How to Get Enough Plant-Based Protein Without Deficiencies
You want to change your diet and cut out animal protein, but you don't know what to replace it with, or how.
The solution: substitute it with plant-based protein.
It's possible, with no deficiencies, and with a bit of motivation!
#1 Protein: it matters in your diet!
Protein is found in animal-based products, but we prefer plant-based sources: legumes, grains, vegetables, nuts, seeds, plant-based milks, fruits, etc.
Why can't we do without protein?
Because like carbs and fats, protein plays a very important role:
It helps metabolize the food you eat
It provides energy to your body
It's the main nutrient for building your body's muscles, bone mass, skin, nails and hair.
It's involved in oxygen transport, digestion, immune defense, etc.
So if you stop eating meat and fish without replacing it with plant-based protein, you're heading for disaster! Watch out for deficiencies!
#2 Where do you find plant-based protein?
Legumes / dried pulses
Lentils
Dried beans
Dried peas
Fava beans
Soy
Benefits
Source of excellent plant-based protein
Contain vitamins E, B1, B2, B5, B3, B6, B9
Contain minerals: iron, magnesium, selenium, zinc, phosphorus, potassium.
They're rich in fiber (up to 25% of their weight) and antioxidants
They provide a feeling of fullness and help avoid snacking
Their glycemic index is low (blood sugar level)
Their price is very affordable and cheaper than animal protein
They keep for a long time (dry, of course) without losing their nutritional value
Lentils: green, black, red
How to cook them:
As a hot dish: lentil dhal, lentil and carrot mash
As soup, as a velouté with soy cream, even better!
As a salad with vinaigrette, mustard and shallots
really tasty!
How much? 150 to 200g per serving
TIP: Since they have thin skin, no need to soak them. Start cooking in unsalted cold water. Add a clove and some baking soda to speed up cooking (20 to 25 min in a pot, 10 min in a pressure cooker). Red lentils cook the fastest and are the most easily digested.
Watch out for canned lentils : too high in sodium, and sometimes mixed with bacon bits.
Dried beans
White beans, kidney beans, black beans, coconut beans, azuki beans, mung beans, lima beans, butter beans, giant beans, flageolet beans, etc.
Did you know? Beans originally come from Central and South America. Black beans and dried red kidney beans have a very high antioxidant content.
How to cook them:
With onions, thyme, rosemary, chili for flavor, then add salt and tomatoes at the end of cooking.
As a vegetarian cassoulet, or in soup
TIP: soak them for 12 to 24 hours, discard the soaking water, and cook them in 2 to 3 times their volume of water, to make them more digestible, since they also contain anti-nutrients that hinder proper digestion, like phytic acid. Add a teaspoon of baking soda, or seaweed like kombu, to speed up cooking.
Dried peas
Split peas, chickpeas
Buy them dried, in jars, or canned
125g of cooked dried peas provides 3g of fiber.
A serving of dried peas provides about 8.6g of protein.
How to cook them
Soak them for 12 to 24 hours, then cook for 30 to 40 minutes
Chickpeas: as hummus (plain, curry, etc.), pan-fried
As soup or velouté, as mash, as a spread
TIP: Grind dried peas into a flour to add to a dish to boost its protein content, or to thicken it.
Fava beans
50g of fava beans provides about 10% of the Recommended Daily protein Intake (around 9g), and 10g of fiber, roughly 1/3 of the recommended daily amount. You can eat them fresh or dried, raw or cooked.
Soy and its derivatives (yes! it's a legume too)
plant-based protein
Soy (or Chinese pea), and its derivatives are made from the whole soybean.
Soy can be eaten as:
Milk: soybeans ground and mixed with water (contains 3.31g of protein per 100ml), or as yogurt (3.63g of protein)
Tofu: this is curdled soy milk, drained and pressed (plain tofu, curry tofu, wild garlic tofu (delicious!), silken tofu. It contains 9.91g of protein.
Soybeans: roasted, they can be eaten as a snack with drinks
Miso: made from soybeans. It's a fermented (beige) paste used as a base for sauces or soups.
Tempeh: cooked soybeans inoculated with a microscopic fungus.
Textured soy protein: made from defatted soy flour. It needs to be rehydrated.
Sauce: sweet or savory soy sauce. Go for organic, it's better, since non-organic versions are processed and made from GMO soy. It may contain wheat (especially soy sauce from Korea).
Tamari sauce (Japanese): 100% made from fermented soybeans, so gluten free! Since it's fairly salty, you can find lower-sodium versions at organic stores.
Cream: found in small cartons (3.25g of protein per 100ml).
Oil: packed with essential fatty acids
Protein powder: soy flour is a good wheat alternative since it's gluten-free (it contains 35g of protein per 100g of flour).
Soy is rich in essential fatty acids, contains no lactose (the main sugar in dairy products), helps prevent cardiovascular disease, promotes good cholesterol (HDL cholesterol), and since it contains isoflavones, it has a protective effect against osteoporosis (age-related loss of bone protein). It's best to choose organic-certified soy, since it's guaranteed GMO-free.
How to cook it:
Soybeans: as a patty, meatball, or veggie burger: mix with legumes, vegetables, herbs and spices for more flavor
Tempeh or tofu: in cubes, in strips, fried, sautéed, marinated, roasted, added to a salad, a soup, pan-fried
Silken tofu is great as a base for quiches and replaces eggs
Textured soy protein: shepherd's pie, chili sin carne. Add tomatoes, onions.
Soy flour is excellent for cakes and breads (and gluten-free!)
Soy and tamari sauces : in broth, in simmered dishes, with sautéed vegetables, as a marinade.
Did you know? Soybean sprouts come from sprouted mung beans, since these are also called green soybeans.
How to buy legumes
Dried (organic if possible, and bulk if you can)
As flour (to make pancakes, crêpes, flans, cakes)
As flakes (pre-cooked legumes then flattened)
Cracked (pre-cooked and split)
Canned: but watch out for sodium.
Fresh (fava beans, for example)
As powder ( plant-based protein to add to your sweet or savory recipes)
Grains
The best known are wheat, rye, corn (kernels, popcorn), rice, oats (rolled oats). The lesser known are barley, millet, spelt.
Seitan, made from wheat or spelt flour.
What are pseudo-grains? They're not part of the grass family.
Buckwheat, quinoa, amaranth, all rich in protein, vitamins and minerals.
I'd rather recommend eating whole grains (with their bran, like wheat bran), since they contain more nutrients. Refined grains (white flour bread, white rice, white pasta, etc.) are much less nutritious.
How to cook them
Flours: in all kinds of bread, cakes, brioche, crêpes, waffles, pancakes, etc.
Cook them in a pan with vegetables, in the oven, as couscous, as porridge (oats), all kinds of pasta, cereal bars, in salads, with cream (mushroom risotto, zucchini risotto), curry rice, grain and vegetable gratins
By mixing them into a filling, minced and added to a sauce (like bolognese sauce)
Sensitive to fructans and gluten?
For those suffering from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), it's best to avoid wheat, rye, and barley since they contain fructans, a sugar that ferments in the large intestine and causes bloating, stomach aches, etc.
And for those who are allergic or intolerant to gluten, avoid wheat, barley, rye, spelt, and also oats (which contain a type of gluten).
Nuts & Seeds
plant-based protein
Nuts are extremely nutrient-dense. Macadamia nuts, Brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios, peanuts.
Seeds are very rich in omega-3, omega-6 fatty acids, minerals, and B vitamins. Chia, flax, hemp, pumpkin, sunflower, poppy, buckwheat, sesame seeds.
How to eat them
Plain as a snack with drinks, or as a side to salads or dishes
In cereal bars with dried fruit
As butter (almond, cashew, peanut butter)
In yogurts or smoothies (almond milk, hazelnut milk)
Plain dried seeds: one tablespoon at breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Mix them into a juice, a smoothie, a plant-based yogurt,
Add them to bread, brioche, cake, an Energy Ball, a cereal bar.
Oils: flaxseed, hemp, etc. It's best not to heat these oils, and use them cold, as a salad dressing
TIP: Gather several kinds of nuts, crushed into small pieces, into an Energy Ball, and coat the balls with seeds, shredded dried coconut, or cocoa powder. Make your Energy balls ahead of time, so you can take them anywhere (to work, to the gym, hiking, picnics, traveling).
Seaweed
You might not believe it, but seaweed is very rich in vitamins and minerals. You can find it in most organic stores and now in supermarkets: dulse (red, pink), ao nori (green), kombu, sea lettuce (green), nori, sea bean, samphire,
The most protein-rich is spirulina : it's consumed as a powder, personally I prefer it in capsules.
How to eat it
As a seasoning for salads, dishes
In soups, ground or whole
TIP: Gather several kinds of seaweed, grind them, and keep them in a small shaker for sprinkling, to make a handy topping to use (especially if you're not used to seaweed's rubbery texture at first).
Plant-based milks
What they're made from:
Grains (rice milk, spelt milk, oat milk)
Nuts (almond milk, hazelnut milk, cashew milk)
Legumes (soy milk)
Coconut (coconut milk)
How to use them:
Cold or hot, savory or sweet
As a drink, in a béchamel, a cake, a quiche
Benefits:
Contain no lactose, cholesterol, or casein
Rich in essential fatty acids
Contain vitamins A, B, C and E
And minerals: calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium
Rich in fiber and very easy to digest
No gluten for some: rice milk, coconut milk
Did you know? Protein from plant-based milks is much healthier than milk from animal sources, which can create intolerances and cause chronic illness, because it contains glycotoxins, and we don't have the enzymes to digest them.
Vegetables
Green vegetables are rich in fiber, but also in protein: not as much as legumes or grains, but a decent amount (around 2 to 3g of protein per 100g): you can eat them without worrying: spinach, artichoke, cabbage, watercress, broccoli, mushrooms, beets, etc.
How to cook them
Sautéed vegetables, oven-roasted, etc.
As soup or velouté, in salads
In a smoothie (100% vegetables) or paired with fruit
Tip: pair your other plant-based protein with raw vegetables, since you'll add enzymes that improve absorption, digestion and elimination. Go for slow cooking below 230°F (110°C) when cooking. You can favor steaming, slow cooking, or oven cooking
And don't forget that vegetables are alkalizing! which means eating vegetables provides the basic minerals to neutralize acids, otherwise the body has to draw from its own reserves. It takes minerals from bones, teeth, scalp or organs, and over a long period, damage can appear as cavities, hair loss or osteoporosis.
And what about fruit?
Beyond their vitamins, some fruits provide protein — not a lot, but enough to round out your intake and treat yourself!
Protein per 100g of raw fruit:
Passion fruit: 2.3g
Blackcurrant: 1.33g
Blackberry: 1.32g
Orange: 1.1g
Guava: 1.59
Pomegranate: 1.29g
Cherry: 1.16g
Apricot: 1g
TIP: When making fruit smoothies, add some plant-based protein powder.
#3 How much plant-based protein should I eat?
ANSES, the French agency for food, environmental and occupational health & safety, considers that the nutritional protein reference for healthy adults under 60 (RNP – National Population Reference) is between 0.83 and 2.2 g/kg/day of protein (that is, 10 to 27% of energy intake).
For older adults, the reference is slightly higher, around 1 g/kg/day, as it is for pregnant and breastfeeding women, at least 70 g/day or 1.2 g/kg/day.
Here's a link to the ANSES website, which gives a good indication of the protein content of each food: https://ciqual.anses.fr. (Ctrl+Click to follow the link)
You can search by food or food group (click Explore food groups).
#4 Are you deficient?
When do we talk about protein deficiency?
Almost all plant-based food contains protein. Of course, if you eat poorly to begin with — and this applies to omnivores too — you'll end up protein-deficient. And of course, eating too many carbs, too much sugar, or drinking too much alcohol won't help that protein balance.
If you have doubts about your dietary balance, I encourage you to see your doctor, a dietitian, or a nutritionist, if only to get more information.
TRAP: Turning exclusively to ready-made industrial dishes (prepared vegetarian meals, plant-based steaks, meatballs and sausages). I'll say it: DANGER, because there's usually way too many carbs, salt, etc. I personally had a bad experience with this at the very start of my transition. I didn't know what to cook, and buying a ready meal seemed easier. I quickly realized my meals weren't balanced.
TIME SAVER:
Prioritize your own home cooking instead. In one of my upcoming articles I'll introduce you to BATCH COOKING: the art of cooking once for several meals:
What should I watch for
My vitamin B12: You can take a vitamin B12 supplement. I've written a whole article on choosing a good vitamin B12.
My iron: For better absorption, take iron alongside vitamin C, but well away from coffee or tea.
My plant-based omega-3s: you'll find them in rapeseed, walnut, or soy oil
My calcium: Eat nuts, dried fruit, seeds, leafy greens (cabbage, chard, spinach)
My vitamin D: If you don't get much sun exposure (in winter, for example), you may lack vitamin D. In that case, it's important to take a vitamin D supplement.
If you enjoyed this article, feel free to leave me a little heart or a comment — ask me your questions and I'll be happy to answer!
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