Question 1: If you don’t eat meat or dairy, where do you get your protein?
I have always been taught that one must eat meat for protein, that dairy is essential for calcium and that vegetables and fruit were optional side dishes. I was shocked to find out that plants are actually rich in protein! How did I miss that?
“All natural foods-from lettuce to nuts-contain varying amounts of protein.
If a varied diet sufficient in calories is consumed, it is virtually impossible to get an inadequate protein intake. Even a diet devoid of concentrated sources of protein such as animal products, nuts and legumes will meet optimum protein needs.”
T Colin Campbell, Center for Nutrition Studies
https://nutritionstudies.org/get-protein-where/
Note: The recommended daily allowance of protein for a woman is 44 grams and 55 grams for a man. (The average American eats
over 100 grams per day.)
Here are just a few examples of protein content in plants:
Protein Content of Common Foods (grams)
Almonds (3 ounces) – 18
Lentils, cooked (1 cup) – 17.9
Kidney beans, cooked (1 cup) – 15.4
Chickpeas, cooked (1 cup) – 14.5
Sesame seeds (1/2 cup) – 12.8
Sunflower seeds (1/2 cup) – 11.5
Broccoli, frozen, cooked (2 cups) – 11.4
Tofu, extra firm (4 ounces) – 11.3
Collards, cooked (2 cups) – 10.3
Spinach, frozen (1 cup) – 7.6
Peas, frozen (1 cup) – 7.0
Question 2: Don’t plants only provide “incomplete” proteins?
That is a common misconception. I won’t go over the details, but here is one article that explains.
Question 3: What does Mark
like better than chocolate
ice cream?
Last summer I started making him a chocolate smoothie for breakfast which he still enjoys, but more recently, we have been making chocolate, cherry pecan “nice” cream. It’s super easy and really delicious.
Question 4: Don’t you get bored just eating plants?
So, if I have one super hard challenge with this lifestyle it is ….. (insert drum roll) …. deciding what to eat only because THERE ARE SO MANY OPTIONS!!!
I have a huge queue of recipes. Some are favorites we already have and I try to keep them in rotation all the time, but then there’s all the ones I haven’t even gotten to yet. We are NEVER bored!
Question 5: Aren’t you hungry all the time?
Because plants contain so much fiber, and because we set no limits on amount of food to be eaten, we do not go hungry and, in fact, when we eat, we are super satisfied. If we should get hungry in between meals, we grab some nuts or fruit or blend up a smoothie.
Did you know?…..
There are a growing number of NFL players who are following the vegan lifestyle. Check this out.
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