Somehow, I never thought I’d be having trouble getting enough calories (and in particular, calories from protein). And yet, here I am, struggling to find enough high-protein plant-based foods to meet my protein-gram target for the days I lift.
And when I eat a high-protein meal (often no more than some tofu and rice-based dish), I don’t really get hungry for a long time, which kind of makes the getting-five-or-six-meals-a-day thing difficult.
Huh.
Chickpeas/hummus? Quinoa?
I have had a similar problem in the past. Switched from rice and tofu to quinoa and tempeh and that upped the protein in the meal by a factor of about three-and-a-half. It also had a larger nom factor.
Try spirulina shakes. You can get a good protein powder at a health food store, mix well with juice, swig like you mean it. You might be tempted to drink that instead of eating a meal but resist that temptation.
Snacking on sheets of nori might also help.
If you crush up chickpeas with Veganaise, it makes a pretty tasty, high-protein, high-fiber sandwich spread, especially if you doll it up with some green onions or whatever. Instead of Veganaise though, I crush the chickpeas in olive oil and Bragg liquid aminos and just use Veganaise to lubricate the bread, because Veganaise is friggin’ expensive and I’m not made of money.
Great Northern beans also work for this. Either way it’s a break from tofu, which can get kind of boring.
Quinoa’s also really good for protein. Makes a nice tabbouleh.
Thanks for the suggestions!
I’ve discovered that the Whole Foods-brand vanilla soy protein powder has no sugar, 24 grams of protein per scoop, and mixes very nicely into big ol’ steel-cut oats, which I make in my rice cooker. And since oats and soymilk both have protein, that’s a really good start to the day.
Also, Trader Joe’s dark chocolate-covered edamame and frozen berries are good things.