If you are a vegetarian and don’t eat chicken or any other non-vegetarian diet, then you should eat protein rich foods every day to stay healthy. You don’t have to worry about your health since you can’t eat meat and you are worried of getting any deficiencies. Vegetarian foods too have many nutrients found in non-vegetarian foods. Here are top 10 such vegan foods you may like to eat to get all the required nutrients.
- Eggs:
You can start your day with a half boiled egg or omelet to get 6g of protein from s single egg. This will keep you energetic at least till lunch time. There are many recipes you can try like scrambled egg, hard-boiled egg, sunny side up, etc.
- Cottage Cheese:
This can be a great snack which comes in reduced fat form and is also rich in calcium. ½ cup of it can give 13g of protein. You use it in creamy dishes or with vegetables and salads.
- Quinoa:
It is rich in protein and has very low cholesterol. A cup of quinoa can give you 8g of protein. It’s also rich in fiber and iron. You can replace rice with it for protein rich diet and also use it in salads and many recipes.
- Pumpkin Seeds:
Pumpkin seeds can be taken as snack and used as topping for salads and soups. You can get the seeds in the season and roast them to store. Remember that these seeds are rich in calories and so the servings should be small.
- Dried Beans:
There are quite many types of beans like kidney beans, red beans, black beans, pinto beans, chickpeas, etc. which are low in calories. It controls the sodium in your diet and provides 12g of protein from 1 cup. You can try many recipes with them. Usually we make dals and curries but these can also be soaked overnight, boiled and added spices to improve the taste.
- Soy Milk:
Soy milk is also available in the fortified form with added calcium. You can use it regularly to get some extra protein and calcium. A single cup of soy milk can give 8g of protein. Try different recipes with it.
- Greek Yogurt:
This is low in calories and consists of almost double the protein as regular cup of yogurt. Use it as a substitute to sour yogurt and also with fruits. Almost 15 g of protein is in present in a 6oz container.
- Peanut Butter:
In your breakfast, try eating this delicious peanut butter over your toast to get extra protein of almost 8g per 2 tablespoons. This can also be used in smoothies and crackers.
- Seitan:
Seitan is also knon as wheat meat due to its substantial texture and high protein content. This can be a great substitute to meat and goes well with sandwich and soups.
- Almonds:
Almonds with monosaturated fats have been proved to reduce heart disease. A handful of almonds or just 2 tablespoons of almond butter per day is enough and nothing extra is recommended since they are high in calories. You can try it with toast, sandwiches or in salads.
These were top 10 vegan foods which are rich in protein. Other than these if you list few more, you can find a lot. These include buckwheat, hempseeds, chia seeds, mycoprotein, rice, hummus, pita, amaranth, artichokes, oatmeal, tempeh, hempmilk, spinach, black eyed peas, broccoli, asparagus, green beans, spirulina, tahini, nutritional yeast, etc.
All these foods give a good amount of protein per serving. You can try many recipes with these and eat them in one or the other form daily.