Dooga Blackrazor said:
How much protein should I be getting within the 2-3 serving a day suggestion? I've eliminated meat from my diet and am using alternatives. I've heard Eggs are a poor substitute in low amounts and I'd prefer to avoid daily Tofu consumption. Peanut butter and milk supposably have protein - or so I've heard.
How much protein am I getting from milk - I drink it constantly, what will peanut butter provide? Any comments on what I've written would be appreciated - diet suggestions are also welcome.
I've been a vegetarian since 1972, and have tried quite a variety of foods in search of health. If you like, I can share some of what I've learned.
One thing I’ve found is that my protein requirements have varied with my activities and age. When I was younger I seemed to need more, but now I seem to need very little except after I do strenuous exercise, and then I crave more. If you can listen to your body, it will tell you a lot itself. Still, most would say make sure to eat protein everyday.
Two books that influenced me later in my veggie career were “Diet for a Small Planet,” and “Fit for Life.” The former is about
food combining, which is a neat thing to know. The idea is that a complete protein, which is defined as containing the eight “essential” amino acids, can be achieved by combining specific
incomplete proteins. The general rule of thumb is to combine a bean or legume with any whole grain. So your love of peanut butter (peanuts are legumes), if eaten on with whole wheat bread (a grain), will give you a complete protein! Beans and rice (or any grain) will do it too.
Any dairy product will give you a complete protein, and of course a glass of milk with that peanut butter sandwich really kicks it up a notch. Milk is a great protein, so if you drink a lot you probably haven’t much to worry about. Yogurt, as Monique says, is great too. I love cheese myself, cottage cheese too.
Now, another issue which isn’t so much vegetarian as it is health, is when to eat protein during the day. The second book I listed above addresses that. The idea is that first thing in the morning isn’t the best time to put a lot protein in the body because the body wants to eliminate (rather than be digesting or absorbing). So to encourage that, some people only drink liquids and eat fruit until noon or so when they have their first meal. I’ve been doing this for many years and have found it’s something that really works. I start the day with a tall glass of water as hot as I can stand it (it makes the tummy feel good). Then I eat an orange, or grapes, or mango (as I had this morning, mmmmmm). Then later I have my espresso (got a professional Italian machine, love it). I usually won’t eat something solid until 11 AM or so, but I work at home so I just eat small meals all day, and then have veggies and rice, maybe a few beans or some parmesan thrown in, for dinner.
That first solid food I eat in a day allows me to tell you about another secret, which is bread made from sprouts. There is a brand of bread (your health food store can order it if they don’t carry it) called “Food for Life.” They make what’s known as “Ezekiel Bread,” so called because the recipe is taken from the book of Ezekiel in the OT. Instead of grinding hard grain to make flour, the grain is sprouted, along with beans/legumes, its mashed up and yeast is added, and then baked. What results is remarkably like regular bread, except it’s a complete protein, and much easier to digest than normal bread (flour is sticky in the intestines). I toast it, brush on some cold pressed oil, maybe add a little organic apple butter . . . about to have the raisin-cinnamon sprouted bread now. :!)
Good Luck!
j/k