When people decide to stop eating meat, there often is a concern about getting enough protein from a vegetarian diet. While tofu and other soy-based meat alternatives can be good sources of protein, I am trying to follow a vegetarian diet without relying too much on processed “faux” foods. To see if the foods I’ve been eating are providing “enough” protein I decided to track my protein for a day.
Breakfast
1/2 cup Egg Beaters = 10 g
1 egg white = 4 g
1 slice whole wheat toast = 4 g
Morning Snack
Chobani® = 14 g
Lunch
(click photo for recipe)
Chick Peas = 5 g (1/4 of recipe using 1 can chick peas)
Barrilla® Plus Pasta = 7.5 g (1/4 of recipe using 6 oz pasta)
Snack
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds = 8 g
Dinner
1 cup Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili = 9 g (according to recipe)
Trader Joe’s Brown Jasmine Rice = 2 g (1/3 cup cooked rice)
Dessert
Klondike No Sugar Added Bar = 4 g
Total = 63.5 g
That seems like a lot of protein. Of course, to know if it is enough, I need to know how much I need. I found this information from Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook:
Multiply your weight in pounds by one of the following:
Sedentary adult 0.4
Active adult 0.4-0.6
Growing athlete 0.6-0.9
Adult building muscle mass 0.6-0.9
If I choose the “active adult” category, I need 46-69 g of protein a day. So, it looks like I am doing OK.
Link up your What I Ate Wednesday Post at Peas And Crayons:
Did you know that pumpkin seeds are such a good source of protein?
![The Ultimate Coffee Date](http://got2run4me.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ultimate-Coffee-Date.png" "The Ultimate Coffee Date")
HECK YES I KNEW 🙂 and am now both terrified and curious to see the protein Im getting.
I should count for a day—it be a LOT…
Love Pumpkin seeds! Especially when they are right out of the Pumpkin!
You’re doing great! Protein can be tricky for vegetarians, but including eggs and dairy makes a huge difference. Nice work. 🙂
I have never found lack of protein to be an issue in my diet. (lacto-ovo Veg) Most Americans eat too much protein.
It's kind of funny how vegetarian diets are scrutinized for shortcomings.. I would think the average meat eaters diet is the one that needs scrutiny.
BTW Coco- I made your quiche.. its basically the same as my old recipe, except that it has low fat ricotta cheese instead of evaporated skim milk. It also has one more egg, and I usually use eggbeaters, or one egg and the rest eggwhites. So it was more fat, except for the way-less cheese, but tasted kind of bland. Nice experiment though, and I may do Ricotta again.
I think if I didn\’t try to follow a balanced diet, I would be much lower on protein. I think most Americans eat too many carbs and too much meat.
As for the recipe, I often use Egg Beaters for some/all of the eggs too. I think the flavor depends on what you\’re adding. Tonight I made it with zucchini that I sauteed a bit first with spices. I\’d be interested in your recipe, since I don\’t always remember to keep ricotta on hand …
When I mentioned to my doctor about going vegan she just said, "Eat your lentils!" .. Beans and lentils!
I have a good lentil soup recipe … and several cans of Progresso lentil soup!
I love pumpkin seeds so much! What a great snack. As much as I am looking forward to spring & summer, I am really looking forward to the fall and roasting my own fresh pumpkin seeds 🙂
I was so excited to find these at Trader Joes!
WRITING STYLE IS SO ATTRACTIVE AN AFFECTIVE.I LIKE THE POST AND THE WAY YOU WRITE. PUMPKINS SEEDS ARE TOO GOOD. AND EGG I LOVE TO HAVE IT.
Thanks for sending me this link! It looks like I need 87grams. That seems kind of high, doesn't it?