Happy New Year guys!! If you have been following along on Instagram, you may know that I recently transitioned to a completely vegan diet. Since then, a lot of you have become more interested in how to become vegan yourself. I have heard what some of your struggles are with making the decision to be vegan, and the #1 response I received is “I need a lot of protein so I need to each chicken, etc.” Some of you made that as an excuse (unless you have major diet restrictions that don’t allow you to eat plant-based alternatives) to allow yourself to eat meat, even though you know the tragedies that happen behind the scenes of production.
Well, you CAN get the protein you need while being vegan! I eat a very high-protein diet because I exercise regularly and want to see those GAINS haha. 🙂 The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that to increase muscle mass, you need to consume about 0.5 grams for every pound you weigh. Only using this as a baseline, I typically shoot a little higher for 60g per day. I haven’t eaten a single ounce of meat since 2013, because I don’t need meat to get a substantial amount of protein in my diet, and I know you don’t either!
How To get protein as a vegan
To show you guys how you can be vegan on a high-protein diet, and in support of Veganuary, one day last week I photographed everything that I ate throughout the day. Some days I will make an effort to eat a high amount of protein, and other days I will not worry about it as much, like on days I want to substitute in a less protein-dense meal (like pasta, pizza, or donuts). We all deserve a cheat meal sometimes. 🙂 However, the pizza and pasta will still usually include some form of protein, like Boca Crumbles (13g per 1/2 cup). The day I recorded everything was during a day I wanted to eat high-protein, and I had consumed almost 100 grams of protein! So, let’s dive into what I ate that day.
Breakfast
For breakfast, I always have a smoothie. I’ll also eat a bagel or slice of toast with peanut butter if I feel like having a little more substance. I use a tablespoon of peanut butter per bagel/toast slice. Today, I’ll sit down and eat a bagel with peanut butter along with my smoothie.
The smoothie isn’t where I typically get a lot of protein, but it gives me a ton of vitamins, leafy greens and other nutrients to give me energy and focus throughout my day. It also kick starts my metabolism and puts it in a good state. The bagel and peanut butter will add some additional protein while not making me too full. 🙂
P.S. – To blend the frozen fruit and spinach to a smooth consistency (not chunky), I highly recommend a Vitamix! It took me so long to convince myself to use one, but I finally treated myself to it, and it was a great decision! Since owning a Vitamix, I have really had a lot more freedom with making recipes! It’s a staple if you want to get creative with your meals and make smoothies with frozen fruit and veggies! I went with a low-end, basic one and it does everything I need it to! 🙂 This is the Vitamix I use!
Green Smoothie Recipe (Makes 2 16oz)
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups coconut water
3 bananas
1 cup frozen mango
1 cup frozen pineapple
Handful spinach
1 oz lime juice
RECIPE:
Add everything to your blender in order, and blend until smooth. (Calories: Less than 300 per serving)
Protein Breakdown:
Smoothie – 5 grams
Bagel – 2 grams
Peanut Butter – 4 grams
Total Protein for Breakfast: 11 grams
Total Calories: 500
Other protein-rich breakfast ideas: oatmeal, avocado toast, spinach omelet with Just Egg, breakfast sandwich with English Muffin, Just Egg, spinach, and cheeze.
Tip – Add a scoop of Sunwarrior Protein Powder (18g protein) to the smoothie to get additional protein. I do this sometimes as well.
lunch
Typically for lunch, I will have whatever leftovers there are from dinner the previous night. Today’s lunch is Gardein Chick’n Teriyaki Strips stir fry with cauliflower rice, peas and diced carrots. The strips look small, but they are packed with nutrients, fiber and protein – and they are quite filling!
To cook the Chick’n Strips, I grill them on the stove with some olive oil, about 3 minutes each side. When the strips are cooked, I add in the sauce and let it simmer for a few minutes. You can totally leave out the sauce and add your own seasonings if you like too!
Protein Breakdown:
5 Gardein Chick’n Tenders – 20 grams
1 Cup Cauliflower Rice/Veggie Mix – 3.5 grams
Total Protein for Lunch: 23.5 grams
Total Calories: 220
Post-Workout/Snack
I always make a protein shake after I workout. Below is the recipe I’m going to use to make a super delicious one today! If I don’t have all the fruit ingredients, I typically just use Sunwarrior Protein Powder and Blue Diamond Original Unsweetened Almond Milk. If you don’t workout, you can add some powder to your breakfast smoothie like I said above or have it as a snack later in the day! The protein powder is completely raw vegan!
Protein Shake Recipe (Makes 2 16oz)
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups coconut water or almond milk
1.5 scoops Sunwarrior Protein Powder
2 medium bananas
1 cup frozen raspberries
RECIPE:
Add everything to your blender in order, and blend until smooth. (Calories: 205 per serving)
Protein Breakdown:
1.5 scoops Sunwarrior Protein Powder – 27 grams
2 medium bananas – 3 grams
Total Protein for Post-Workout: 30 grams
Calories: 410
Dinner
Lately, I have been completely obsessed with the Beyond Burger. It’s packed with 20g of protein per patty and they are SO GOOD. I have been routinely eating them for dinner and lunch the next day because I can’t get enough. Honestly, the first time I tried one, I was a little weirded out by how similar it tasted to a real hamburger haha. But I tried them again and I’m so glad I did! I just season them with salt, pepper and garlic powder on each side whenever I make them, and they are delicious!!
So, if you haven’t guessed, I’m having a Beyond Burger for dinner tonight. I grill the burger on the stove, about 3 minutes on each side. Then I place it on a sesame seed bun and top it with a slice of Go Veggie American Slices, pickles, lettuce, tomato and vegan mayo. On the side, I’ll have some Ore-Ida Golden Crinkles French Fries and sliced carrot.
Recipe for a Vegan Big Mac – in case you want something extra delicious!
Protein Breakdown:
Beyond Burger – 20 grams
Sesame Seed Bun – 6 grams
Go Veggie American Cheeze (1 slice) – 3 grams
Ore-Ida Golden French Fries (1 serving) – 2 grams
Sliced carrot (1 cup) – 1 gram
Total Protein for Dinner: 31 grams
Calories: 590
Can you be vegan on a high-protein diet?
To recap, this is what I ate today with a protein breakdown:
Breakfast – Bagel with peanut butter and green smoothie (11g)
Lunch – Chick’n Stir Fry (23.5g)
Snack – Protein Shake (30g)
Dinner – Beyond Burger with fries and carrots (31g)
Today, I consumed a total of 95.5g of protein on a completely vegan diet.
Calorie breakdown: 1720 consumed – 350 burned = 1,370 calories.
***Please note: I only tracked calories in this post to show that I did not overeat to get the that much protein. 1,300 calories a day is healthy for my specific body weight and goals. Your specific body weight, goals, and activity habits affect how many calories you should eat in a day. This blog should only be used as a guideline on how to eat high-protein on a vegan diet. The FDA recommends an average woman needs to eat about 2000 calories per day to maintain their weight.
None of the meals I ate today were hard to make, out of the ordinary or extra special. They were literally dishes I have been eating my entire life, just with plant-based protein instead of meat! I simply just keep in mind to have a major protein source for lunch and dinner. There are many vegan meat substitutes out there that make it super easy to do that. I also make an effort to add protein powder somewhere throughout the day. Whether that be in my breakfast smoothie, having a protein shake for lunch instead of food or after my workout. It’s totally possible to get the recommended amount of protein in your diet and still be vegan! Remember, I only need about 60g of protein for my body every day. So I really didn’t even need that protein shake to reach my 60g/day goal.
Vegan protein sources (meat substitutes)
Now that you have a basic guideline to how you could get a lot of protein in one day, you probably want to know how to mix it up so you’re not eating the same thing every day, right? Well, it is a lot like how you would eat meat! Just mix up the type of protein you eat. Like sometimes you would have fish, chicken, beef, etc. It’s the same thing when eating vegan.
Different protein sources include:
- Beyond Burger
- Boca (burgers, chick’n patties, grounds)
- Gardein (burgers, chick’n patties, grounds, chick’n strips, assorted marinated options, meatballs, etc)
- Nasoya (tofu blocks)
- Morningstar Farms (breakfast sausage, bacon, burgers, corn dogs, soy-free options) – although this may not be a healthy choice
- Tofurkey (Deli slices, ham, bacon, sausage)
- Lightlife (hot dogs and sausages)
- Jackfruit Company (shredded meat type substitutes)
- Yves (grounds, pepperoni)
- Follow Your Heart (egg substitute, cheeses)
- Field Roast (sausage, deli slices, roast, cutlets, corn dogs, wings, cheese)
Some of these may seem expensive for “plant-based” foods. However, after buying these foods, I soon realized that it balanced out to what I used to spend on meat products. For a list of dairy alternatives as well, check out this post.
In conclusion, it can be super easy to get protein and still be vegan! I hope this encourages you to try it out. If this was helpful and you’re working on making the transition, or if you have any questions, please let me know in the comments! I love hearing from you guys, especially your success stories! 🙂 Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest as well us subscribe to our newsletter for the latest cruelty-free beauty updates.
XO, Stephanie
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