Ah, the age-old question. The first 6 words people say after learning that I don't eat animal products; the concern used as an excuse for complete strangers to me give health and nutrition advice, sans qualifications. The only possible topic for my first Plant Based Bride blog post:
'Where do you get your protein?'
Often proposed as a simple query or concern, occasionally uttered with disapproval or judgement, this question has plagued me from the day I went vegetarian, 3 years ago. And since I went vegan? Surprise, surprise: the "concern" has grown. So is there any validity to the commonly held view that those who avoid animal products will have trouble meeting their protein needs? Let's look at some numbers.
The World Health Organization published a technical report in 2002 titled Protein and Amino Acid Requirements in Human Nutrition. Disclaimer: The following is my interpretation of the information included in that report. I am not an expert in nutrition, nor am I a doctor. Please feel free to leave a comment below or email me at plantbasedbride@gmail.com if you notice a mistake of any kind, and I will look into correcting it!
They conclude that the average healthy adult of either gender requires a minimum of 0.66g of protein per day per kg of weight. For example, a 150lb (68kg) person would need 44.9g of protein per day to meet the minimum of their daily protein needs. They also recommend adding a buffer to guarantee "safe levels" of protein intake per day, which brings their daily recommendation up to 0.83g/kg. This would translate to the same 150lb (68kg) person requiring 56.4g of protein per day.
Now, all of these numbers are fine, but what does 56.4g of protein actually look like?
Well, 56.4g of protein is found in approximately...
- 1.4 cups of chickpeas (39g per cup)
- 1.4 cups of black beans (39g per cup)
- 1.6 cups of chia seeds (35.25g per cup)
- 1.8 cups of tempeh (31g per cup)
- 1.9 cups of almonds (30g per cup, whole)
- 2.3 cups of quinoa (24g per cup)
- 2.8 cups of tofu (20g per cup)
- 3.1 cups of lentils (18g per cup)
- 3.3 cups of edamame (17g per cup)
- 3.3 cups of unsweetened cocoa powder (16.9g per cup)
- 7 cups of green peas (8g per cup)
- 19.4 cups of kale (2.9g per cup, chopped)
- 21.7 cups of broccoli (2.6g per cup)
- 28.2 cups of blackberries (2g per cup)
I know what you're thinking. Who would eat 21.7 cups of broccoli in a day? Not me. Not you either, I bet. But isn't it pretty reasonable to think someone might eat a cup of quinoa (24g of protein), half a cup of chickpeas (19.5g of protein), half a cup of green peas (4g of protein), a cup of kale (2.9g of protein), and half a cup of tofu (10g of protein) in a day? I'd easily eat that for one meal. And guess how much protein you'd get from a meal like that? 60.4g. If you were an 150 pound person, you could get more than your daily requirement of protein in only one meal of your day.
But what if you're of the "more is better" protein movement? Even if you were a bodybuilder going for massive muscle gains and aiming for, let's say, 1.5g of protein per pound of bodyweight per day (which I have seen recommended on popular bodybuilding websites and is way above the recommended daily amount of protein from any scientific or medical source), you (as a hypothetically 150 pound person) would only have to eat the meal above 4 times in a day to surpass your "needs" (as you had defined them).
Now, the World Health Organization report that I've cited is only one study of daily protein requirements in humans, and there is much debate on the subject to be sure. However, it is clear with just a bit of basic math that even someone aiming for a very high intake of protein per day can achieve it very easily eating solely plant foods.
In real life conversations, the next thing brought up is the topic of "complete" proteins or combining foods for an adequate amino acid profile. But let me stop you right there! The myth of plant based protein being incomplete was debunked decades ago. Please take a look at this detailed article on the subject by Jeff Novick, MS, RD, here, if you'd like to know more.
The myth that plant foods contain no, or insufficient, or incomplete protein is utterly false. But don't take it from me. It's time to stop believing everything you're told about nutrition and do a little of your own investigating. What you find might surprise you.
So, what's my answer when someone asks me where I get my protein?
From plants. Just like you do.
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Do you ever finish a book and wonder if you really understood it? Do you give 5 stars to pretty much every book you read? Do you watch reviews of a book you enjoyed and find yourself surprised that the reviewer picked up on so many things you didn’t?
If this sounds like you and you want to make a change, this video is for you:
I set out this year to read a book from every country in the world and created a spread in my reading journal to track my progress (see image below). When I mentioned my goal in a YouTube video the suggestions started flooding in, and I realized it was worth taking the time to put together a little resource for us all to share!
One of the most common questions I have received over the past 7 years as a vegan is “How do you get enough [insert macro- or micronutrient here]?” This is a question I have explored in great detail on this blog, with dedicated posts focusing on protein, iron, B12, and so much more. And while I will always believe that getting your nutrition from whole plant foods is the best first choice, it’s not always a possibility for every person. Whether you live in a food desert with little access to fresh foods or struggle with digestive complications that make eating large amounts of high fiber foods a painful experience, sometimes supplementation is the only answer.
Today I will be sharing with you my favourite vegan gummy vitamins for maintaining optimal health as a vegan of over 7 years!
I have collected many of the resources from my Anti-Racism highlight on Instagram into this blog post as possible for those of you who don’t use Instagram but still want to do the work to become anti-racist. I will continue to update this page.
From January 5th to January 19th, $1 will be donated to the Australian Red Cross for every order placed to aid in emergency relief for those affected by the bushfires currently ravaging Australia.
With all of the hype surrounding the final season of Game of Thrones, I KNEW I had to celebrate my love for this epic fantasy world by creating a Game of Thrones themed bullet journal set up for May 2019!
I guess it’s almost 2019? I’m not sure how, but ok! Come hang out with me while I set up mu letterboard theme in my bullet journal for January 2019 and be sure to check out my husband’s set up next week (there will be a giveaway!)
Hello again :) This video is incredibly special to me, as I’m setting up my husband‘s first ever bullet journal! I’m super excited about this one and I hope you enjoy this video as much as I enjoyed putting it together.
Hi all! I'm excited to share my completed Rhodia Webnotebook with you today as I flip through all of my bullet journal spreads from January to September 2018 :)
It’s almost October and it’s time to set up my bullet journal for the new month! Hang out with me while I plan using a cozy fall, nighttime theme with a little touch of spookyness thrown in there for good measure. Let’s get into it!
How am I getting rid of 2018 things in the last couple months of 2018? Using the classic #MinimalismGame format, of course! Let me walk you through how you can do it, too, and give you an update on my minimalism journey so far (3 years in the making)!
Hello again! I'm very excited to share my September Plan With Me video with you. This month I went with a woodland and wildflowers theme and I love how it turned out! Thank you again to my instagram family for giving me the idea and be sure to go follow me there if you want a say in what themes I do each month!
I'm turning 26 in a few days, and I wanted to share some of the nuggets of wisdom I've picked up along the way in my first quarter century of life!
I'm excited to be sharing my brand new work project management spread with you today! This is a combination of a leveled up to do list and a dynamic kanban board, and I am really looking forward to starting to use it in my day-to-day.
Hi friends! We have finally arrived at part 3 of our moon series, the Tombow Dual Brush Pen Moon Tutorial!
Hi friends! Due to popular demand, here is my Watercolour Moon Tutorial/Watercolour Moon Painting Process!
Plan with me for May 2018 with a Star Wars theme! And May the fourth, I mean force, be with you!
After getting a bunch of questions about how I drew the line art animals in my April Plan With Me video (which you can watch here) I decided to make a little tutorial showing more in depth what I do and giving you all my tips and tricks!
Plan with me for December with a winter pinecone and birch tree theme in my bullet journal!
Coined by Elizabeth Jean @xparmesanprincessx, the personal curriculum trend is about creating a self-directed learning plan focused on areas of personal interest, loosely based on a school curriculum structure, including things like assigned reading, goals, assignments, and final projects.
At its core, the personal curriculum movement is about celebrating lifelong learning and intellectual curiosity. It's about being more intentional about how we spend our time when we're not sleeping, or at work, or doing the basic maintenance or admin or chores to keep our lives going. It's about using our free time to enrich our lives in a way that is purposeful and intentional and joyful, indulging our curiosity as adults, even once we're outside of structured school environments, getting excited about learning and allowing ourselves the freedom to go down those rabbit holes in our special interests, to challenge our brains in ways that we maybe don't get the chance to in our day-to-day lives.