Veggie Protein

Data • Food • Nutrition

Jul 02

Can you get over 100g of protein in under 1500 calories?

Did I tell you I used to be a vegetarian? In a past life – meaning when I was a teenager back in Mexico – I watched a lot of 90s cartoons that told me to save the planet.

My options on what to do were a bit limited, you know, still being a teenager in Mexico, but from my research online I found that a vegetarian diet was a way to contribute as an individual.

Great, I thought, I can do this, I just need to change everything I eat.

I lived in Monterrey, a city famous for needing no excuse to fire up the grill. My first step was convincing my family to let me be a vegetarian, so I did one of the things I know how to do best: make a PowerPoint. Sorry mom and dad, you invested in a good school and I pay you back by sitting you down for 30 mins to hear about vegetarianism.

It was a bit of an uphill battle, but after some negotiations and compromises, I had that precious "OK". Under one condition: I had to cook all my meals... how long do you think this lasted?

This week we are back talking about food. I'm sharing some of my hard-earned knowledge from my vegetarian times.

3 high-protein, vegetarian meals

One of the main concerns for a vegetarian diet is getting enough protein. This was also my mom's biggest fear, so another condition was that a nutritionist had to design my meal plan. Eggs, tofu, textured soy protein, lentils, dairy – I needed to make sure to include one of them in every meal.

I wasn’t a very good cook back then. I had to learn that you really need to season tofu to make it taste like something, and just boiling vegetables will get boring very fast.

If I could give some advice to my younger self, it would be to turn to the flavors we had at home. Nowadays chilaquiles have become a staple breakfast.

A bed of crunchy tortilla chips (totopos) is covered with salsa, cream, and eggs – sometimes even chicken. For my low-calorie, high-veggie protein version, I replace the totopos with baked corn waffles, use low-fat cream cheese, and something called "like chicken." Oh, and I make my own very spicy salsa to dress everything – it's a great way to start the day.

Chilaquiles: Protein and calorie breakdown by ingredients

Did I cheat during my vegetarian times? Not to my knowledge back then. There were things that I later found out actually had a bit of animal products. Some cheeses use animal parts during their production, here is more info , which I only found out a few years ago.

I'm not a super strict vegetarian nowadays. If anything, I would call myself a flexitarian – mostly eating vegetarian except when I travel or go out to restaurants. So eating a bit of parmesan is not really a problem to me. And if you read my article on comparing proteins (read Protein Battle here), you’ll know that parmesan actually packs in a good amount of protein per gram. Adding it as a topping will boost your numbers instantly.

My second meal suggestion is a veggie bolognese – put "veggie" in quotations if you add the parmesan. As a meat substitute, I use a textured pea protein. This magical food has 74g of protein for every 100g. It’s insane. I didn’t have fake meats like this one before. Good job, German engineering.

For this recipe, I make my own sauce mixing canned tomatoes with garlic, carrots, onion, and lots of spices. I add the hydrated pea protein afterwards and let it all simmer for a while before placing it on top of some al dente pasta. Finish everything – or not – with your favorite cheese and some fresh basil.

Veggie bolognese: Protein and calorie breakdown by ingredients

Why did I choose 100g of protein as a daily goal? I actually calculated that number! It's the amount of protein I need given my age, gender, weight, and physical activity.

Where does this number come from? From a friend of the blog, calculator.net. The minimum protein intake I should have is around 40-something grams, but since I want to keep my muscles nice and healthy, I go for the middle-upper range. As long as I hit 100g, I'm good.

What about the 1500 calories? Well, that is because I try to be in a calorie deficit so I can eat treats a few times per week. Check out my calorie budget article for details. I do eat more than just these meals – I have a few snacks throughout the afternoon: dates, nuts, and chocolate. These help me fuel my workouts and give me the extra energy during the afternoon slump. That and coffee.

How do I hit our final protein grams? Well, not to be dramatic, but skyr saves the day. Super low fat, low calorie, and high in protein. Is it hot and I want something that vaguely feels like frozen yogurt? Am I too lazy to cook anything? Skyr is there.

I finish the day with some vanilla skyr, berries, and almonds. It's sweet, refreshing, and perfect for summer. Add some fake sugar if you want that extra sweetness.

Skyr + berries: Protein and calorie breakdown by ingredients

You might be wondering why this post is reviving my ancient knowledge... but have you seen the price of chicken? One of the advantages I listed to my parents all those years ago was that it would be cheaper – you spend way less on legumes and vegetables than on beef and pork.

By the way, did you guess?
It was 10 years.

I was a strict vegetarian for 10 years, some periods of that being vegan. I think what also fueled my conviction was that my mom said it would just be a phase, that I would give it up soon enough. She forgot I’m as stubborn as her. Thank you, mom, for making me so determined.

I had to stop when I was traveling a lot for work and couldn’t have a reliable diet.

I wasn’t alone though, in my adventure of being vegetarian. It's easier to cook for 2 people than for yourself. My younger brother joined me – he would share meals with me Monday through Friday, but eat whatever he wanted on weekends. That helped a lot and it made cooking more fun.

I hope you can also share your meals with someone you love.

Sources:

That’s Enough About Me!

What do you think? What should I focus on next?

Do you want some of my recipes? Maybe you want to try your spice tolerance with my spicy salsa? It would be useful before you visit Mexico.

Let me know—shoot me an email! 😊
📩 sifuentesanita@gmail.com