The question I get asked most as a vegetarian is how do I get protein? We are so trained to think of only meat or animal products as protein sources, yet plants provide an amazing amount of protein per calorie. This means I can eat a lot of veggies and get a lot of protein (and fiber and antioxidants not found in meat) with few calories. | To me, that is a great deal!
Here are some of my favorites:
| Calories | Fiber | Protein | |
| Lentils ½ cup cooked | 115 | 8g | 9g |
| Brussels sprouts 1 cup cooked | 56 | 4g | 4g |
| Corn, 1 large ear cooked | 120 | 3g | 4g |
| Green beans, ½ cup cooked | 114 | 8g | 6g |
| Cauliflower ½ cup cooked | 30 | 3g | 3g |
| Kale 1 cup sautéed | 36 | 3g | 3g |
| Peas 1 cup steamed | 134 | 9g | 9g |
| Potato 1 medium baked | 161 | 4g | 5g |
| Swiss Chard 1 cup sautéed | 35 | 4g | 3g |
— Veronica
What to do with all those veggies?
Now imagine a dinner plate filled with some of the above choices like ½ cup of green beans, ½ cup of lentils, 1 ear of corn, 1 baked potato, 1 cup of Swiss chard and 1 cup of cauliflower. It would definitely be a filling meal! You would consume:
575 calories
30 grams fiber
30 grams protein
Pretty cool, right? And that doesn’t count the magnitude of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants in your meal! The USDA RDA (recommended daily allowance) of protein for adults is about 40g-70g depending on your weight. One meal of veggies gets you almost there!
Vegetables are the gateway to healthy living. I find the more vegetables I eat, the more I crave them. Sometimes I will eat three or four different veggies for a meal. Whether you eat meat or not, pile your plate high with vegetables and reap the amazing benefits!
Thursday, September 6th, 2012
Posted by:
Pure Bar -
2 Comments - Filed under:
Featured, Free Newsletter, Gluten Free, Pure Blogs, Pures' Tips, Veronica's Blog
I just recently started looking into this and seeing the kind of protein source vegetables can be, but again, in what can be a meat and potatoes world found myself in conversation with my red-meat-adoring hubby and still framing it as a third of the plate. Good extra protein, but not enough itself. Your example shows how veggies really can MAKE the dish. And it can be good to think of the meat as a tasty adornment more than the ultimate point of any and every meal.
Hi Jess,
Vegetables can be a wonderful source of protein and also provide fiber and antioxidants unlike meat.