Protein - sources for vegans

There is a lot of belief that the vegetarian or vegan lifestyle lacks sufficient sources of quality proteins.  If this were true I would have never tried to switch.  As a protein lover, (yeah, its true I still love the thought of a nice piece of salmon or a filet mignon and NUTS my absolute favorite) and I was what might some consider a protein junkie in my past, I had concerns of getting enough protein in my diet as a vegan.  That is until I looked around at the sources of proteins available for vegetarians and vegans.  Here is a small partial list of protein vegan sources:
cooked soybeans, lentils, all beans, chick peas, hummus, peas, spinach, broccoli, all nuts, okra, asparagus, cauliflower, sweet corn, soy milk, tomatos, brussel sprouts, mushrooms, sweet potato, rice, oatmeal, cornmeal,  dried apricots, prunes, raisins, avocado, apples, whole wheat breads, nut butters, potato and the list continues.

The real trick is to vary your diet so your getting quality protein from many sources.  Just like the meat eating world doesn't eat steak only to get their protein vegans shouldn't rely on just tofu for protein!  According to what graph you read the number varies on how much protein you should eat everyday.  Body builders tend to live by the adage of eating 1 to 1 1/2 grams of protein per pound of their body weight but your normal person does not require that amount.  Nor is that much protein considered healthy to most studies I have read.  Somewhere in the neighborhood of 40-60 grams a day is probably pretty normal.  Again it depends on your individual needs, age, sex, weight etc etc.

I dug up some articles about a few vegan bodybuilders and will be sharing in future posts.  Its quite possible to be a vegan or vegetarian body builder and these people are proof positive!  So in closing here it is without a doubt pure misleading to think a vegetarian or vegan diet / lifestyle doesn't provide one with enough protein.  Vary your diet, eat a combination of protein rich vegan foods every day and you will get plenty of protein!!

Thanks for visiting the blog,
Until next time!
Kel