A Vegetarian's Daily Protein Count

Last week we were talking about my being a vegetarian, and a patient asked me how I got my protein for the day. I told her it was rather easy. I've decided to prove it by keeping track of what I ate in a 24 hour period. I don't doubt that I meet my protein needs. Most people need an average of about 50g of protein, but being only 5'3" tall, I can survive with at least 10g less.

Menu and Protein Estimates

Breakfast

• 4g English Muffin with Butter
• 2g MorningStar Farms vegetarian Bacon Strips
• 10g 10 ounces Milk
• 1g Kiwi and half a Pear

Lunch

• Tabouleh
• 4g Hummus
• 5g Indian Flatbread
• 2g Avocado slices
• Carrot sticks, cucumber slices, and homemade Ranch dressing

Dinner

• 17g Worthington vegetarian Skallops dipped in cornmeal and deep-fried with ketchup
• Carrot sticks, cucumber slices, and homemade Ranch dressing
• Peaches
• 2g Pumpkin Bread with Peanut Butter

My total protein intake for the day coming from a variety of sources is roughly 47 grams of protein. The most important thing I glean from this review is that people automatically think you have to eat parts of an animal to get enough protein to live. So without calculating it, people eat more meat products than they need to. And what so few people realize is that excess protein turns to sugar and fat in the body, which people definitely don't want! I learned this in biology class years ago, but I found a website that explains it very well. It's just one more reason I'm happy being a vegetarian.

Where do you get your daily protein allowance? Please share by commenting below.

Would you like to know what we're eating next?