It is reasonable to say that America has a food obsession.
Whether or not this obsession surrounds excessive weight loss or gain, Northern Americans actually know shockingly little about health and nutrition. Even with all of the talk of our obesity epidemic, those among us who decide to cut particular things from our diet are usually looked at bizarrely.
Being a vegan, the most typical question I'm asked is, "Where do you get your protein?"
Vegetarians are those who cut meat from their diet, and vegans cut all animal products. The majority of people think vegetarians just eat plenty of eggs or peanut butter, while vegan protein sources remain a mystery.
The recommended amount of protein for an adult female is around 45 grams, and for an adult male about 55 grams. While meat and eggs are great sources of protein, the concept that those are the only natural selections is incorrect. Vegetarians and vegans don't necessarily need to beef up their diets with shakes and tablets either (though I know 1 or 2 that do, those people are iron pumpers). It's right that a 6oz steak has about 40 grams of protein, and a large egg has about 6, but those aren't your only options.
What most folks don't realize is that there's at least a small amount of protein in most things you eat.
Vegetables, for example, provide small portions of protein. On the high end, a serving of broccoli offers about 4 grams of protein. Asparagus, artichoke and spinach each offer three, and most other vegetables fall somewhere below that. Compared to one steak, that is nothing. But most folks do not consume the recommended quantity of vegetables. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, an individual with an average calorific consumption of approximately 2000 should have around 9 servings of vegetables a day, which is about 4.5 cups. So say you ate 9 servings of broccoli in a single day (mmmm, right?) you would have consumed 36 grams of protein!
Ok, realistically let's say you actually did eat nine portions of vegetables and they weren't all broccoli. You're likely a guy because most ladies don't shoot for 2000 calories a day. We will say your average amount of protein per serving was just 2 1/2 grams, so you're already at 22 1/2 grams of protein. That isn't 55, so let's look at what else you can have in a day.
I cup of tempeh (a protein made of whole soybeans) has 41 grams of protein, and a cup of cooked soybeans has 29 grams. Just 3 oz of seitan (a protein made with wheat) has 31 grams of protein, 1 cup of lentils has 18, one cup of chickpeas has 12, and a quarter cup of almonds has eight. Even one cup of spaghetti has 8 grams of protein.
Eating from that list can bring you close to your daily amount, and I haven't even gone into beans and other legumes that are potentially in your diet already. In my past experiences, if you are careful to eat the correct quantity of vegetables and whole grains, proteins will naturally fall into place.
Whether or not this obsession surrounds excessive weight loss or gain, Northern Americans actually know shockingly little about health and nutrition. Even with all of the talk of our obesity epidemic, those among us who decide to cut particular things from our diet are usually looked at bizarrely.
Being a vegan, the most typical question I'm asked is, "Where do you get your protein?"
Vegetarians are those who cut meat from their diet, and vegans cut all animal products. The majority of people think vegetarians just eat plenty of eggs or peanut butter, while vegan protein sources remain a mystery.
The recommended amount of protein for an adult female is around 45 grams, and for an adult male about 55 grams. While meat and eggs are great sources of protein, the concept that those are the only natural selections is incorrect. Vegetarians and vegans don't necessarily need to beef up their diets with shakes and tablets either (though I know 1 or 2 that do, those people are iron pumpers). It's right that a 6oz steak has about 40 grams of protein, and a large egg has about 6, but those aren't your only options.
What most folks don't realize is that there's at least a small amount of protein in most things you eat.
Vegetables, for example, provide small portions of protein. On the high end, a serving of broccoli offers about 4 grams of protein. Asparagus, artichoke and spinach each offer three, and most other vegetables fall somewhere below that. Compared to one steak, that is nothing. But most folks do not consume the recommended quantity of vegetables. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, an individual with an average calorific consumption of approximately 2000 should have around 9 servings of vegetables a day, which is about 4.5 cups. So say you ate 9 servings of broccoli in a single day (mmmm, right?) you would have consumed 36 grams of protein!
Ok, realistically let's say you actually did eat nine portions of vegetables and they weren't all broccoli. You're likely a guy because most ladies don't shoot for 2000 calories a day. We will say your average amount of protein per serving was just 2 1/2 grams, so you're already at 22 1/2 grams of protein. That isn't 55, so let's look at what else you can have in a day.
I cup of tempeh (a protein made of whole soybeans) has 41 grams of protein, and a cup of cooked soybeans has 29 grams. Just 3 oz of seitan (a protein made with wheat) has 31 grams of protein, 1 cup of lentils has 18, one cup of chickpeas has 12, and a quarter cup of almonds has eight. Even one cup of spaghetti has 8 grams of protein.
Eating from that list can bring you close to your daily amount, and I haven't even gone into beans and other legumes that are potentially in your diet already. In my past experiences, if you are careful to eat the correct quantity of vegetables and whole grains, proteins will naturally fall into place.
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