But...how do you get enough protein?

"But...how do you get enough protein?" is the question I get with worried eyes when I tell someone that I'm a vegetarian who shockingly can't eat soy.  I did enjoy many years as a soy-eating vegetarian.  I'd gobble down vanilla soy ice cream and make tofu scrambles.  I fell in love with tempeh (which I now get soy-less and local from Lalibela farm) and went through soy milk like you wouldn't believe. Then, a soy intollerance came with the package diagnosis of wheat and gluten intollerances.  I was more upset about being soy-free than wheat-free, to be honest.

I pulled myself together and started utilizing the dozens of other beans out there.  Not only are beans nutritional, but they've got a bounty of protein in them -- most beans contain 15-18 grams of protein per cooked cup.  Not too shabby.  As a general rule, 10-15% of your total calories should be from protein -- which means, if you're on a 2,000 calorie diet, that you should be getting about 50 grams of protein a day.  I've also heard of another method, in which you find out how much protein you need by multiplying your weight by .37.  So if you weigh 120 lbs, you need 45 grams of protein, a 150 lb person needs 55 grams, and a 200 lb person needs 74 grams.

Okay.  Calculate how much protein you need.  Then, take a deep breath.  If you're a vegetarian who's sadly soy-less, it's pretty easy, and filled with variety.

And guess what?  Vegetables have protein, too!

Here's a list of my main protein sources, and how much protein they contain:

• 1 cup of yogurt - 8 grams of protein, at least    I also can't have lactose, so I have local goat's milk yogurt or lactose free yogurt. 
• 1/2 cup black bean tempeh - 15 grams
• 1 cup milk - 8 grams  So, strangely, I can drink milk that isn't pastaurized.  The good stuff is still in it.  I also drink goat's milk.  Hemp milk, an expensive favorite of mine, has 4 grams of protein per cup
• 1/4 cup almonds - 8 grams
• 1 ounce hard cheese - 10 grams  This is awesome because I love cheese!
• 1 cup brocolli - 3 grams of protein  Yes!  You can get protein from vegetables!  Shocking, I know.
• 1 cup sugar snap peas - 3 grams
• 1 cup cooked quinoa - 9 grams 
• 1 cup cooked brown rice -5 grams
• 1 cup cooked spinach - 5 grams  

So, to make sure I get enough protein, I make sure to include at least one of these foods in with each meal.  A breakfast I often make for Andrew is 1 cup of oatmeal mixed with 1 ounce of cheese and 1/2 cup brocolli.  That equals 28 grams protein, which is about half of what an average person would need -- right there in  breakfast!  At lunch, I load up on hummus and almonds alongside veggies.  I always include a bean or cheese or a protein packed grain in one combination or another, with a protein-rich vegetable in dinners.  Need protein in a pinch?  Drink a cup of milk.  Eat a spoonful of almond butter.

Go nuts.

What's your favorite protein?  (I'm not against meat eaters, so if you love steak and that's your main source of protein, I don't mind)