Vegetable proteins

[Teaching3bears]

I have seen charts that list how much protein is in various vegetables.  I am wondering, if I eat 1 cup of corn, 1 cup of peas, 1 cup of cauliflower, etc. and it equals about 20 grams of protein, and I add a carb is that good enough for a meal?  How can I add fat to that that will equal what I was getting in meat?  What are the options?  Is it always just beans and nuts and avocados?
I am not becoming vegetarian but I don’t like cooking meat all the time.  

[Selkie]

3 minutes ago, Teaching3bears said:

I have seen charts that list how much protein is in various vegetables.  I am wondering, if I eat 1 cup of corn, 1 cup of peas, 1 cup of cauliflower, etc. and it equals about 20 grams of protein, and I add a carb is that good enough for a meal?  How can I add fat to that that will equal what I was getting in meat?  What are the options?  Is it always just beans and nuts and avocados?
I am not becoming vegetarian but I don’t like cooking meat all the time.  

Yes, you can get more than adequate protein eating an entirely plant based diet. The majority of Americans (including vegetarians and vegans) consume more protein than their bodies actually need.

As for healthy fats, seeds like flaxseed and chia seeds are another great source.

[Laura Corin]

13 minutes ago, Teaching3bears said:

I have seen charts that list how much protein is in various vegetables.  I am wondering, if I eat 1 cup of corn, 1 cup of peas, 1 cup of cauliflower, etc. and it equals about 20 grams of protein, and I add a carb is that good enough for a meal?  How can I add fat to that that will equal what I was getting in meat?  What are the options?  Is it always just beans and nuts and avocados?
I am not becoming vegetarian but I don’t like cooking meat all the time.  

For fats, I would roast the cauliflower with olive oil and garlic. I might steam the peas and corn and serve them as a warm salad, perhaps with a tahini-sesame oil-lime dressing 

[Katy]

As long as you’re eating enough calories you’ll get enough protein. If you slip into a huge calorie deficit of more than -1000 per day for more than a few days then you need to make sure you’re averaging at least 50-80 grams per day. 

[VickiMNE]

I'd use olive oil for the veggies.  Another source of fat and protein is cheese--you don't need lots, just an ounce with your veggies.  And, if you are interested in eating veggies-as-a-main meal, check out the Olive Tomato site which outlines an authentic, vegetable-laden Mediterranean diet.  She's currently doing a 30-day "Get started" email series--if you start now, you can still check out the earlier suggestions as they're listed on her site. (which, admittedly, is not the easiest to navigate, but definitely worthwhile).

[Pam in CT]

Both my husband and one of my kids have gone full vegan for intervals (not at the same time, argh). 

With the daughter, she *easily* made up enough protein and fat by plonking extras onto salads (which we all eat daily anyway, and she -- she's been vegetarian since she was 7, though not generally vegan -- often eats twice daily).  Dollop of hummus, pile of toasted nuts or sunflower seeds, handful of black beans or roasted chick peas, half an avocado.  As pp have said, Americans eat way more protein than the body actually requires.  And tons of olive oil for more fat.

When my husband was doing it, though, he never felt full. Dunno whether that was physical or mostly-psychological priming.

 

Except for the vegetarian, we're omnivores, but we've steadily scaled back meat consumption. We're now 2-4 days vegetarian (not vegan), 2-3 days fish or chicken, and only 1 day/week red meat for dinner.  I don't ever eat any animal flesh for breakfast or lunch. I can sustain this level forever; it doesn't feel at all deprivation-ish.

[Indigo Blue]

I like edamame lightly cooked in olive oil and seasoned with whatever sounds good. Also, quinoa cooked in the Instant Pot. Both are complete proteins all by themselves. It’s easy to make these, so it’s easy to have a good source of quick protein when you’re busy.

[Pam in CT]

Oh yeah I forgot quinoa.

*Toast before cooking* like the Peruvians do.  Sooooooooo much nuttier and tastier.  We probably have quinoa as our dinner carb 1x/week.

[Arcadia]

1 hour ago, Pam in CT said:

When my husband was doing it, though, he never felt full. Dunno whether that was physical or mostly-psychological priming.

My protein level in the comprehensive metabolic panel and my haemoglobin level in my complete blood count both dip if I eat less meat. My blood draws were every 3 weeks. My husband gets dizzy spells when he goes vegetarian so he stays omnivore. My husband eats every 2 to 3 hours like my teens regardless of diet.

OP, 

For fats, sesame oil is fatty. Also margarine on your corn. 

[Grace Hopper]

Corn and peas ARE carbs. 

[Grace Hopper]

Sorry the above was curt. If you are counting macros (protein, carb, fat) you cannot overlook the carb content of some vegetables. 
 

I get fats with olive and avocado oil on veggies & salads and coconut milk, ground flax & chia seeds in smoothies. Nuts for snacking or in salads. 
 

If you are not strictly vegetarian, two things that are great and easy to have on hand are boiled eggs and high quality meat sticks. 

[Corraleno]

I use Cronometer.com to make sure I'm getting adequate protein and nutrients, and according to Cronometer, 1 cup each of peas, corn, and cauliflower is just under 15 g of protein (see below). A cup of brown rice or quinoa would bring that to ~20-23 g. (You can cook a big batch of rice or quinoa and keep it in the fridge to add to dinners on nights you don't want to cook). Personally I would also add some chickpeas or baked tofu or something. If you're only eating ~20 grams of protein for dinner, I'd make sure you're also getting enough protein in your breakfast and lunch.  I consider 50g protein to be the minimum, and after looking at various protein calculators for my height, weight, and age, I aim for 65g per day.

Seeds are good sources of protein and healthy fats and they're easy to add to food, especially salads (since you mentioned not wanting to cook all the time). Here's how much protein is in each tablespoon of these seeds: hemp (3.2g), chia (1.7g), sunflower (1.8g), pumpkin (2.2g). Tahini (sesame seed butter) is ~4g/tablespoon, and you can mix it with a little lemon juice, maple syrup, and garlic for a nice sauce to drizzle over veggies and rice or quinoa.  Nutritional yeast adds a nice nutty/cheesy flavor and 4g of protein per tablespoon. I have a big salad of raw veggies for lunch almost every day with some chickpeas or black beans and a couple of tablespoons each of hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, and nutritional yeast.

 

Edited January 15, 2022 by Corraleno

[Drama Llama]

1 hour ago, Pam in CT said:

Oh yeah I forgot quinoa.

*Toast before cooking* like the Peruvians do.  Sooooooooo much nuttier and tastier.  We probably have quinoa as our dinner carb 1x/week.

Do you have directions?  I need to up my quinoa game.  

[Corraleno]

1 hour ago, Pam in CT said:

Oh yeah I forgot quinoa.

*Toast before cooking* like the Peruvians do.  Sooooooooo much nuttier and tastier.  We probably have quinoa as our dinner carb 1x/week.

I always soak/rinse quinoa really well before cooking, to get rid of the saponins on the surface that can make it taste bitter. Are you toasting it instead of washing? Or are you toasting and then washing? If you don't rinse it at all, does toasting get rid of the saponins? The quinoa I buy is supposed to be "triple washed" but the rinse water is still really cloudy and it definitely tastes better to me after being rinsed really well. 

[Pam in CT]

toasting quinoa

6 minutes ago, Baseballandhockey said:

Do you have directions?  I need to up my quinoa game.  

You just throw dry handfuls of whatever amount you're planning to cook up into a dry teflon frying pan on medium heat for, like, 5 minutes, stirring it around every minute or so. You can visually see it turning browner and your kitchen will smell like cooking popcorn.

Then cook it however you were otherwise planning to cook it. When I'm using it as a base to put other stuff on (ie a rice/couscous substitute) I usually just cook it with veg stock.

If I have leftover quinoa, I take a couple of eggs, onions, red peppers, black beans and fry up frittter-like cakes that we eat over greens with a dollop of sour cream.

Quinoa also makes for brilliant soups.

 

Just seeing Corraleno, and, until ten seconds ago I had never heard the word "saponins" in my life.  So, no rinsing here.  I only ever started using quinoa after a visit to Peru where we took a cooking class (ahhhhhhh life before COVID) and our teacher told me ALWAYS TOAST, so, I do.

[Indigo Blue]

Once I ate quinoa without rinsing….so bitter. I wonder if toasting has an effect on the bitterness? The rinse water after washing is literally a bit sudsy. It’s very soapy tasting if I don’t rinse. Yeah, I thought I didn’t like quinoa until I learned you have to get the saponins off. 
 

I used to make quinoa flour by first rinsing, then toasting in pan til thoroughly dry…then putting in in Blendtec til flour consistency. 

[Corraleno]

So in googling around I found lots of directions for toasting after rinsing, so I'll try that next time I make quinoa. I know most commercially available quinoa says it's "prewashed," but all the directions I've seen about cooking quinoa say to rinse it until the water runs clear, and every brand of "prewashed" quinoa I've ever tried still makes the rinse water really cloudy, so I'm not willing to give up that step. My kids did not like quinoa until I started washing it really well before cooking.

[livetoread]

I used to carefully rinse my quinoa, but haven't for probably two years now and I can't taste the difference. I've never noticed it to be bitter, and I've bought lots of different brands. I do plan on trying the toasting thing, though.