Initially, I thought a what I eat in a day high protein edition would be good for Plant Sourced to go along with protein month recipes. However, when I sat down to do a rough plan, I realised that wasn’t the best way to approach this. For anyone really looking to take any information away from this, seeing a few meals from one day in my life isn’t going to give you much. Instead, I’m going to show you what I would eat if I was making a conscious effort to increase my protein intake with a few high protein vegan meals suggestions for each meal/ snacks.
As I spoke about in my plant based protein sources post, we all require a different amount and that amount is based on body weight (plus extra for above average exercise). Without going into specifics, I’m a 5ft tall, UK size 4 female who sits looking at a screen for the majority of the day. My needs are slight, so while this day may be higher in protein for me, it may only be an average day for you. However, everything is going to be fairly simple to make and contain relatively basic ingredients – so even if this isn’t high protein for your needs, it’s still going to show you that it’s easy to get enough without too much effort…maybe, unless you’re a bodybuilder…
High Protein Vegan Meals
Breakfast
(15-25+g protein)
The easiest way to add more protein to your breakfast is to literally add protein powder to your breakfast. While I do have a few protein smoothie bowl recipes (cherry, mango, blueberry) and enjoy a smoothie bowl for breakfast in summer, it’s January. I have zero desire to freeze, and you don’t want to be fully reliant on added protein powder for your intake anyway.
My smoothie bowls tend to contain around 25g of protein plus extra for toppings. My favourite quick winter alternative contains less, but still has around 15-20g, depending on your choice of crunch, which isn’t too bad for a light breakfast.
Microwave some frozen berries for 2:30-3minutes, stir in two tbsps chia seeds for it to thicken up. I add Alpro Greek Style to mine, usually the plain one, then top with some nuts/ seeds or granola.
If you have time to prep the night before, maybe try my overnight peanut quinoa recipe, which has 18-20g depending on your choice of non-dairy yoghurts and milks.
And if all of that still sounds like too much effort, some seeded breads have 8-10g protein per slice. A couple of slices of toast topped with nut butter could see you to around 25g.
Snacks
(6-15g)
I don’t like anything too complicated for a snack during the day. I grab some nuts (6-8g), or one of those mixed veggie protein bags (8-10g), or a bar. Possibly some roasted chickpeas (9-10g)…
My favourite snack bars with higher protein are the Trek Peanut Power (10g) or the Pulsin’ Vanilla Choc Chip (13g).
Lunch
(18-22g)
As I’ve mentioned in just about every single what I eat post I’ve ever done, lunch is not a meal I regularly consume. I eat breakfast late, usually have a snack or two, then dinner. Or I’m making something for a recipe post and end up eating bean burgers at 11am to take photos…
Either way, a typical lunch is something I rarely eat. But if I did eat like a normal person and eat three square meals, I’d probably opt for one of the following salads:
- Pesto Roasted Chickpea (22g)
- Zesty Veggie Quinoa (18g)
- Nutty Quinoa Salad (18g)
- Quinoa Edamame Salad (22g)
Or a soup, like this lentil veggie soup (15g) or butternut and lentil (11g). And you can always add extra protein to a soup recipe by using roasted chickpeas instead of croutons to add another 9g or so.
Dinner
(25-42g)
So, this is where it gets really easy because all of the recipes I’ve shared so far in Plant Sourced have been main meal/ dinner recipes.
There are a couple of classics like my lentil ragu recipe (35g) that will always get a nod when we’re talking about high protein dishes, and some new ones. The most recent of which also being a pasta recipe (butternut squash & bean) with a similar amount of protein.
Both of those recipes take a while to prep, but this stir fry can be made in just 10 minutes (42g).
Total 64-104g.
As you can see, eating the higher protein options suggested will give you over 100g of protein in a day, and that’s without factoring in toppings for your smoothie bowl or a potential afternoon snack. Going back to what I said earlier, this may not hit everyone’s targets, but over 100g is definitely enough for the vast majority of people and none of these dishes are overly complicated.
As we’re nearing the end of Veganuary, I’m sure we’re at the point where some people are thinking about whether they want to stick with it and looking at things like nutrition going forward. If this applies to you, or if you’re simply looking to go plant based a day or two a week, I hope this was helpful!
What are some of your favourite higher protein vegan meals?
Until next time,
Sophie
I loved the tips besides being vegan, it’s gluten free, and I’m on a diet like this, I’m even going to bookmark your blog, it’s very good. Kisses https://beperes.blogspot.com/
Love the look of these meals! I’m shifting in a more vegan direction with my eating, and always on the lookout for tasty, high-protein options to work in! That stir fry looks delicious, and I like your breakfast ideas a lot.
I absolutely love my smoothie bowls and chickpeas!
Love, Amie ❤
The Curvaceous Vegan
Yum! Those look good!
Some great recipies here. I like the soup one of my fave flavours. I am on a mission to reduce meat this year while keep proptien intake up so these are really helpful
GR | https://www.thegreat.uk
All of this looks sooo tasty! It’s always great to find non-meat sources of protein (for cost and general health). And these choices not only look delicious, but the extra protein can really come in handy. Thanks!
THese are great options – thanks for sharing! Love the snack bar!
Both of the pasta dishes look absolutely amazing! I love that you’ve included your snacks as well as I always really struggle to find vegan snacks x
Kayleigh Zara http://www.kayleighzaraa.com
The lentil ragu looks amazing, will definitely be trying that!
Also the breakfast bowls look delicious for summer.
Kathleen / http://www.madeinthe1990s.com
Protein is very important to any diet. I am making a wonderful brown rice burger recipe I got from a vegan friend; it is filling and delicious as a burger patty, in a wrap, or crumbled over a salad!
I love the looks of the protein bars here.
These are such great ideas of high protein vegan meals! Thanks so much for sharing. They all look so delicious!
These meals look great! i’m susprised you don’t often eat lunch! My boys go have quiet time in their rooms at lunch time so it’s my opportunity to make and eat something just for me (as they have lunch before they go for a rest, they don’t always nap though, haha!). I look forward to it at work too! breakfast is usually a rush out the door and dinner is a tricky balance of making sure everyone eats enough veggies and making things that they like and then finding out they’ve changed their mind and don’t like today…haha! Lunch is my fave meal of the day!
Hope that you are having a lovely weekend 🙂
Protein powder is one of my favourite ways to up my protein intake. I always feel like I struggle with that area of my macros, even when I try really hard to prioritise it! Aiming to make 2020 the year I am finally more balanced with protein x
Looking forward to trying everything!
Wow these all sound so delicious! I’m definitely going to make all of these ASAP! I’m a vegetarian, but I’ve been trying to eat mostly vegan and gluten free food lately. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
melissakacar.blogspot.com
These look absolutely delish! I’m literally drooling haha. I try to go on a high protein diet every few weeks or so. I’ll keep these in mind!
—Athena Christy
https://athenachristy.wordpress.com/
That soup looks delish!! All of these really, gorgeous dishes 🙂 x
This is great! A friend of mine is having an operation on her back in a few days, and her boyfriend (who will be looking after her) only knows how to make one vegan meal for her. I’ll be sending these to him, as they look so simple, but also really tasty!
Em x
http://www.emsworldblog.com
Oh these have made me feel so hungry just reading about them! I’m always looking for recipe inspo, so thanks very much for sharing them with us xo
MakeupMuddle.com
It must be so tricky for your to be vegan and gluten free sometimes but you definitely do it well with these meals! The dinners sound really great, I haven’t tried any of these before but they look so yummy on going to have to try! X
I really want to try more recipes this year – although i’m not vegan, I would happily have a go at all of these! Really love a smoothie bowl!!
Hayley || hayleyxmartin
This post is so informative! Those lunches and dinners look amazing. Excited to try a few of these recipes!
Great ideas! I try to get enough protein to make my body feel better. I also love such snacks!
Have a nice day,
matiime.blogspot.come.
As always the food looks so tasty and I think I’ve come away with a few ideas of what I can try to introduce protein to my diet without solely relying on meat. Great post!
Great post with amazing photos! Each of the items look and sound so delicious. Thank you so much for sharing!
Those lunches look amazing!
ooh, I definitely need to try some of those pasta dishes! I really struggle to hit the protein goals I want to meet while eating vegan, so this post is really helpful 🙂 Thanks!
Sammy | Self-Care Sloth
These all look incredible and I am going to try them all! I love smoothie bowls for breakfast too – the more berries the better 🙂
All of these meals look absolutely delicious! Love the look of the smoothie bowl especially but agree that it’s too cold at the moment for them! x
Tiffany x http://www.foodandotherloves.co.uk
I’m definitely going to look out for those Trek bars. Especially as I’m on an exercise programme now, I don’t want to be snacking on anything heavy in between breakfast and lunch and more protein would go down a treat x
I think I’m good at adding enough protein in most meals but I need to work on breakfast!
You are literally my online recipe book! xD I don’t eat any protein bars right now since I haven’t been to the gym for a little while, but I loved either the Pulsin ones or the Fulfil bars! I’m definitely planning on making acai bowls because they’re super yummy!
Great post – these all look so tasty!
Sophie // SophieMLoves