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Vegan Protein Sources: Build Muscle And Vitality With Plant-Based Foods

It doesn’t always have to be meat, vegan protein sources also provide high-quality protein. Read which plant-based foods you can use to meet your need for the vital macronutrient.

The best vegan protein sources

Meat, eggs, and dairy products are often considered to be the only protein suppliers worth mentioning, while vegetable protein also contributes to meeting daily needs. The body can utilize both forms of the essential macronutrient well. Although our organism metabolizes animal protein a little faster, this plays a negligible role in normal everyday life. Vegan protein powder is even common in bodybuilding, where strong men and women clearly demonstrate that building muscle with vegan protein sources can be a great success. A dietary supplement is not absolutely necessary for an adequate supply beyond sporting goals if you eat consciously and balanced – with a little know-how this is easily possible.

The list of vegan protein sources is long

There is not only a lot of vegan protein in legumes, other plant-based foods are also packed with amino acids – the building blocks that make up protein. These include vegan low-carb protein sources if you want to eat a low-carb diet. The most productive suppliers of vegetable protein include:

  • Lentils, Beans, Chickpeas
  • Legume pasta
  • Soy products like soy shreds, tempeh, and tofu
  • Whole grains, oatmeal
  • quinoa, millet
  • vegan meat alternatives
  • seeds and nuts
  • cocoa

Vegetables and tubers also contribute to a good balance – potatoes, for example, contain around 2 g of protein per 100 g. That doesn’t sound like much at first, but if you combine the vegetable protein source with one or more others, the biological value increases. This means that the organism can get more protein for its bodily functions, since the various amino acids complement each other perfectly. It is therefore best to always combine different vegan protein sources in one meal, whether with a lot or little carbohydrates.

This is what a menu with plenty of vegan protein can look like

In order to incorporate the greatest possible variety of plant-based protein suppliers into your daily diet, you should ideally start with a protein-rich morning meal. Good vegan protein sources for breakfast are, for example, porridges with plant drinks, nuts, and seeds as well as fruit or tofu scrambled eggs with wholemeal rolls. A recipe tip for lunch would be a potato or wholemeal pasta gratin with pumpkin seeds and vegetables and a “cream sauce” made from cashew nuts, a lentil curry or soy slices with wholegrain rice. Our vegan bowl with tofu, edamame, and quinoa is also recommended. In the evening, a wholegrain bread with a vegetarian spread based on sunflower seeds, which you can garnish with slices of cucumber, comes into question as a vegan source of protein without soy.

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Written by John Myers

Professional Chef with 25 years of industry experience at the highest levels. Restaurant owner. Beverage Director with experience creating world-class nationally recognized cocktail programs. Food writer with a distinctive Chef-driven voice and point of view.

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