How to get enough protein as a vegetarian?

I grew up eating a lot of carbs. As a vegetarian it becomes hard to integrate protein in your diet if you aren’t conscious about it. Over last few years I have learned to have high protein diet as a vegetarian and I want to share it with everyone who has struggled like I did. Another struggle that people have is to create tasty high protein meals and it can be time consuming. I have simple tricks to cook healthy high protein yummy meals. I also want to share how you can lower the cost of your high protein diet.

Lentils:

Lentils are very high in protein and low in carbs.

Where to buy lentils as lower cost — Buy lentils from Indian grocery stores. You can but them 50% cheaper compared to big grocery stores such as HEB, Costco etc.

Cooking — Moong, toor, urad lentils dont need soaking. Just pressure cook these lentils with enough water with some salt, oil, coriander and turmeric for 3–4 minutes. You can add few drops of lemon once its ready and there you!! You have tasty lentils ready to eat. If you are making harder lentils such as chana or kidney beans, soak them at overnight and pressure cook for 6–8 minutes the same way as other lentils.

Cheese:

I love cheese and good news is, you don’t even need to cook cheese.

Where to buy cheese at lower cost— Buy cheese from Costco. You can buy a lot for much lesser price.

Ideas on using cheese

Brie — You can eat brie by itself or you can add some pear sauce to go with.

Feta — Chop some fresh veggies and add feta crumbs and nuts and some lemon juice. Add Feta to dry cooked lentils and enjoy. I cook omelette with feta also, tastes so good.

American, goat, cheddar — I eat them by themselves or add them to chopped vegetables just like feta.

Eggs:

Where to buy eggs with lower cost — Buy eggs from stores like Costco. You can buy a lot for much less.

Cooking ideas— I love eggs also because its so easy to cook them. I break the eggs and toss the into a bowl, add some salt and microwave for 1 minute. It comes out so yummy. I make omelettes with and without vegetables. I make egg muffins with a ton of spinach added to them. I boil eggs and eat them with salad or by itself.

Quinoa:

Another high protein and low carb grain.

Where to buy quinoa at low cost — I buy big quinoa bags from Costco.

Cooking ideas — Boil quinoa like like you boil white rice. You can mix boiled eggs, nuts, lemon juice and make a healthy quinoa salad.

Make quinoa pulao — Add a little bit of oil, put a lot of vegetables, add quinoa, add water and salt and cook it just like you would cook white rice. Add lemon juice when its done. So yummy!.

Tofu:

Very high in protein and low in carb

Where to buy quinoa at low cost — Again Costco comes to rescue!!

Cooking ideas — Buy firm tofu, its easy to cook and and tastes much better than soft and medium when cooked.

Cut into cubes and saute in a pan with some oil and salt till medium brown. Eat with nuts or roasted peanuts.

Saute medium brown and mix with boiled quinoa, add salt, nuts, peanuts and enjoy.

Saute tofu cubes medium brown and server with saute’d vegetables. Add some lemon juice for tangy flavor.

Greek Yogurt:

Plain yogurt by itself is super yummy but if you want to add more taste, just add some cranberries or fresh fruits.

Hemp seeds:

3 tablespoons of hemp seeds has 10 grams of protein. I add help seeds in my salad and yogurt.

Green vegetables:

Broccoli, spinach, kale, green peas are full of protein and low in calories. I steam broccoli and eat it with some olive oil and salt. I use spinach in smoothies and salad. I saute green peas and eat with tofu, quinoa. I love kale salad. I put some honey and olive oil with kale and mix it. It tastes really good.

Non-gmo high protein nutrition shakes:

Where to buy quinoa at low cost — Costco, Costco, Costco.

There are so many varieties available at Costco. I try different brands and flavors. You can get 15–30 grams protein from one serving depending upon the brand/type you buy.

Protein smoothies/shakes:

I make protein shakes everyday.

Again, buy from Costco for low prices and more quantity.

I stock my freezer with frozen fruits. I toss some frozen fruits, 1 spoon of protein powder and just blend in my Vitamix and meal is ready.

See, its not that hard to have a high protein diet as a vegetarian!!