12 Favorite Plant Sources Of Protein + 39 Plant Based Recipes

A question I get asked often as a plant- based eater, is “Where do you get your protein?”  Thanks to the meat and dairy industry, we Americans have it drilled into our brains that we need huge amounts of protein, so getting enough protein the first thing on every one’s mind when considering eating less animal foods.

I will answer that question in this post and with the help of Dr. Fuhrman’s words below.

From Dr. Fuhrman

In North America, about 70 percent of dietary protein comes from animal foods. Worldwide, plant foods provide 84 percent of calories. The first scientific studies to determine human protein requirements were conducted in the 1950s. These studies demonstrated that adults require 20-35 grams of protein per day.[1] Today, the average American consumes 100-120 grams of protein per day, mostly in the form of animal products. People who eat a vegetable- based diet (vegan) have been found to consume 60-80 grams of protein per day,well above the minimum requirement.[2] More importantly, eating more plant protein is the key to increasing our micronutrient intake.

This one is easy.   I love buying them sliced thin to use on salads.  Trader Joes has amazing Honey Roasted sliced almonds that make a salad taste like a treat.  We will eat whole, raw & unsalted, just plain as a snack, or grind them into almond butter in the food processor.  I use them in our Raw Taco “Meat” and will throw them into the base of Raw Raspberry Bliss Bars along with the walnuts.  Trader Joes also has Dark Chocolate & Salted Covered Almonds.  I eat a couple of these.  At night.  In bed.  While reading.  It makes me VERY happy!

 

More recipes from NN that use almonds:

Raw Cookie Dough Bites
Lemon “Larabar” Balls
Homemade Pesto
No Bake, No Sugar Chocolate “Larabar” Truffles
Delicious Strawberry-Kiwi Spinach Dump Salad
Fruit Pie With Apricot-Nut Crust
Chewy No Bake Granola Bars
Orange-Almond Polenta Cake With Strawberries

 

 

 

 

2. Avocados

Guacamole of course.  These are great thrown in smoothies instead of yogurt.  It makes the most creamy smoothies ever!  They are amazing in my Chocolate-Avocado Mousse with Raspberries recipe. They are good sliced thin on toast or thrown onto a sandwich or salad.

{Chocolate-Avodaco Mousse with Raspberries}

More recipes on NN that use avocado:

Black Bean, Corn, Avocado & Hominy Salad
5 Minute Creamy Avocado Dip
Chocolate-Avocado Mousse with Raspberries
Green Smoothie Popsicles
5 Minute Lemon Basil Guacamole Dip

Oh I love my black beans!  I eat some sort of bean daily and black beans are one of my favs.  They are great in wraps, on nachos, on salads.  I love them simply seasoned and on top of brown rice.

 

More recipes on NN that use black beans:

Go-To Easy Black Bean Soup
Quinoa & Black Bean Salad
Black Bean, Corn, Avocado & Hominy Salad
Bean & Corn Salsa With Rice, Cheese & Chips to Dip
My Go-To Chili Recipe
Mom’s Taco Salad

We eat our broccoli raw, steamed and roasted.  Raw broccoli dipped in hummus is a double- whammy for protein.  I love to steam it and season with salt, pepper & finely grated lemon peel.  Roasted is also a delicious way to eat broccoli.

 

{Cream Of Broccoli Soup-No Dairy!}

 

Hummus makes me happy.  I’ve been using it as a salad dressing.  Make a big green salad, add veggies, apples, dried cranberries & slivered almonds.  Top with a big blob of hummus.  YUM!  Hummus is great as a sandwich spread.  I use it to make my most favorite Hummus Sandwich Heaven.  Trader Joes has flat pretzel chips that go great with hummus.  Also makes a very healthy veggie dip.

{Hummus Sandwich Heaven}

I have yet to post one of my favorite lentil recipes here on the blog–coming soon!  Another favorite lentil recipe of ours is French Lentil Soup.  I could eat this soup almost daily, it is THAT good.  I make it every couple weeks.  Lentils are a quick cooking bean, and super easy to make!  We use them to make Red Lentil Sloppy Joes.  Mmmm…

{Red Lentil Sloppy Joes}

You all know I’m a HUGE fan of oatmeal.  I eat it everyday.  Here are the ways:

More recipes from NN that use oatmeal:

Strawberry Banana Raw Breakfast Oats

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Best Recipe I Ever Messed Up Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

5 Ingredient Soft Granola Bar Bites

Overnight Breakfast Chia Oats

Cinnamon Apple Cranberry Oatmeal

We use it as a dip for apples.  We use on sandwiches, toast, or a dip for dark chocolate. We often top our bananas with it–slice banana lengthwise and smear with peanut butter–this is great way to add some protein to breakfast!

 

More recipes from NN that use peanut butter:

 

Peanut Butter Chia Seed Roll Ups

Peanut Butter Clouds
Fudgy Buttons

 

I need to experiment more with these.  I have used them in this granola recipe and it was yummy. I also like them thrown on a spinach salad with along with chickpeas.  Spinach, chickpeas and pumpkin seeds all contain protein so it is a great way to put protein on your salad without meat.  What are ways YOU use pumpkin seeds?  

{A Salad Full Of Plant Protein}

 

If you can make rice, you can make quinoa. It is one part water to one part grain, just like rice.  Quinoa is a STAPLE in our home.  It is a grain that is full of protein.  You can eat it hot or cold.  It has a bit of a nutty flavor, and takes on whatever flavor you add to it.  I love making cold quinoa vegetable salads in the summer, and eating it like you would a warm bowl of oats in the winter.  

{Quinoa & Black Bean Salad}

 

 

{to learn more, see Dr. Fuhrman‘s Eat To Live book.  One of my favorites!}

In the chart below, an equal caloric amount (100 calories) of porterhouse steak is compared to broccoli, romaine lettuce and kale. Broccoli provides the greatest amount of protein per calorie.

Green vegetables are all rich in protein, and relatively low in calories. They provide generous amounts of most micronutrients with no cholesterol and virtually no fat. Meat on the other hand, is relatively low in micronutrients. Remember whole grains, beans and seeds are also high in protein and should be utilized to achieve adequate protein on a diet with no or minimal animal products. But the point in this example was to illustrate how weight-loss favorable green vegetables are and that no matter how many green vegetables you eat, you still cannot take in too many calories. If you fill up on greens, they will reduce your desire and ability to overeat.

Source: Data was obtained from Nutritionist Pro Nutritional Analysis Software, Version 4.7, Axxya Systems , Stafford TX, 2012.

Please note that 100 calories of steak is only about one ounce, which is not much meat to fill you up. More typically, 4 – 8 ounces is eaten, supplying too many calories and too much animal protein without the lifespan enhancing micronutrients. Bottom line—eat more greens and less meat to get more micronutrient bang per caloric buck and to suppress your calorie intake.

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Last but not least, both my daughter and I had some blood work done recently.  I was very curious how her iron, B-12, calcium etc levels were since she is eating Nutritarian.

Both of our levels came back perfect, and BOTH of us were high in calcium, despite the fact that we eat very, VERY little dairy.

Nutritional Abstracts and Reviews 1957;27:631. 2. Hardage M. Nutritional studies of vegetarians. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 1966;48:25.