Vegan/vegetarian food comparable to lean meat. cw diet talk

August 26, 2024 8:40 PM

I am being asked by my dietician to up my protein intake while keeping to a certain (reasonable) calorie limit. I would like to add in high protein vegan/vegetarian options but beans are a carb in this plan, really. Tofu is better but high in fat. What is the thing I am looking for? I need foods that are comparable in nutrition profile to a lean meat, so say for a portion, 25 g protein and say under 180 calories. So, boneless skinless chicken thighs would also be a guide. Looking for food components, not meal plans or protein bars, and not shakes, got those. Thanks.
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee to Food & Drink (26 answers total)

Best answer: Not "Impossible Foods" alt meat, but alt meat made of gluten like seitan, mock meat made of gluten (often available in 99 Ranch or similar Asian markets), maybe?

Links are for illustration purposes only:

https://www.fakemeats.com/Companion-Foods-Peking-Vegetarian-Roast-Duck-p/cf-0-76277-10392-8.htm

https://www.fakemeats.com/May-Wah-Vegan-Imitation-Ham-p/mwi-4-711467-390509.htm
posted by kschang at 8:48 PM on August 26, 2024 [1 favorite]

Best answer: These are similar to chicken breasts, but made of mycoprotein (related to mushrooms). Three filets (there are four per box) would be 180 calories and 27 g protein.
posted by amtho at 8:49 PM on August 26, 2024 [3 favorites]

Best answer: If dairy works, then cottage cheese.
posted by Sassyfras at 8:52 PM on August 26, 2024 [4 favorites]

Best answer: This is a big big challenge in my household. My vegan partner plans his meals in terms of protein layering — tofu AND seitan “chicken” AND beans, with hemp seeds and vegan protein powder sprinkled on top.

I’m watching the answers to this question closely, but so far we have not found a food that gives a great protein punch for the calories.

You could also look at “plant-based athlete” meal plans for inspiration. There are a ton on Instagram.
posted by third word on a random page at 9:20 PM on August 26, 2024 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Tofu is high in fat?! I had no idea! 😭

I do really like seitan, as others have mentioned. Apparently it’s pretty easy to make yourself too! This recipe looks good: https://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/the-quickest-and-easiest-seitan-recipe-vegan-chicken/
posted by a.steele at 10:17 PM on August 26, 2024

Best answer: I have really increased my protein intake lately, and especially have been eating a lot of nonfat or low-fat dairy. It’s so tough to get it otherwise. Low fat cottage cheese is actually pretty tasty and can be used in a lots of ways, as a salad dressing replacement, for example, or a toast topping. I have been mixing it into black beans for tortillas instead of regular cheese.

And yeah, I also often add whey or pea protein powder to the dairy. I also just got peanut butter powder, which is lower in fat. Still experimenting. Might add it to smoothies and have already tried it with yogurt. It’s not quite like a protein powder. It just tastes like food.
posted by bluedaisy at 10:31 PM on August 26, 2024

Oh, egg whites are the other thing you can try. It feels wasteful, but you can also buy just the whites, apparently.
posted by bluedaisy at 10:32 PM on August 26, 2024 [1 favorite]

Textured vegetable protein aka TVP could fit the bill.

Honestly at a 2:1 ratio of protein to fat by calories tofu is competitive with most animal proteins. Likewise the beans are giving you a lot of protein, they are not just carbs. 100g dry weight of lentils is giving you 25g of protein.

If you are prepared to eat dairy, low fat cottage cheese will get you a long way (you could add a little syrup or jam to make it somewhat palatable).


(Edited to delete request for info that was in fact in original post)
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 10:38 PM on August 26, 2024 [2 favorites]

Anyway my solution is low fat dairy, beans and whole grains, tofu in miso soup, eggs, top-up with one serve of protein powder. I can get to 100 to 110g of protein inside 2000 calories that way most days, and a lot better if eating at maintenance.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 10:44 PM on August 26, 2024

Best answer: Last thought (sorry posting between sets): it is going to be hard to stay below an energy limit that is sub maintenance without going pretty low fat. You will need condiments. If you are not cutting weight for some reason it's not so bad but you will still find fat is the macro that has to go first.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 10:52 PM on August 26, 2024

Best answer: The following nutrition information is for one cup (155g) of shelled edamame pods, provided by the USDA.

Calories: 188
Fat: 8g
Sodium: 9.4mg
Carbohydrates: 13.8g
Fiber: 8g
Sugars: 3.4g
Protein: 18.4g
posted by Juniper Toast at 10:55 PM on August 26, 2024 [1 favorite]

I would suggest TVP instead of tofu—high protein, minimal carbs, zero fat. Crumbles are the most common form, but you can get it in larger chunks. They have no flavor of their own, so you do need to add that when you rehydrate it.
posted by O9scar at 12:33 AM on August 27, 2024

I don't really understand you saying tofu is high in fat. It has less than 5g of fat/100g. It's also low in calories for the amount of protein you get. I track my macros and am lean with high muscle mass (I'm a late 30s female). I am also vegan and eat heaps of tofu. Most days I get twice my kgs bodyweight in protein. What do you consider to be high in fat? Sorry but I feel like you've had some bad advice.

Basically, for the less-processed plant based foods that are high in protein, I don't think you can go past tofu. Next I'd probably say different kinds of beans, but they tend to have more calories.
posted by thereader at 1:28 AM on August 27, 2024 [10 favorites]

lentils[.org]
posted by HearHere at 3:11 AM on August 27, 2024 [1 favorite]

Best answer: It occurred to me that tools might be helpful to you.

You might enjoy playing around with Eat This Much where you can specify a diet type (eg vegan), daily calories and macros and it will propose meal plans/recipes that match.

Personally I fool around with Macrofactor to plan my eating for the day.

On another note, several of us have mentioned low fat cottage cheese, but there's also skyr/icelandic yoghurt, ricotta and quark to investigate, which are about the same nutritionally but with flavours and textures you might prefer.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 3:26 AM on August 27, 2024 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: So when I said that I thought tofu is high in fat what I meant was that the superfirm tofu I eat has 50% of it's calories from fat. That may not meet a USDA definition of high fat. Wildwood superfirm sproutofu, for 100g, has 15.4 g protein and 7.7 g fat, for 143 calories. I'm trying to find components that are higher in protein if I can. Cooked pinto beans only have 9g protein but 35g carbs (according to myfitnesspal) for 143 calories so yeah, they are not a high protein option versus their calorie count. Also whether I'm measuring an item by its calories percentages versus its weight is confusing to me. i_am_joe's_spleen, I will look at those sites, that might be very helpful to me. I get really muddled with the math and comparing things and all I want is, since my protein is the main maco I need to hit, to find things that aren't meat (and preferably not dairy, though I didn't say that) to make sure I hit that at the end of the day. The carbs and fat take care of themselves for the most part right now. Thanks very much for your input everybody, I did get some ideas that I hadn't had before and that's really helpful!
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee at 3:51 AM on August 27, 2024

Daring "chicken" is great for this. 90 calories for 14g protein and 2g fat, which meets your specs. It's not the most delicious fake meat ever, but I like it well enough air fried - it gets kind of reminiscent of yuba-based mock meats.

And speaking of yuba, that's another great option. It's 150 calories for 21g protein and 2g fat. And it's just a nice chance of pace from tofu. Tempeh doesn't quite have the protein to calorie ratio you want, but is pretty close at 160 calories for 18g of protein and 4.5g fat.

You could also make yourself some low-far seitan. Vital wheat gluten has about 125 calories and 25g protein per 33g - if you make an oil-free or low-oil seitan, you can definitely stay under the limit you're looking for. (I use a version of this recipe but bake instead of steaming; it will work fine, though be drier, without the oil).

Finally, Kite Hill Greek Yogurt is a good choice for a high-protein vegan yogurt (140 calories, 17g protein, 6g fat).
posted by snaw at 3:56 AM on August 27, 2024 [1 favorite]

TVP is inexpensive, shelf stable, and 52% protein by dry weight (and 1% fat, since it's made from what's left over after the oil is pressed out of soy beans). It also cools instantly, and can be subbed into just about any recipe calling for ground meat. There's a product called Soy Curls that is basically a fancy brand name version of tvp with bigger chunks that are nice in some applications. (Oops I see this was mentioned already)
posted by SaltySalticid at 4:21 AM on August 27, 2024 [2 favorites]

Second the suggestion for peanut powder. Very flavourful, unlike tvp, so you'll want to use it in specific recipes as a savory adjunct. Curries and thai dishes especially.
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:57 AM on August 27, 2024

I think the only non-meat protein source that's going to be similar from a calorie/protein ratio is seitan, especially if you want to cut down on tofu.

If I were you, I'd use the weightlifters rule of what equals a "high protein" food -- does it have at least 1g of protein per 10 calories, or close to it? Then you're looking at: seitan, lentils, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, eggs. Protein powder is a good source if that's allowable.
posted by rhymedirective at 6:27 AM on August 27, 2024 [2 favorites]

Seconding the Quorn chicken - any of the non-breaded versions are practically all protein. If you can find them (my grocery stores are inconsistent about keeping this particular item stocked), these Quorn meatless chicken pieces are surprisingly tasty, and are 130 cals for 17g protein per serving. The first time I tried them even my meat-eating partner was surprised at how decent it tasted. Great for stir fry, adding to salads, tacos, etc.
posted by misskaz at 7:00 AM on August 27, 2024 [2 favorites]

I am using an app called Macrostax (paid only) to track my food and macros. Right now I am aiming for, and generally achieving, 151 grams of protein a day. I eat meat but I’m not generally a big meat eater, and I am always trying to figure out how not to just eat tons of dairy. I don’t think I’ve gotten to my protein goal without some sort of protein powder any day, but I’ve gotten a lot more creative about how I use it.

The obvious example: mix protein powder into dairy or non-dairy milk or yogurt, especially when I’m using it with something else. This morning I had overnight oats with yogurt, milk, some walnuts, and 20 grams of tasteless protein from powder. Another example: I lately have been drinking two mugs of coffee a day. Recently I have been making the second into a protein latte-ish thing, where I mix 1 or 2 scoops of whey powder with one cup of nonfat or low fat dairy, and then whatever coffee is left in my coffee maker. If you’re super into fancy coffee, this probably won’t work, but it’s fine for me, especially for my second cup, which essentially becomes a late-morning snack, especially if I also have some fruit.

I browsed the aisle of my local natural foods store (I say that knowing this stuff is pretty unnatural!) the other day and saw there’s also hemp protein these days.

I try to avoid protein shakes or anything where it’s protein powder just mixed with water, so I am trying to incorporate more protein into my morning and mid-day meals so I can have a more normal dinner too.

I like avoiding super processed food but not sure how to do this otherwise.

I have some specific goals that might be different from yours, and I don’t know if my approach is sustainable, but I’m sharing this in case it might be helpful to hear how someone else is strategizing increased protein intake.
posted by bluedaisy at 8:19 AM on August 27, 2024 [1 favorite]

The best high protein low fat vegetarian option I have found is non-fat greek yogurt. Here is an example of a nutritional breakdown. You will see that there are 24gs of protein and 1 g of fat.

I can also recommend the protein 2o why orange mango protein drink/powder - every other protein powder I had seen before this one was in the vanilla/chocolate flavor spectrum and half of those tasted revolting. This is decidedly fruity, goes down well on its own, and would mix well with a fruit smoothie or fruit juice. The only caveat is that the powder really needs a blender otherwise it's very clumpy.
posted by bq at 9:19 AM on August 27, 2024 [1 favorite]

I am in the same boat. Like my nutritionist said: Lentils, Beans and Potatoes are carbs for my purposes. And I was advised to intentionally add at least 20 grams of protein in every meal.

Here's what is working for me. Eggs + added egg whites (2 eggs and 2/3 cup egg whites), Superfirm Tofu, Non-fat Greek Yoghurt and Seitan.

I get eggs and yoghurt from Aldi, which I found to be the cheapest option. Tofu I get from a local producer Phoenix. Seitan I make my own using Bob's Red Mill high Gluten flour (Vital wheat gluten flour I think it's called) in my Instant Post by adding some Indian spices to make it tasty.

My A1C has been in control for 4 years now by following this.
posted by indianbadger1 at 11:04 AM on August 27, 2024

I definitely want nth Quorn products. As someone with a legume allergy, it’s my go-to for a high protein veg option.
posted by skye.dancer at 5:52 AM on August 28, 2024 [1 favorite]

Quorn if I have the freezer space (n.b. it is all vege but not all the products are vegan)

TVP if I don't

I also keep powdered gluten around which is fun for making your own flavoured meats such as Gyro. But that's a bit of a process.
posted by Ardnamurchan at 3:19 PM on August 29, 2024