Vegetarians, 40 reasons why your Protein woes are over. You’re welcome.

About us: Meet Jym is a technology startup based in Central London. We’re almost finished building our FREE mobile app “Meet Jym” which connects potential clients to Personal Trainers (either online or locally) all over the world. Clients have the ability to find Personal Trainers that have customised training programmes to suit their time and budget, the best thing is — once you have purchased the perfect tailored programme for you, all aspects of the training plan including managing your diet, progress, and getting workouts can be done via the free app!

Both of the Founders of Meet Jym are vegetarian, one of the biggest challenges we've had while trying to put on muscle is getting enough protein easily. We've heard a lot of personal trainers say if you are vegetarian you cannot build muscle as quickly because vegetarian sources of protein don’t carry the entire branch of amino acids compared to animal protein. Therefore we apparently stood at a great disadvantage. Albeit true that certain food sources don’t contain the entire amino acid profile, it does not stop you getting all the protein you need and therefore it does not stop you putting on muscle. From our experience, it makes no difference.

We’re writing this blog to share with you 40 of the best sources of protein we found as a vegetarians on our quest to becoming aesthetically pleasing body builders. These sources of protein were often cheap, high in protein, and cost effective. If you are vegetarian, I am sure you are just as sick as us in reading “best sellers” with “15 minute meals” only to find none of them are vegetarian, and the food required to make 15 minute meals is very expensive when put together.

I will start with some of the obvious sources first and then go into the more unknown sources.

We have compiled an Excel Document which contains a summary of all 40 sources of vegetarian protein below. This is to help you sort the foods by protein, fats, carbs — and give you a link on where to buy them all from one place.

Say Cheese!

Source: Fat Free Cottage Cheese
Where do I get it: All high street supermarkets store it
Cost: £1.20 for 300g
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (10.1g Protein, 5.3g Carbs, 0.2g Fat)
Taste: It tastes like lumpy yoghurt. It might sound nasty but its not. Cottage cheese goes really well with a cracker like Ritz! Nom nom nom.

Source: Fat Free Soft Cheese
Where do I get it: All high street supermarkets store it
Cost: £0.90 for 250g
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (12.5g Protein, 3.8g Carbs, 0.3g Fat)
Taste: This, tastes just like yoghurt. It’s slightly thick, with a ting of being salty, but it’s the perfect addition to any salad, snack or dinner. Light and super high in protein!

Source: Half Fat Mozzarella
Where do I get it: All high street supermarkets store it
Cost: £0.70 for 125g
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (20g Protein, 0.7g Carbs, 9g Fat)
Taste: Who doesn’t love cheese?! This cheese goes great with a Avocado and Tomato Salad, or on top of some home made pizza. Don’t blame us if you love playing with stringy cheese!

Source: 30% Lighter Halloumi
Where do I get it: All high street supermarkets store it
Cost: £1.80 for 225g
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (24g Protein, 0.7g Carbs, 17g Fat)
Taste: Vegetarians love halloumi as much as meat eaters love bacon. Halloumi is a crispy grill-fried slight salty chewy cheese that will tickle even the trickiest of taste buds. It goes well with any salad, burger, and dare we say it we’ve been guilt eating this by itself. Yes, it’s THAT good.

Source: Salad Cheese
Where do I get it: All high street supermarkets store it
Cost: £1.20 for 200g
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (19.9g Protein, 1g Carbs, 11.7g Fat)
Taste: This tastes exactly like FETA cheese. It’s moist, soft and crumbly. Personally we find it goes perfect with Pasta or Salad. we like to have it warm when the cheese is even softer to have it melt on top of my food.

Source: Goats Cheese
Where do I get it: All high street supermarkets store it
Cost: £2.00 for 200g
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (9.5g Protein, 3g Carbs, 12g Fat)
Taste: Goats cheese tastes better than a lot of the other cheeses in our opinion. It’s tastes like it’s had significant time to mature and there is a real quality about the taste which matches well to a lot of various types of food.

Source: Protein Cheese
Where do I get it: Myprotein.com Click Here
Cost: £3.99 for 300g
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (37g Protein, 1.3g Carbs, 2g Fat)
Taste: The closest similarity to this cheese is mild cheddar. Protein Cheese is more crumblier and harder than normal cheese without much difference in taste. We love piling this on my food, after a minute in the microwave, you can’t tell any difference!

Supplements and Protein Added Food

Source: Instant Impact Whey Protein Powder
Where do I get it: MyProtein (Generally the cheapest place for great tasting protein)
Cost: £31.19 for 2.5kg!
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (82g Protein, 4g Carbs, 7.5g Fat)
Taste: Depending on the flavour you get, it’s amazing! Our favourite is Chocolate Smooth. It’s so lovely that you can have it warm like tea or cold like coffee.

Source: Protein Granola
Where do I get it: MyProtein Click Here
Cost: £9.99 for 750g!
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (37g Protein, 39g Carbs, 9.9g Fat)
Taste: Sorry Cocopops, we have a new favourite in town. Protein Granola is absolutely delicious. It tastes like smooth, crunchy chocolate clusters that complement well with cool milk. This is more of a treat than a cereal. Slightly pricey, but worth a try.

Source: Dr Zak’s Protein Pasta
Where do I get it: MyProtein Click Here
Cost: £4.49 for 400g!
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (50g Protein, 31g Carbs, 7.5g Fat)
Taste: Finally, pasta without the guilt. We love this pasta, it cooks very quickly and tastes exactly the same as normal pasta. It also uses pea protein which is nice variant compared to the usual whey protein. Delicious tasting, you’ll never be able to tell the difference.

Source: BCAA 4:1:1
Where do I get it: MyProtein Click Here
Cost: £15.99 for 250g!
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (100g Protein, 0g Carbs, 0g Fat)
Taste: BCAA 4:1:1 can be taken throughout the day or before and after a workout to help with the growth and maintenance of lean muscle mass. It comes in two flavours, tropical and berry blast. Tastes more like fruit squash than a high protein drink!

Yoghurts and other Diary

Source: Total 0% Fat Greek Yoghurt
Where do I get it: All high street supermarkets store it
Cost: £1.00 for 170g!
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (10.3g Protein, 4g Carbs, 0g Fat)
Taste: This yoghurt is a lot more stiff compared to the other yoghurts which are smooth. We would recommend you compliment the yoghurt with some other food as it can be quite a mouthful! It tastes like salty yoghurt, but with 17g of protein per pot, who’s complaining?

Source: Arla Protein Strawberry Yoghurt
Where do I get it: All high street supermarkets store it
Cost: £1.25 for 200g!
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (10g Protein, 6.5g Carbs, 0.2g Fat)
Taste: This tastes like the Total Fage 0% Fat Free Greek Yoghurt with more flavour. It has the same stiff texture and density, but with added flavour making it tastier and more enjoyable to eat as a cheeky little snack!

Source: Arla SKYR Yogurt
Where do I get it: All high street supermarkets store it
Cost: £1.80 for 450g!
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (11g Protein, 4g Carbs, 0.2g Fat)
Taste: This tastes a lot more like natural yoghurt, its smooth and velvety and therefore goes a lot better with more food types compares to the other yoghurt. It’s perfect to have as a light snack, and also tastes great like natural smooth yoghurt.

Source: Arla B.o.B Milk
Where do I get it: All high street supermarkets store it
Cost: £1.00 for 2 Litres!
Nutrition Content: Per 100ml (4.7g Protein, 4.9g Carbs, 0.4g Fat)
Taste: Personally, we feel like this tastes just like any other milk. Because it’s fat free — the closest comparison would be skimmed milk. Not as good as full fat milk, but if you are low on protein and carbs, this is a great top up.

Source: Upbeat Protein Drink
Where do I get it: All high street supermarkets store it
Cost: £1.75 for 250ml
Nutrition Content: Per 100ml (8g Protein, 4.6g Carbs, 0.8g Fat)
Taste: Ever had a protein shots? Didn’t think so. The best thing about it is that theres a tonne of protein in just a few gulps .Tastes just like a strawberry/yogurt milkshake. Personally, we love it! Upbeat have a great range of flavours that are genuinely delicious and easy to drink.

Peas, Beans and Protein.

Disclaimer — Does NOT include Jelly Beans (sorry, we guess?)

Source: Chickpeas
Where do I get it: All high street supermarkets store it
Cost: £0.55 for 400g
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (7.2g Protein, 16.1g Carbs, 2.9g Fat)
Taste: Why do we all love Chickpeas, well, that’s easy — hummus. Chickpeas are great, because they easily go with any salad, or filling. When cooked right, they are soft on the inside, and slightly hard on the outside. Easy to eat and always delicious because of the range of recipes available to make with these.

Source: Cannellini Beans
Where do I get it: All high street supermarkets store it
Cost: £0.55 for 400g
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (7.1g Protein, 12.5g Carbs, 0.6g Fat)
Taste: These beans don’t taste drastically different to chick peas. They are slightly bigger than chickpeas with a similar texture and density. On the plus side, they are less carbs and fat compared to chickpeas, which is always a bonus.

Source: Red Kidney Beans
Where do I get it: All high street supermarkets store it
Cost: £0.85 for 400g
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (7.5g Protein, 26.5g Carbs, 0.5g Fat)
Taste: Kidney beans are delicious! They go well with any recipe. Kidney beans are soft in the middle, easy to eat and can also be flavoured very easily. They are also a great compliment with other foods including salads and taco’s!

Source: Black EyedBeans
Where do I get it: All high street supermarkets store it
Cost: £0.55 for 400g
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (8.8g Protein, 18.2g Carbs, 0.7g Fat)
Taste: Black Eyed Beans are smaller than a kidney beans. They have a lovely semi rigid texture that’s great to taste. They have a nice earthy taste to them. Black Eyed Beans can be cooked in sauces, and are usually best served warm.

Source: Edamame Soya Beans
Where do I get it: All high street supermarkets store it
Cost: £1.50 for 150g
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (14.4g Protein, 5.3g Carbs, 11.7g Fat)
Taste: Edamame beans are usually more rigid, they have a soft rigid crunch to them, and usually split into two pretty easily. These beans are usually best served with a salad.

Seeds

Source: Pumpkin Seeds
Where do I get it: All high street supermarkets store it
Cost: £0.85 for 100g
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (30.2g Protein, 4.7g Carbs, 49.1g Fat)
Taste: Pumpkin Seeds are crunchy oily seeds. They have a crisp texture and soft oily centre. Although high in protein, these seeds are extremely high in fats. So be careful, and take them only if suitable for your diet.

Source: Chia Seeds
Where do I get it: All high street supermarkets store it
Cost: £3.95 for 150g
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (20g Protein, 4.5g Carbs, 35g Fat)
Taste: Chia seeds are amazing. They come in little sachets you can easily sprinkle them on salads on yogurt without tasting anything. They are basically tasteless. When wet, they form little jelly around them too! A great superfood. Usually served in small quantities of 10–15g.

Source: Hemp Seeds
Where do I get it: Amazon
Cost: £13.99 for 450g
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (35.1g Protein, 49.5g Carbs, 7.6g Fat)
Taste: Shelled Hemp seeds are soft oily seeds. When shelled, they taste a lot better. Without shelling, there is a crunch which doesn’t taste good. Be warned, these seeds are very high in fat. In the right quantity, these are great with salads.

Lentils and Daal

Source: Whole Moong Beans
Where do I get it: Most supermarkets, click here
Cost: £1.29 for 500g
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (24g Protein, 62.2g Carbs, 0.5g Fat)
Taste: Whole Moon Beans can be eaten steamed or semi sprouted. They provide a rich earthy flavour and go well in salads, pitta’s or even by themselves!

Source: Moong Dall Washed
Where do I get it: Most supermarkets, click here
Cost: £1.29 for 500g
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (23.9g Protein, 46.3g Carbs, 1.1g Fat)
Taste: Moong Dall taste great when washed, steamed and cooked. They flavour very easily, become very soft when cooked and are popular amongst indian cuisines.

Source: Puy Lentils
Where do I get it: Most supermarkets, click here
Cost: £2.00 for 250g
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (9.8g Protein, 19.2g Carbs, 1.8g Fat)
Taste: Puy Lentils are perfect for Salads. They taste great, have a tender taste. Usually served well with Feta and Tomato or in a soup! Puy lentils are very high in fibre and because they are soft, can easily turn into a soup.

Source: Red Split Lentils
Where do I get it: Most supermarkets, click here
Cost: £1.29 for 500g
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (23.8g Protein, 56.3g Carbs, 1.3g Fat)
Taste: Red Split lentils are not much different in terms of taste. However, they cook very quickly because the skin is removed and they’ve split naturally into two halves. Red Lentils are great because nearly a third of the calories come from Protein.

Source: Green Lentils
Where do I get it: Most supermarkets, click here
Cost: £1.99 for 1000g
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (26.1g Protein, 58.9g Carbs, 0.5g Fat)
Taste: These lentils go great with warm salads, because they generally hold their shape after being cooked.They generally take longer than other lentils to be cooked, but work well being stuffed in other food, or soups!

Soy Protein

(no- that’s not Protein introducing itself in Spanish)

Source: Tofu
Where do I get it: Most supermarkets, click here
Cost: £1.50 for 396g
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (12.6g Protein, 1.0g Carbs, 7.1g Fat)
Taste: Tofu is typically known for having a moist soft centre and a crispy fried outside. They have tough skins when fried and can become chewy. When raw, tofu is soft, very crumbly and almost tasteless!

Source: Soya Burgers
Where do I get it: Most supermarkets, click here
Cost: £1.50 for 454g
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (18.2g Protein, 6.3g Carbs, 3.5g Fat)
Taste: These soya beans are delicious! They are very low in carbs and fat, and when put together in a bun with lettuce, tomato, pickles and some cheese. We’ve got a winner!

Source: Soya Beans
Where do I get it: Most supermarkets, click here
Cost: £1.60 for 500g
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (14.g Protein, 4.9g Carbs, 7.3g Fat)
Taste: Soya beans are just like any other beans. Can be cooked or steamed and made into a soup or a burger! When mixed with other seasoning, they have a soft crumbly texture to them, and when made into a patty — can easily be grilled for a stuffing.

Source: Soya Chunks
Where do I get it: Most supermarkets, click here
Cost: £4.50 for 350g
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (51g Protein, 13g Carbs, 1g Fat)
Taste: Soya chunks are delicious! Once cooked, these balls turn into being soft, chewy and very flavour absorbing. They are like mini sponges. They maintain a decent level of firmness when cooked too!

Other Sources of Protein

Source: Egg Whites
Where do I get it: Most supermarkets, click here
Cost: £3.00 for 500ml
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (10.9g Protein, 0.8g Carbs, 0g Fat)
Taste: Egg whites are pretty tasteless. This liquid comes in a thick white gloopy white liquid format. You can’t drink it out of the carton, so we like to mix it with milk or orange juice before swallowing so you can’t taste it. A great protein top up.

Source: Seitan Pieces
Where do I get it: Most supermarkets, click here
Cost: £9.87 for 1050g
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (18.3g Protein, 3.9g Carbs, 0.4g Fat)
Taste: Seitan has a moist and firm texture from the outside. From the inside it has a rubbery chewy centre. It’s very popular amongst Chinese cuisines and tastes delicious with Stir fry.

Source: Mock Duck
Where do I get it: Most supermarkets, click here
Cost: £9.00 for 1140g
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (12.6g Protein, 3.2g Carbs, 4.2g Fat)
Taste: Mock Duck tastes very similar Duck from my experience. It’s very similar to Seitan as its also made from Wheat Gluten. It’s called mock duck because it has an artificial plucked duck texture. Sounds nasty but tastes lovely.

Source: Tempeh
Where do I get it: Most supermarkets, click here
Cost: £16.90 for 1050g
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (19g Protein, 17g Carbs, 7.7g Fat)
Taste: It has a firm texture and is similar in taste to other soy products. The flavour becomes more pronounced as it ages. It’s a traditional soy product originating from Indonesia. It’s made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans.

Source: Eggs
Where do I get it: Most supermarkets, click here
Cost: £1.75 for 696g
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (12.6g Protein, 0g Carbs, 9g Fat)
Taste: Eggs are delicious, it’s difficult to describe the taste of eggs. One thing is for sure, there’s no limit to the delicious recipes you can make with these!

Source: Nut Butter
Where do I get it: Most supermarkets, click here
Cost: £1.99 for 280g
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (29.6g Protein, 11.6g Carbs, 46g Fat)
Taste: Any nut butter, wether that’s peanut, almond, cashew, or pistachio tastes delicious! You can choose your level of crunchiness when buying them. They often come in a thick, sticky, slightly oily texture.

Source: Quorn Fillets
Where do I get it: Most supermarkets, click here
Cost: £2.00 for 312g
Nutrition Content: Per 100g (11.5g Protein, 4.0g Carbs, 1.5g Fat)
Taste: Quorn has a rigid and distinct flavour which is unique. We’ve been told it has a similar texture to chicken, but it doesn’t taste like chicken. It’s tough, and needs to be cut with a knife. From the inside it has ridges and is tearable like chicken.

It’s great to have lots of protein sources but none of it is going to help you ‘get big’, ‘toned’ or ‘put on muscle’. There is definitely a myth out there (bro science) which suggests consuming high amounts of protein is suddenly going to make you big and strong. Unfortunately, it’s just not that easy.

What needs to happen is your body needs the correct balance of carbs, fats and protein personalised to you. Your body is different and unique to everyone elses. Therefore, you can’t consume the same calories or have the same meal plan or macro plan in order to look the same as someone else.

Generic meal plans don’t work because they aren’t tailored to your metabolic rate, your height, weight, body fat and many other factors which come into play. Fortunately, the solution is easy! Hire a personal trainer through the FREE Meet Jym app. Why? This app will allow you to find someone within your area or online to provide you with custom made training programs and diet plans in order for you to meet your goals. You can receive weekly updates according to your progress and your personal trainer will be there to chat to you and guide you along the way. Putting on muscle is a science; it is not pumping iron and doing lots of cardio. Why waste time in the gym and have very slow improvements when you can reach your desired figure faster than ever with Meet Jym.