Protein Sources for Vegetarians
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If you are vegetarian, or almost vegetarian, getting enough good quality protein into your weekly diet is important.
Protein is necessary to build strong muscles, repair tissues, and maintain a healthy immune and hormonal system.
However, there is a popular misconception that meat is the only real source of protein. This is simply untrue.
Protein Needs
The Recommended Daily Allowance for protein is 47 grams for women, and 54 grams for men.
But, if you want the less “calculated” answer, you will know if you are getting enough protein if you feel good, you have good muscle tone, your hair and nails are healthy, and you recover quickly from illness.
These are all signs of a vibrant, healthy person.
Essential Amino Acids
There are many sources of vegetarian protein, the problem is that most vegetable sources of protein are incomplete.
However, this simply means you need to be a little more careful with your dietary choices.
There are nine essential amino acids, which cannot be synthesized by your body. That means you must get them from the foods you eat. These amino acids are:
- Leucine
- Isoleucine
- Valine
- Threonine
- Methionine
- Phenylalanine
- Tryptophan
- Lysine
- Histidine
I don’t want to delve into this part too much — suffice to say that of the nine essential amino acids, six can be found in lots of foods, and three can not (lysine, tryptophan, and methionine), and you need all of them to make new protein, hence why your diet must be varied.
So, which foods contain complete protein?
Complete protein is found in foods like meat, poultry, fish, milk, eggs, soybeans and other soy products.
However, this isn’t something to get stressed over; combining foods together throughout the course of the day will make sure that your body gets everything it needs to make up complete protein.
It’s also worth noting that complete protein food sources aren’t better than incomplete protein food sources, they are just simpler.
Food Combining
As I said, combining different plant-based foods together is essential for maintaining optimal health when you are vegetarian.
And, it’s very simple to achieve, really.
Just make sure your diet is well balanced and varied overall, and you will be eating a healthy diet, without having to stress over exact amounts, calories or macronutrients.
Eating foods in combinations will help your body to make up complete protein, for example:
Protein Sources For Vegetarians
All plant foods contain some protein, but some obviously contain more than others.
Here are some examples (this is not an exhaustive list):
- Nuts: almonds, brazil nuts, cashew nuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts, walnuts
- Seeds: sesame, sunflower, pumpkin, flaxseeds
- Legumes: peas, beans, lentils, peanuts
- Eggs: preferably free range
- Dairy products: milk, cheese, yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese
- Grains: amaranth, barley, rye, oats, millet, quinoa, rice, spelt, wheat
- Soy products: tofu, tempeh, TVP, soymilk — do take care with your consumption of processed and packaged soy products, however, as they are often loaded with salt
- Vegetables: small amounts of protein can be found in leafy green vegetables like spinach, also Brussel sprouts, asparagus, cauliflower, courgette, seaweeds, etc. Small amounts can be found in fruits like apricots and peaches.
Simple Vegetarian Menu Plan
Here are just a few suggestions for getting enough protein into your daily diet:
- Breakfast: two eggs with a slice of wholegrain toast
- Lunch: mixed vegetables with 1 cup of beans, and some avocado
- Dinner: mixed vegetables, quinoa, lentils/eggs, and some soy or dairy
- Snacks: ¼ cup raw nuts/seeds, some Greek yogurt
Are you vegetarian? What are your favorite foods for maintaining optimal health?
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11 Comments
Sascha
02.23.2011
I have one question: why do you think you need to combine foods for making complete proteins? I agree with the part that you should eat a varied diet and eat different sources of protein. But I couldn’t think of one scientific reason why that must combined be in one meal. But maybe I’m wrong and just some uninformed girl, or misinterpreting your story.
Dan - P90X Coach
02.23.2011
Protein is essential for body to build strong muscles, maintain an effective immune, repair tissues and hormonal system. You would need more protein if you are an active job holder or involved in rigorous sports etc..
Melanie
02.23.2011
Yes, that is true.
Melanie
02.23.2011
Hi Sascha,
You don’t need to combine at each meal, but over the course of a day, and certainly a week, a combination of different foods is important. As I mentioned in my article, some foods do not contain all of the amino acids, so combining lots of different foods means you will get some amino acids from one food, and some from another, and that will make up complete protein in the end.
For example, lysine is the “limiting amino acid” in grains, in legumes it may be methionine and tryptophan. But combining these foods together will help the body to make up a complete protein. Another example is beans and rice, which combine to make a complete protein, providing all of the essential amino acids.
Does that make sense?
Mama Kelly aka Jia
02.27.2011
Lentils, beans, TVP are some favorite non-animal sources of protein in our diet. I don’t “combine” at every meal, but I do make an effort to be aware of any holes that needs to be filled at other opportunities in our diets.
Melanie
02.28.2011
Hi Jia,
Very healthy choices!
Albert
03.02.2011
Hey, Melanie. I loved reading your list of healthy protein sources for vegetarians. I think that whole grain bread and cereals can be another good choice for vegetarians.
Paul
05.26.2011
you say the 9 essential amino acids cannot be synthesized outside the body, don’t you mean inside the body or am I missing a brain protein or something?
Melanie
05.26.2011
Hi Paul,
Oh dear… I think I am missing the brain protein. I totally missed that, thank you for pointing it out.
Yes, what I meant to say was there are nine essential amino acids, which you cannot manufacture in your body, so you need to eat foods containing these essential amino acids.
I will update the article now
Snehal
07.19.2011
hello,
I have one question regarding my 4 yrs old daughter.
When she does physical activity (like running,jumping etc) her body starts paining.
What kind of diet should I give her? So that her muscles and bones will get more strong.
Is there any alternative to eggs?
Melanie
07.27.2011
Hi Snehai,
Have you talked to a doctor about this? I can’t really recommend anything without knowing exactly what the diagnosis is.
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