Every vegan will agree that they are often asked about their protein intake and protein sources. How do you get enough protein? Where do you get your protein from? Do you have enough vegan protein sources? Do you have protein deficiency? Suddenly, everyone becomes very concerned about your protein intake! The truth is that getting enough protein on a vegan diet is actually way easier than on an omnivore diet. So how do vegans get enough protein?

How much protein do we need?

A daily protein intake varies significantly for everyone, depending on their age, weight, height, gender, level of activity throughout the day and also if we wish to build muscle, lose weight or maintain weight. Approximately 10-35% of your daily calorie intake should come from protein sources. The rest of your calories are carbohydrates (45-65%) and fats (20-35%). As you see, protein can make up anywhere up to one-third of your calorie intake so you should always make sure that your protein comes from high-quality vegan sources.

If you are not sure how much protein your body requires, here it’s a standard government guideline for people at the age gap 19-70 years old. For men, the general rule is 0.84 g of protein for every 1 kg of body weight. For women, 0.75 g of protein for every 1 kg of body weight per day. For people over 70 years old, the recommended daily protein intake is 81 g for men and 57 g for women. For pregnant (the second and third trimester) and breastfeeding women, the daily protein intake is a little higher – up to 1 g of protein for every 1 kg of body weight.

So, for example, if you are a woman who weighs 60 kg, your recommended daily protein intake is 45 g. If you are a man who weighs 90 kg, you should get around 75 g of protein a day. If you think about this amount of protein, this should be an easy task for vegans, considering that you get protein with almost every plant-based food.

How do vegans make sure they eat enough protein each day?

Some of the plant-based foods are the best protein sources you could ever imagine. Seeds, nuts, legumes, such as beans, peas and lentils, chickpeas, and quinoa are among the most nutritious and high-protein vegan foods in the world. Not only vegans but everyone should try to incorporate more of these foods in their diet.

You can basically add extra protein to any meal of your day. For breakfast, make quinoa or oat porridge and sprinkle with nuts, seeds, or tahini. Try this creamy Quinoa Tahini Porridge with Figs. For lunch, make this easy Vegan Tuna Salad toast with chickpeas. To add protein to your dinner, try this yummy Black Bean Meatballs with Spicy Bbq Sauce or protein packed Quinoa Vegetable Soup with Chickpeas.

As you can imagine, getting enough protein on a vegan diet is not a problem. The only issue here is to make sure that your vegan protein comes from a variety of vegan food sources and that you include protein in every meal of your day. If you eat a healthy and balanced diet, including only a few portions of fruit, refined sugar, unhealthy fats, and alcohol (these do not provide a lot of protein), you have nothing to be worried about! Vegans tend to eat a variety of vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes which rarely leads to a lack of protein in their vegan diet.

Getting essential amino acids with a vegan diet

Putting this simply, protein is made of its building blocks – amino acids. Our bodies need these amino acids to create protein. There are twenty common amino acids. Nine of them are considered essential as our body cannot make them on its own. These nine amino acids are critical for body functioning and must be received through foods.

Some vegan foods are the best complex protein sources, which means they contain all 9 essential amino acids. Quinoa, products made of soybeans – edamame beans, tofu, and tempeh, hemp seeds, beans and rice, and peanut butter toast – these are the vegan high-protein sources you should include in your diet often!

Combining various sources of plant-based protein will achieve the best results. Some vegan protein foods may be lower in one or two essential amino acids. Therefore it is a good idea to think about a recipe ahead of cooking. For instance, to cover all nine essential amino acids, you can cook with ½ cup of legumes and ½ cup of rice or 1 block of tofu with 1 cup of cubed potatoes. Don’t overthink the combination of high-protein plant-based sources. It is more common sense. You can always add a little bit of extra protein to your meals by sprinkling chia or hemp seeds over your salad. Another idea is to add a few chopped nuts and nutritional yeast to your pasta dishes.

What about plant-based protein powders and vegan protein bars?

If you eat breakfast, two snack meals, lunch, and dinner every day you most like won’t have any problem fitting enough protein into your diet. Protein deficiencies are rare, especially on a vegan diet. However, in some circumstances, you will need more protein than the recommended daily intake. For example, if you want to increase your muscle mass, do heavy weightlifting, bodybuilding, high-intensity training or work in a high physical activity job. If you worry you cannot get enough protein through your diet, you will probably reach for protein supplements.

Vegan protein powders

The best vegan protein powder is the one with no added sugar, low in carbs and low in sodium. With so many vegan protein powder options, one of the most common protein powders you will come across is pea protein. One scoop of pea protein isolate can provide about 15 to 20 g of protein. Pea protein comes with other benefits, such as a high content of iron, a creamier texture, and it is easily digestible and hypoallergenic (gluten-free and lactose-free).

Another very popular vegan protein powder is hemp protein. You may have heard hemp protein is a future in a vegan world. That’s because hemp seeds contain all nine essential amino acids and they are also extremely rich in protein. 1/4 cup of hemp protein powder provides up to 15 g of protein! Hemp protein powder is also incredibly easy to digest and it counts as a rich source of dietary fibre, minerals, and antioxidants.

A little hint here: hemp protein does not contain CBD and it won’t get you high! Hemp protein is made from grounded plant seeds, not its flowers (like marihuana). So no stress, you may keep using hemp protein powder without testing positive for illegal substances.

Vegan protein bars

In case you don’t want to drink or prepare a protein powder drink, you may like to reach for vegan protein bars. These can be consumed as a snack on the go or before or after a workout. You can buy them in nearly every shop or specialised nutrition place. There are several things you should bear in mind when shopping for protein bars.

Sugar should never be a main ingredient. Don’t buys protein bars that contain more than 20 g of carbohydrates. Easily digestible protein bars should also provide enough fibre. Avoid buy protein bars with trans fats, palm oil or a high content of saturated fats. Choose protein bars with a balanced protein and calorie content.

If you prefer, you can easily make your own protein bars. For example, you can use peanut butter as a main protein ingredient. Try these easy and delicious Keto Peanut Butter Cups or amazing No-Bake Peanut Butter and Banana Bars.

Getting enough protein on a vegan diet is easy!

Following a balanced vegan diet that includes a variety of food and protein sources should supply enough protein intake. Learn about protein-rich plant-based sources and add them to your diet. Include these sources in every meal you eat, including breakfast and snacks. If you feel like not getting enough protein through food, there are other options for vegan protein supplements that are a fantastic addition to your regular plant-based diet. You may like to incorporate protein-packed snacks in your diet, such as protein powder shakes or protein bars. Either way, getting enough protein on a vegan diet is truly easy with a little bit of education and dedication!