Hey Vegan — Where Do You Get Your Protein?

I’ve been asked this tons of times in a variety of ways, including in roundabout ways like “My doctor says I need to eat meat.” Ok cool.

Let’s start with how much protein we need. General guidelines say around 8 grams of protein for every 20 pounds of body weight. So a 150 pound person would aim for 60g/day, higher if they’re really active or pregnant.

Here are some ways to get plant protein:

• chickpeas (39g per cup)
• broccoli (2.6g per cup)
• quinoa (24g per cup)
• lentils (9g per 1/2 cup)
• brown rice (5g per cooked cup)
• wild rice (7g per cooked cup)
• corn (16g per cup)
• white potato (4.3g per potato)
• peas (8g per cup)
• asparagus (2.9g per cup)
• string beans (1.8g per cup)
• sweet potato (2g per potato)
• beets (2.2g per cup)
• avocado (4g each)
• black beans (42g per cup)
• dark leafy green vegetables (kale, collard greens, spinach)
  2.5–5g per cup)
• peanut butter, almond butter (8g per 2 tbsp)

This list is just scratching the surface and it doesn’t include the more obvious protein packed snacks like almonds, peanuts, sunflower seeds, or adding flaxseeds or chia seeds to dishes.

Sometimes when I don’t have time to prepare a super delicious plant based meal I’ll cheat and buy Gardein chickenless tenders, beefless tips, fishless filets or something from Beyond Meat (chickenless grilled strips etc.) Even Trader Joe’s has plenty of similar options like chickenless tenders. Although these mostly are the equivalent of vegan junk food they have plenty of protein and are quick and tasty.

So it’s pretty easy to get plenty of protein as a vegan. A cup of chickpeas or black beans pack more protein many meat based meals. So all you doctors out there telling your patients they have to eat meat I hope you’ll share these simple alternatives. :-)