high protein ideas?

[veggiemaya]

ok..so i have been trying to figure out what i can have in the morning that will be high in protein, but low in fat and sugar, easy to eat at work, and of course..vegan. i want to try to lose some weight..and i think one of my problems is not eating enough early in the day to get my metabolism going.

can anyone give me any suggestions? thanks!!

[gogs67]

ok..so i have been trying to figure out what i can have in the morning that will be high in protein, but low in fat and sugar, easy to eat at work, and of course..vegan. i want to try to lose some weight..and i think one of my problems is not eating enough early in the day to get my metabolism going.

can anyone give me any suggestions? thanks!!

Protein powder in a fruit drink (fresh orange/pineapple/strawberry etc) will fill you till mid day at least!

[xrodolfox]

Seitan?

[DancingWillow]

oatmeal...it's high in protein and in fiber.

peanut butter and nuts (especially almonds)

soy products (milk, yogurt) have a good amount of protein also. or you can make tofu scramble.

whole grain cereal and bread have protein as well.

[Stu]

oatmeal...it's high in protein and in fiber.

peanut butter and nuts (especially almonds)

soy products (milk, yogurt) have a good amount of protein also. or you can make tofu scramble.

whole grain cereal and bread have protein as well.

Well definitely not nuts - they're very high in fat.

[veganeatingout]

Not sure if this qualifies as being easy to eat at work but Hormel Vegetarian Chili with beans is high in protein and low in fat.

[Ruby Rose]

porridge made with soya milk - if you have a microwave at work

[Fuhzy]

1c oatmeal + 1c soymilk

[veggiemaya]

well, it does look like oatmeal is the general concensus. maybe i can add some hemp protein for a little extra boost.
i wish it was easier to find really tasty soy yogurt that doesnt have any dairy at all in it.

[Pilaf]

Seitan?

Hail Seitan. *crosses two metal horn firsts*

[Gorilla]

i wish it was easier to find really tasty soy yogurt that doesnt have any dairy at all in it.

that's a shame you can't find vegan soya yogurt. there's a good range available in the UK.

[veggiemaya]

that's a shame you can't find vegan soya yogurt. there's a good range available in the UK.

yes, it is a shame. there is one brand that is pretty good, but its almost impossible to come by. and if i stock up, some of it winds up going past the exp. date before i get a chance to eat it. and of course they have O'Soy yogurt brand all over the place...which is probably very tasty..but the active cultures in it are milk based. so frustrating!

[gogs67]

yes, it is a shame. there is one brand that is pretty good, but its almost impossible to come by. and if i stock up, some of it winds up going past the exp. date before i get a chance to eat it. and of course they have O'Soy yogurt brand all over the place...which is probably very tasty..but the active cultures in it are milk based. so frustrating!

Dunno bout the brand you buy but the Alpro soya yoghurt we get here keeps for a lot longer than the sell by date. I've had some that was months out of date, opened it and it was fine!

[Gorilla]

lucky you gogs - i've had Alpro yogurt go very bad past its use-by date

[Tigerlily]

For something super simple and easy to eat, try protein bars. There are several brands that are vegan such as Cliff, Luna Bar, Vega...

[xrodolfox]

well, it does look like oatmeal is the general concensus. maybe i can add some hemp protein for a little extra boost.
i wish it was easier to find really tasty soy yogurt that doesnt have any dairy at all in it.

100% vegan soy yogurt is quite easy to find in the US.

Just look for "Silk" brand soy yogurt. there's several other brands as well, but none so proliferous. I get mine at Meijers, but they sell it at Stop & SHop, Whole Foods, Price Chopper, Krogers, etc.

[Jippia]

For me, wholegrain cereals with soy milk works well. A big bowl of it. With some orange juuice or iron-fortified lemonade syrup. For lunch, beans are a good source of protein and are low-fat. Mixed with some bulb pepper pieces and sweetcorn they make a nice salad. Tahini and Marmite sandwiches are also great lunch or breakfast items, but that may be too high in fat for you. I do not know how much time you have got in the morning. There are more grains than oatmeal to make porridge from, like millet and buckwheat. You can use low-fat soy milk to get the proteins without too much fat, I think.

[Cristoforopal]

For simplicity oats are the king of low fat and decent protein. I've been eating them with water and a nuker in 3 mins flat every day for a year =).

I've recently added in rolled barley to the oats. They are close in composition with barley containing less fat and equal protein/carbs. One added benefit of barley and oats is that barley has much tastier flavor too.

I guess if u rly rly want some more protein's with less carbs you could eat legumes breakfast time =(.

[VeganBoy]

Hi everyone, I'm new here and thought I'd wade straight in with some info!

I do quite a bit of weight training so have a high protein diet and my typical breakfast is:

- 100g oats
- handful of berries (usually blueberries)
- big scoop of vegan protein powder
- water and/or rice milk
- dash of hemp oil

It's high in calories thanks to the hemp oil, so leave that out if you don't need the extra cals, but it tastes great, fills you up 'til lunch and is really high in protein.

I get cheap protein powder from here as it allows you to search for the cheapest according to price per kg http://proteinfinder.co.uk/products/...n-supplements/

Hope that helps!

[Cristoforopal]

Sorry guys. I hate to say it but avoid eating protein powders when u can. If u are at home.... u can make the time 2 eat right. there are 4g protein per 100g oats. Its 12g protein 360 cals per 330g serving. natural peanutbutter; 90 cals/tablepoon/4g protein. Milk 8.5g Protein per cup. Wheat. etc.... Stop eating that whey shit and eat real food.

[Blueberries]

Stop eating that whey shit and eat real food.

Vegan protein powders can be made of soya, hemp or pea protein. All food is real, whether you think it's good or bad for you is a different issue but unless it only exists in our imagination it is real.

[VeganBoy]

Sorry guys. I hate to say it but avoid eating protein powders when u can. If u are at home.... u can make the time 2 eat right. there are 4g protein per 100g oats. Its 12g protein 360 cals per 330g serving. natural peanutbutter; 90 cals/tablepoon/4g protein. Milk 8.5g Protein per cup. Wheat. etc.... Stop eating that whey shit and eat real food.

Whey is not vegan, it's a dairy product, so that couldn't be used, but I see your point.

Whole foods are always ideal but if you were, for example, a vegan bodybuilder, requiring 3g protein per lb bodyweight per day, I think it would be very difficult to achieve with whole foods alone without getting through a massive amount of food and therefore consuming excess calories and gaining fat. It would be necessary to 'supplement' your dietary intake with a protein supplement e.g. soy/pea/rice protein, which is food, it's just not whole food (i.e. it is processed) but not necessarily bad for you.

Not all processed food is bad, I like bread but you wouldn't catch me eating a bag of flour - a process like that is just fine by me!

[Robinwomb]

I agree with Blueberries and Veganboy, all food is "real". Whole foods can also mean a lot of things. Oats aren't necessarily a "whole food" that is totally unprocessed either unless you eat the whole oat groat but it still needs to be cooked to be digestible.

I also get tired of all the knit picking that goes on in vegan circles as far as what is healthy and what isnt. It distracts from what is really important about our movement and turns off nonvegans from even trying. It seems everything from soy to grains to cooked food to protein powders to starchy vegetables to beans is bad for you. I even saw a comment once that too many leafy raw green vegetables are "bad" due to high oxylates. Good grief. Sighs...

BTW, as someone who is and has been in the past very very underweight, pea protein has been a tremendous help in getting nutrition in that I would otherwise not be able to . It has its place.

[Cristoforopal]

I don't think protein powders are bad. I know so. Whatever it's derived from; dairy, plant powders, the extraction method for the protein isolate usually toxic. I have heavily researched this and go look... "supplements", as per FDA regulation do not require testing. As such the companies can do whatever the hell they like and sell it to you. Most commonly they protein powder manufacturing comes from bombarding the bean/milk with acid or some other solvent. The purification process then further pollutes the protein in order to reduce toxicity of the protein. Once you digest this protein you will have toxic food + crap dead busted amino acid junk proteins.

At best case people, the high end milk proteins I have read of do not use solvents to extract, and the toxicity is negligible. It's essentially powdered milk which is a safe and decent alternative. However, the dried protein is still not in a natural state and should be used secondarily to FRESH food because the protein quality is reduced.. a lot. Why not just buy powdered soy, or some soy milk? It's far superior quality and almost 100% safe.

I also want to add that I can back up my claims by wearing the evidence which co-responds with my all natural vegan diet. When I say wearing I mean to say. I am a vegan bodybuilder of nine-months, consistently adding muscle over that period with no powder. My muscle building protein ratio has been 2.0 to 2.5 grams of protein per kilo of bodyweight. My maintenance protein needs around 60. I did a three week bulk and I added around 1.5 lbs muscle.

But don't take my word for it, do some more research on the powders your self. This day and age we've been sold on the powders, among other things. It's wise to become an Informed consumer and develop your own understanding of a product. Believe me, I am an "anti-powderist =)" with good intentions for you.

[VeganBoy]

Interesting.

I haven't heard any cases (and I mean not even one) of people becoming ill or suffering any side effect from using protein powders though, and millions of people consume multiple doses every single day.

Are you sure it's that bad? Are there not toxins in most of our processed foods? Just eating a loaf of bread or tin of tomatoes means we're consuming preservatives and substances we wouldn't eat if we made the product ourselves.

I'm not disputing the point you make, I'm just questioning whether it is really detrimental to health. What do you think?

[Cristoforopal]

Hi vegan. I can't generalize and say all good or bad, but from what I read its prob a 75/25. I've read several articles of people who have liver problems from powders. I haven't heard of a study to determine liver damage cause it wouldn't be ethical. So I just go by what I can find from people naturally using it and there has been a number of stories.

My key point is just that most of them have a cheap processing method and the side-affect is more toxicity in your liver =(. Just be meticulous about what powder you put in the body; research and read reviews on the stuff 2 make sure its high end. And use it in a pinch, cause obliterated proteins are inferior to other natural options(save money too).

Also I think it's important to keep in mind the powder fad has come around in the last 5++ years? Not long enough to actually know if its carcinogenic and etc. Need a longer study period, so another reason why I'm distrusting. I mean.. when I was a boy my mom fed me whole food not powder -o-.

This is just my opinion here; It's just an unproven placebo thing. And it's barely regulated therefore dirt cheap to make. With the new bodybuilding craze these companies have a very easy time selling a Magic Powder, CLINICALLY PROVEN to rush into your muscles after exercise. WHEY PROTEIN ISOLATE OH MY GAWD I can feel my muscles growing 5 mins after i drink this shake dude!

There are 20 diff amino-acids and your liver + some more organs work together to break em down into a usable state. Once that is done they flow in your blood into your muscles. From what I've read muscles begin to repair 2-4 hours later but I could be wrong. Anyways... the casein or whey protein means nothing as far as your muscles are concerned. The only thing the protein name matters for are amino acid levels for the individual protein.

The trick is to help your muscles re-build faster is very easy. Have a bunch of protein in your system, Eat a bunch of fast digesting carbs or sugary food. Now your pancreas goes on overdrive shooting out lots of insulin. This insulin signals the muscle fibres to suck up those previously digested amino acids, FAST! N there is ur magic powder, accomplished with real food.

Honestly bodybuilding is a science but eating is pretty basic, everyone is taught about it as a child. That's why I get so heated about these pseudo-scientist fools talking shit about Branch Chain Amino acids. It sounds smart and technical right? Nice pitch off of that. But its redundantly stupid to say that Branch Amino Acids are protein. all protein is composed of 20 or so acids. Obviously they are branch chain then why would you say that unless you think they don't come as a branch chain?

Well I'm done with my rant. Do what you want but I hope some people who trust these companies selling them powders will do their own study about them.

[Turtle.. thatisall]

Hi Veggiemaya,

I've been on the look out for a protein-based breakfast as well so been doing some research on chia seeds. So.. by all accounts.. They are 23% complete protein, gluten free and low in fat! Full range of B vitamins, calcium, healthy omega-3 oils and anti-oxidants and loads more. (I'm not a chia seed agent btw! ) The fiber and gelling action of the seeds is said to keep you feeling full too especially if you soak them overnight for a pudding breakfast or shake in the morning but they'll plump up anyway after a while in liquid. You can put them in or on top of anything too.. sweet, savoury as they themselves have no flavour! Loads of recipes online! I can't wait to try them!

If anyone has any thoughts on chia seeds I'd love to know more before I try them.. a lot of different opinions out there! But I do like the fact that Mexico is fighting off Monsanto to keep their seeds their own so that's a plus I'd like to support!

: ) Definitely read up on them first though! I'll let ya know if I find out anything else and/or give them a try!

http://www.mychiaseeds.com/Articles/...aBenefits.html
http://tasty-yummies.com/2012/01/09/...uten-free-raw/

Also, I think if you're suffering with energy dips, in my experience.. the worst thing you can have for breakfast is fruit and/or cereal. They convert to sugars too fast giving you a sugar rush followed by a crash as your poor adrenals are all hands on deck to try and stop you falling over later in the morning. Then I feel I have to have another coffee to try stay awake.. and then crave sugar for energy and the vicious cycle continues and then my adrenals start clearing their desks and handing in their pink slips! :/

So definitely go with protein, if you want fruit, then make sure it's the whole fruit, which has fiber to slow down the absorption of the sugar, as opposed to juice, which is just a straight sugar hit. And follow it up in about half an hour with some protein. Handfuls of organic almonds etc? I tend to snack a lot rather than eat a big portion all at once. If you'd rather have a cerealy-type breakfast, go with whole grains like oatmeal, or pumpernickel toast, which are complex carbohydrates that takes longer to metabolize. And always include some protein. I really don't like oats so I use millet or brown rice flakes with nuts and seeds and cinnamon when I feel I want a cereal! Watch out for nuts and seeds though if you wanna loose weight! Though I rate almonds as the best.. got your protein, calcium, potassium etc and are moderating alkaline-forming as well.

Also I think it's important to keep your body more alkaline than acidic so I sip fresh lemon juice water each day to try and keep my levels tipping toward the alkaline.

http://www.thebestofrawfood.com/alkaline-foods.html

Hope that's of some help and I'm certainly no expert but I just know what works for my body : )

Also.. re soya yogurts: I love Sojade brand, blueberry one's the best!!! and they're the most ethical one too! In Europe anyway.

FYI: I heard Alpro use flouridated water to make their products and use soybeans from China.. but half the time I don't know who to believe when it comes to the media!

Also: Monsanto owns rice dream!

You guys probably know all this already so apologies but I cannot abide monsatan! But you probably got that already!

[Cristoforopal]

I guess we got off topic here a bit, thx for putting it back on track veggie =P. Chia seeds look like a nice choice for nuts or seeds. According to the link here they have huge fiber and about 2:1 fatrotein. For keeping you full its prob a real good strategy with the stats here. http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/...roducts/3061/2. Personally I use natural peanut butter for most of my fats then olive oil but Imma see how these are when I do my next weight loss phase. 42% fiber per serving at 140 cals is ridiculous lol.

Also If you look at the protein quality according to that site I posted its acid score is 115. Really good value, so I'm not sure where u figure 23% complete. Its like over complete . 4g of chia protein is like 4.6g protein,[its rounded down at 4.4 per serving on the stats too]. Disclaimer; not sure of exact accuracy of this sites stats but well within acceptable credibility.

Question for you veggie about the body's P.H. Balance. I read we are very slightly alkaline and if our PH is 2 low or 2 high then our entire body's functions are hindered. Especially your immune system is affected; fighting diseases,cancers and viruses. I even read some crazyness that high ph can get rid of some cancers (not sure about that one).

Depending on how true that is do you know any ways to test your ph ? thx.

I j
ust realised this post is 4 years old and u started it =P. Bet u have come very far since then, GRATS!!

[Turtle.. thatisall]

lol! I think you been smokin' too many chia seeds! I didn't start a thread four years ago.... less.. dang those chia seeds are strong!! I think ya mean Veggiemaya? and I didn't see that it was from 2008 either!! I'm hope she's found some protein by now! The 2008 now makes sense!! I was wondering how she couldn't get any good soya yogurt in NJ!! : D

Re Seeds.. it's 23% complete by weight.. those stats on that link are based on a 28gm @4.4gm protein per portion no? or am I reading it wrong!

Re PH, You can get PH strips in any pharmacy or online. I only brought it up because Veggimaya wanted to loose weight and keep energy up.. so you need to steer clear of acid forming foods.. which are mostly always bad for you anyway!

If you keep your body in a more acidic state.. you keep your blood low in oxygen and hence slow to detox... so your body starts using a lot of energy to send in it's mineral reserves to counteract the acid toxins and then when those guys run out, your body starts leeching minerals from your organs and bones to compensate.. then when there's no more left there, the body goes into Defon 3 and starts storing the acid in fat cells so they don't end up in your vital organs.. these cells then start to build up and leave waste in your system so now you feel totally wrecked and have created a perfect environment for dis ease... then disease because you've knacked out your immune system!

It's easier for me to decipher bad food by thinking of it as acidic. So say when I drink coffee (slight addiction!) I know I have to neutralize that acid for my body to balance itself out.. kind of like.. if you eat a big meal.. you have to exercise to balance it out.. if you keep eating big meals and no exercise.. : )

As I said.. I'm no expert but I am when it comes to my body! I know exactly what it needs.. doesn't stop me drinking my coffee or wine or eating my brownies though! Just in moderation though I know eventually I have to quit sugar, the biggest evil of all : /

Also.. have a look at almond butter in lieu of peanut butter.. way more micro-nutrients for ya! And then ya got the whole aflatoxin issue as well. If you cannot live without peanut butter then make sure it's always organic and keep it in the fridge to prevent mold forming. Best one I've ever tasted is Equal exchange unsalted! Amazing! and fair trade too! : )

But I find most good organic nut butters are really expensive so.. I make my own! Get some organic almonds and just whizz them in a food processor till they turn to butter.. couldn't get fresher than that and put a spoon in some soya milk for an almondy drink or in a smoothie! (My latest fad!) Had to share as I found these amazing org almonds from Italy at my market! It's the little things in life eh? : )