2011 [4 favorites]

Hummous! Whizz it up with a food processor and it takes like, five minutes to make, tops. Seriously - on toast for breakfast, with sharp cheese and tomato and onion on bread for lunch.... so good. And the tahini you use to amke it is sesame seeds which is great for you too. And you can make hummous with all the typical add ins like roasted peppers, garlic (awesome for your cholesterol and blood pressure), and it makes it even tastier.
posted by takoukla at 10:26 AM on September 30, 2011

Whomp whomp... preview fail.
posted by takoukla at 10:26 AM on September 30, 2011

The Bowl of Awesome (26g of protein): spoonful of plain greek yogurt, handful of walnuts & almonds, handful of blueberries/dried cranberries/etc., few spoonfuls of Ezekiel hippie cereal (kind of like Grape-Nuts).
posted by headnsouth at 10:27 AM on September 30, 2011 [1 favorite]

I find that without meat in my diet, my meals don't revolve around a central protein item, and vegetarian options for that slots are sometimes kinda yukky (meat substitutes, chunks of tofu in a dish that don't add anything flavor/texture-wise to the dish, etc). So the two options are to find more really delicious ways to cook tofu and seitan, and to sneak more protein in that doesn't really add to the meal, but doesn't distract from it.
Sneaky proteins:
- any time you do a creamy soup or blender-based soup, whirl a cup of cashews in with it.
- TVP is like fine-grain tofu crumbles that are too small to change my perception of hte dish much. Great in chili, bean soups, etc, add kind of a "did you put ground chicken in this" effect.
- TVP is also excellent as a binder - while it doesn't thicken, it does absorb liquid, so is a great addition to bean burgers, mock-crab cakes, spaghetti sauce, etc.
- TVP is not inherently savory, blends right into a bowl of oatmeal.

And though some people have no trouble hitting minimum protein levels, I'm someone who does, unless I plan for it, and there's a difference between minimum protein and target protein. I think it's smart that you're paying attention. Consider using a nutritional software website like FitDay if you want to monitor everything for a week or so and find out how you're doing.
posted by aimedwander at 10:29 AM on September 30, 2011

I'm shocked that after 20 answers, no one has mentioned vegetables!

Peas, broccoli, spinach, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, shiitake mushrooms, etc.

It's as if people get the idea in their heads that "vegetarian" means "protein deficiency," so surely vegetables must not have any protein! A quick Google search shows that there are high-protein vegetables.

If you're eating dairy, eggs, and fish, and you're into stuff like quinoa and tempeh, and you eat plenty of green vegetables (as everyone should, especially vegetarians), I doubt you have anything to worry about, protein-wise.
posted by John Cohen at 10:31 AM on September 30, 2011 [5 favorites]

In indian cooking, lentils are referred to as dal, they come in about 6 different varieties (yellow, green, orange, white, black, oily, etc) and they are deeelicious!
posted by goethean at 10:45 AM on September 30, 2011

High Protein Vegetarian Foods from No Meat Athlete.
posted by sararah at 10:48 AM on September 30, 2011 [2 favorites]

Butler Soy Curls are a good product. Versatile and easy to use, they have the texture and feel of chicken.
posted by partner at 10:54 AM on September 30, 2011

TVP is really useful for reducing the amount of meat you eat; you can easily replace half the ground beef in chili, soups, Sloppy Joes, whatever with TVP and you won't be able to tell the difference.
posted by WorkingMyWayHome at 11:52 AM on September 30, 2011

Greek yogurt. 18g of protein per serving. Get the plain kind (and add fruit/granola yourself if you need that for flavor), since the one with fruit on the bottom has less protein per serving.
posted by never.was.and.never.will.be. at 1:11 PM on September 30, 2011

Butler Soy Curls are a good product. Versatile and easy to use, they have the texture and feel of chicken.

These seem like an easy and convenient option. Weirdly, the only places that carry them in my province are two small towns that are both more than an hour's drive from my large, cosmopolitan city.
posted by asnider at 1:15 PM on September 30, 2011

Mock meat is frequently disgusting and not particularly healthy anyway. I always found TVP completely indigestible, and I personally didn't care for the fact that it's a highly processed by-product of soy oil manufacturing. Some people feel that eating a lot of unfermented soy products can be bad for your health- there's some evidence that eating lots of soy disrupts the proper functioning of the thyroid gland, and that unfermented soy products contain high amounts of phytic acids and can prevent absorption of minerals in the gut. Probably not an issue if you eat unfermented soy in moderation.

When I was vegetarian I ate tofu, tempeh, quinoa, lentils, legumes, eggs and yogurt (and occasional fish) and was able to keep up with my very physical gardening job. Most people tend to eat more protein than they need generally- it's really not hard to get enough vegetarian protein if you eat a varied diet.
posted by oneirodynia at 3:02 PM on September 30, 2011 [1 favorite]

Kashi's GoLean cereals have 9-13g of protein depending on the flavor you choose. Add soy or almond milk and you get more protein! They can be expensive; keep an eye out for sales & coupons and stock up then.
posted by Fui Non Sum at 3:59 PM on September 30, 2011

Have you had well-prepared tofu? Honest question, not everyone knows how to cook it well.

I've had very well prepared tofu at restaurants. But I'm pretty terrible at cook it at home. But, honestly, even well-prepared tofu only goes so far with me. I enjoy it in moderation, but I get sick of it pretty quickly if I eat it frequently.
posted by asnider at 4:41 PM on September 30, 2011

I have found a couple of really good & easy recipes for Seitan Sausages, and they are a great addition to pastas, grilled vegetables, soups & stews, and also make a great sandwich!
posted by Aquaman at 4:54 PM on September 30, 2011

If you're not allergic to wheat gluten, look no further than seitan. It has a remarkably 'meaty' texture and it's easy to make. Maybe a little time consuming but I like to make a batch at the beginning of every week using this simple recipe , and then eat it all week long in a number of different dishes. For example, just this week I've made sweet 'n' sour seitan, BBQ sandwiches, philly cheesesteaks and a stew. Oh, and if you do try that recipe, know that the seasame oil and kombu seaweed are totally optional. I've never used either ingredient. Also, I usually make little balls or strips instead of cutlets. The seitan will soak up all the broth and expand and I find it's best to make a bunch of smaller, meatier little strips than a few chewy, juicy cutlets.

I also really, really love these italian sausages.
posted by GalaxieFiveHundred at 2:33 AM on October 1, 2011

Quinoa! Seriously. It's amazing.
posted by radioamy at 8:38 AM on October 1, 2011

Unsalted walnuts and almonds in your desk drawer rather than chocolate is a great way to curb cravings at work.
Greek Yogurt - the PC kind has no fat and 23 grams of protein per serving - it's the perfect food. It's full of calcium, protein, no fat and it keeps you full for hours and hours and hours...and it's on sale this week...in Whitehorse anyway.

Try switching to catelli smart pasta if you haven't already as it is much more nutrient dense than the usual duram wheat pasta.

Any of the ancient grains are pretty good. People rave about Quinoa - meh - a whole grain couscous that is substantiated with feta and other veg, nuts and seasoning is way easier and more nutrient dense (key word repetition that couldn't be avoided)

Don't forget about stout beer - Guiness is always a sound choice.
posted by YukonQuirm at 10:21 PM on October 1, 2011 [1 favorite]