Gluten Free Vegetarians and the Hunt for Protein

One of the biggest challenges I have encountered as a gluten free vegetarian is getting enough protein in my diet. Since most vegetarian meat substitutes contain wheat, that eliminates one of my major sources of protein as a vegetarian.

I tend to believe that if I can get what my body needs from actual food sources, I will try to do that rather than use supplements. I think there are a lot of vegetarians that agree with that. So, I decided to research protein to see where I could incorporate natural sources of it into my diet.

Here are a few excellent and tasty sources of protein I use in my diet.

Almonds, 1/3 cup – 10 grams protein

Almonds are a great source of protein. They can be eaten on their own or used in a variety of recipes. It should be noted that the same 1/3 cup of almonds has 27 grams of fat.

Soy Milk, 1 cup – 6 grams protein

Soy milk, in this case chocolate soy milk, is a tasty and nutritious way to get protein into your diet. Additionally, most brands of soy milk have plenty of vitamins that your body needs.

Peanut Butter – 1 tablespoon = 4 grams protein

Peanut butter also has a lot of protein in it. However, I would like to point out that it’s fat content is high too. In the case of the peanut butter pictured here, there were 8 grams of fat in the 1 tablespoon.

Tofu, ½ cup 20 grams protein

Tofu, which is made from soybeans, has a lot of protein in it. One of the things to know about tofu is that it absorbs the flavors it is cooked with. I found that marinating the tofu in a sauce before cooking it makes it very tasty. You can expect to see me writing more on this subject in the future.

Kidney Beans, 1 cup – 12 grams protein

I could have used any type of beans or lentils here. They are high in protein and low in fat. Also, they are rather tasty when cooked. You will see a fair number of recipes on this site that use beans in them.

Notes:

1. Nutritional information for these items was taken from the packages they came in.
2. All dietary information reflects changes that I have made to my diet. It is strongly suggested that you consult your doctor before making any major changes in your own diet.