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I am just going to preface this with I love food and I love to eat food. I also, love to talk about food and in talking about food with all types of people I hear a lot of interesting things. Some people probably make assumptions about the type of person I am or I must be high maintenance or what have you. Living in Florida when I say, “I don’t eat meat or dairy” the most common response is “Well, what do you eat?”
I take a deep breath, release my anger at their ignorance and go on to tell them there is a lot of food out there that isn’t meat and dairy. I tell them I still eat eggs and seafood and that tends to calm most down. But for some reason people still question protein. It is always protein. Maybe one time I was asked about getting enough iron (which I do, gimme those greens) but people seem genuinely concerned about protein. How on earth could you get enough protein without eating meat? There is more protein in foods than we think and we tend to need less protein than most of us get.
There are so many sources of vegetarian protein! Some of my favorites are chickpeas, beans of every kind, and nuts. Those three groups are so unbelievably diverse you can add them to almost anything! PS check out my recipe page for lots of ways to try them. Also, whole grains are full of protein. If you buy whole grain bread with lots of seeds and oats that protein adds up quickly! Oatmeal is a whole grain and full of protein. Add some nuts and chia seeds for extra protein. I get asked about complete protein and how do I make sure I get all essential amino acids and I tell them don’t even worry about that! If you are eating a balanced diet and getting different types of proteins and grains you will get all the amino acids that you need. And if you still feel you need some extra protein try my peanut butter protein shake!!
One serving of protein is considered about 2-3 oz of meat. That is roughly the size of your palm. If you are trying to build muscle you want to increase your total calorie consumption equally. But as you increase your body can only absorb so many nutrients at once. For protein after around 30 grams (approx 4 oz of meat) that protein is stored as fat (unless you are Keto and it can be burned as energy). Keeping that in mind, as you increase your total calories you want to keep protein at or below 25%. But, this doesn’t mean to build muscle you have to start eating 4 oz of steak at every meal (In fact, please don’t do that)! Not everyone needs as much protein to build or maintain muscle. You have to experiment with this for yourself and see what feels best for your body!