When you adopt the plant-based way of eating, the question you’re going to hear, far more often than you’d like, is “Where do you get your protein?”
The easiest answer is: The same place that a cow gets hers. From plants.
The plant-based way of eating supplies more than adequate protein, as long as you consume enough calories and a variety of whole unprocessed fruits and vegetables, nuts, grains and legumes.
Americans are obsessed with protein. You’ll hear, “I need protein to feel full.” Or, “I need protein to have energy to get through the day.” And “I need protein for my workout.” The food industry has responded with products: protein powders, protein shakes, protein bars, even high-protein pretzels. Write PROTEIN on the wrapper and it sounds healthy, even if lacking in fiber and nutrients.
I watch cooking shows, and when the chefs say protein, they usually mean animal meat. But protein is not the same as meat, or a powder, or a pretzel. In fact, there is no one “protein.” Our body constructs thousands of different protein molecules from twenty different amino acids, nine which must come from food.
These nine protein building blocks, essential amino acids, come from what we eat. But your body does not care about the source of its amino acids. Whether pork or pecans, the food will be digested, broken down, and reassembled into protein molecules– for example, collagen, hemoglobin, insulin, or digestive enzymes–essential to the function of our bodies.
A cow gets her proteins from plants. When you skip the “middle moo” and, like the cow, get your protein from plants, you are getting the same amino acids, but the rest of the package is much healthier than if you were eating the cow. Whole plant foods also contain fiber, lipids, vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants, phytonutrients and an assortment of protective compounds, most of which still remain undiscovered. A carrot is a symphony of nutrients designed by Mother Nature, substances that our body uses to stay healthy.
All plants contain protein, but some, particularly nuts and beans, provide a greater amount per serving. Almonds provide 16 grams per half-cup, and cashews, 10 grams. A cup of edamame (young soybeans) contains a whopping 29 grams of protein. Cooked kidney, pinto, black, and lima beans contain 15 grams per cup. The grain quinoa provides 8 grams per cup, while seitan–made from wheat gluten–has 21 grams per three ounces.
If you want to track your protein intake, how much protein should you aim for? The Recommended Daily Allowance for protein is 0.8 grams/kg of ideal body weight, so multiply your ideal weight in pounds by 0.36. If you weigh 140 pounds, that’s 50 grams of protein. If you weigh 200 pounds, 72 grams.
How does this target translate to your daily diet? You can track your protein intake by recording your foods in a tool like Cronometer–online and free–which also computes fats, carbs, and certain vitamins and minerals.
But all that computing, tracking, and counting is boring, anxious-making, and highly unnecessary.
Eat a variety of whole plant foods and enough calories–which you really don’t have to count either–and don’t worry about protein.
That being said, sometimes I feel reassured to know my smoothie is full of plant protein, like this delicious chocolate shake, with 18 grams of protein per serving.