Protein Chronicles

I am going to get a bit "nutrition-y" on you, ok? As a vegetarian and a I dietitian, I realize that one of the things that I have been sorely lacking in my diet is protein. (Will also reminds me of this frequently!) It's a classic dilemma for a vegetarian to become too dependent on carbohydrates. However, I figured that since I hadn't developed kwashiorkor (Wikipedia that!) and I have no plans of becoming a female bodybuilding champ, I could get away with the inadequacy. Now that I have been adding some more strength training to my exercise routine in an effort to recuperate from my knee injury, I figured I should start making more of a conscious effort to eat more protein. So, when a person doesn't eat meat, where do they get their protein? Well, let's take a look at some of the things I've picked up at the supermarket this weekend...

For a person of my (unmentioned...) weight and gender/age, I need about 46 grams or 7 ounces of protein daily. Here's how I can do it with the foods above! (From left to right...)

Food	Serving Size	Ounces of Protein/Serving
Almonds	1 oz. (23-24 almonds)	6 grams (~1 oz)
Peanut Butter	2 tbsp	8 grams (~1 oz)
Tuna	½ can	21 grams (~3 oz)
Cheese	2 oz.	14 grams (~2 oz)
Milk	1 cup	8 grams (~1 oz)
Yogurt	1 cup	8 grams (~1 oz)
Eggs	1 whole egg	7 grams (~1 oz)
Seitan	1 serving	22 grams (~3 oz)
Beans	1 cup	14 grams (~2 oz)

So, using the chart above, here's how I could incorporate enough protein into a day to meet my needs!
Breakfast: 1/2 cup yogurt (4 grams) + 2 tbsp peanut butter (8 grams) + 1/4 cup milk in coffee (2 grams) = 14 grams total
Lunch:  Salad with 1 oz cheese (7 grams) + 1 hard boiled egg (7 grams) + 1 tbsp peanut butter on half sandwich (4 grams) = 18 grams total
Dinner: Black bean burger (7 grams) + 2 oz cheese (14 grams) = 21 grams total
Total protein for the day: 53 grams!


In addition to high protein foods listed in the table, we all get a minuscule amount of protein from our grains as well as from vegetables so my daily total will actually be just a few grams higher. Now, the tough part is making the effort to commit to making my diet pattern match the example above! All too often, I don't add any protein to my lunch salad or I'll just have a grilled cheese/soup dinner without adding any high protein side. Now that I've confessed - here's to being a more protein-conscious vegetarian!

PS - there will be a post to come about my seitan experiment! Including an description of this curious vegetarian protein/meat-alternative!