Lean sources of protein for a vegetarian
 

I've been a vegetarian for around 14 years, and after logging my food I realised that my sources of protein are putting too much fat and carbohydrates into my diet. After cutting down on healthy protein sources, it turns out that I'm getting 100% of my daily carb recommendation, but only 49% of my RDA for protein.

My local grocery store is very limited and unpredictable (they don't even sell tofu...).

So I've been eating a lot of yogurt, hummus, quinoa and butter beans. Of course I eat eggs, but I'm finding myself getting sick of them (so any easy egg recipes would be greatly appreciated!). I also recently started eating oysters again (although I feel a little guilty), but to get enough protein from them I have to eat a huuuuuge quantity.

Any advice/tips?

This will help, and I'm sure others will have some good suggestions:

http://www.fitday.com/fitness/forums...-no-carbs.html

Thanks for the link :)

You're welcome, whatevsk.

You may want to click on the 'tags' below to view further threads that may help. FYI I just updated "vegetarian" in our Tag Cloud so this information wasn't easily found before when you posted.

Best wishes to you and your weight loss journey. :)

Try greek yogurt if you're ovo-lacto and never be ashamed of doing something that you need to do to keep yourself healthy. Your life is more important.

I think there are things like whey protein powders you can use too.

I second the suggestion for non-fat Greek yogurt. Also, make a smoothie with egg whites (get them powdered in a can and then you don't have to worry about the dangers of raw egg). I also like non-fat cheese (American or Mozzarella).

Thanks for the advice, guys! :D

I like non fat Greek yogurt but it's hard to find here (I live in a veryyyyy small town). I did find the full fat version, but I'll just wait until they get the lower fat one in stock. I'm guessing regular yogurt isn't the same?

The egg white powder sounds like a good idea! I like making smoothies and shakes.

I also bought some whey protein powder, but I'm hesitant to use it a lot because the kind I bought has a lot of artificial things in it. But I recently used it to make a batch of delicious chocolate banana oat cookies with egg whites (yum)!

Don't underestimate ordering online! Veganessentials.com and veganstore.com have lots of tofu, tvp, plant protein powder, seitan and other protein sources. There is another great store out there, too, but I can't remember it. Googling should find it, though!

my 16 year daughter has been a vegetarian for 4 years now, but the rest of the family is not. that means i'm the lucky one that gets to make 2 dinners every night. but i found a great way to get her the protein she needs that tastes good and is easy. it's a non-meat product by a company called Quorn. they make non-meat chicken, beef and turkey products that have the texture of real meat and also don't have no soy so they don't have the funny after taste that i think soy products do. i use the naked chicken cutlets most often and make them the same way i make the rest of our food. if we're having baked chicken with olive oil and seasonings, then that's the same way i make hers. if i'm making quesadillas for the family, i cut a chicken cutlet up, warm it up with a tiny bit of oil and taco seasoning and make her quesadillas too. one chicken cutlet has 80 calories, 2.5g fat, 5g carbs, 2g fiber and 11g of protein. i think it's the best stuff ever made for vegetarians! you said you live in a small town, so i don't know if they will carry it right by you, but their website has a store locator by zip code. maybe if it's not in your town you can find it nearby and stock up once in a while. the only thing is, you do need to cook it with a smidge of oil for best results when cooking by itself (such as not in a casserole that has liquids in it). tastes great seasoned with garlic herb seasoning cut up on top of salads too! i really recommend trying it.

Quorn is really yummy as a vegetarian protein choice. It does tend to be pricey, but worth it, I think!

:)My store always gets in what I request...it is their business to keep customers satisfied! I too live in a very small town..ask the Manager politely and I bet you get your Greek yogurt. While you are waiting you can make your own, just google it for simple instructions. Best of luck! :D

You can find almost anything on amazon.com
Try putting natural vegetarian protein powder in their search engine to find some w/o all the nasty syntheticss.

I'm not vegetarian any more but I don't eat very much red meat and I also struggle with protein sometimes. I try to eat low fat cottage cheese, low fat vegetarian sausages.... here they are sanitarium brand but I am in Australia. greek yoghurt or any other low fat pot set yoghurt. tofu, eggs. I also eat fish so I eat a fair bit of tuna.

Whatevsk,

I would love to have your recipe for Chocolate banana oat cookies with egg whites if you don't mind sharing :) Sounds yummy :)