How Do You Get Enough Protein?

I have received many questions about being vegetarian over the years. One of the most common has been "How do you get enough protein?".

According to Kristen Rindress, R.D., "The average American eats twice as much protein as they need. The DRI for protein for a healthy adult is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram per day, which translates to 54 g/day for a 150 pound person*." Plant protein foods more often are naturally low in saturated fat and high in fiber. Try beans, peas, soy products, nuts, and seeds in recipes such as Chili Con Tofu, Candied Walnuts with Herb Salad and Paprika Spiced Hummus.

Here is a list of vegetarian protein sources: [1]

AMOUNT PROTEIN(gm)
Soy Products:
Tempeh 1 cup 30
Soybeans, cooked 1 cup 22
Tofu, firm 4 oz 11
Tofu, regular 4 oz 9
Textured Vegetable
Protein (TVP), cooked 1/2 cup 8
Soy milk, plain 1 cup 7

Beans:
Lentils, cooked 1 cup 18
Black beans, canned 1 cup 15
Kidney beans, canned 1 cup 13
Chickpeas, cooked 1 cup 12
Pinto beans, canned 1 cup 12

Vegetables:
Peas, cooked 1 cup 9
Spinach, cooked 1 cup 5
Broccoli, cooked 1 cup 4
Potato 1 med. 6 oz 4

Nuts and Seeds:
Peanut butter 2 Tbsp 8
Walnuts 1 oz 7
Almond butter 2 Tbsp 5
Sunflower seeds 1/4 cup 6

Grains:
Seitan(kind of a grain)4 oz 26
Quinoa, cooked 1 cup 9
Spaghetti, cooked 1 cup 8
Bulgur, cooked 1 cup 6
Whole wheat bread 2 slices 5
Brown rice, cooked 1 cup 5

You can see, it is actually quite easy to meet your protein needs with a well-balanced vegetarian diet.

Remember to sign up on Find us on Facebook, Follow us on Twitter, View our videos on YouTube and Visit our blog. Currently, we are pairing each That's Vegetarian recipe with wines from the BevMo 5 Cent Sale. It makes sense for those of us in California and parts of Arizona. For my Buffalo peeps, I could do the same when Premier is having their sale. Let me know when "that" store in your neck of the woods has their wine sale and Sherrie Smith, TVeg's Official Sommelier, and I can pair those wines for you with our recipes.

Go to That's Vegetarian and watch one (or all) of the recipe videos, print the recipe(s), and prepare any one of the dishes. You'll find yourself saying"That's Vegetarian?!"

* 0.8 grams/kilogram is approximately 0.36 grams/pound
[1] USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 23, 2010

Umami

In trying to figure out what this week's newsletter would be, my roommate mentioned 'umami'.  I thought what a brilliant idea!!!  Perhaps you are agreeing.  Perhaps you are thinking huh???

Umami is the Japanese word for delicious or savory.  It is essentially the fifth 'primary' taste. I learned of sweet, sour, salty and bitter back in the days of elementary school.  Studies in the late 1800's - early 1900's by French chef Auguste Escoffier and Dr. Kikunae Ikeda of Tokyo Imperial University document the savory "taste imparted by glutamate, a type of amino acid, and ribonucleotides, including inosinate and guanylate which occur naturally in many foods."[1]  By the 1980's with additional studies being performed, umami gained status as a fifth 'primary' taste which helps signify the presence of proteins in the food you are eating.

Some specific sources for that fifth taste - umami for vegetarians would be

• Seaweed & kelp 
• Tomatoes, carrots, Chinese cabbage, asparagus 

  Cabrales Cheese

• Mushrooms: Shitake, Enokaitake, Truffles
• Soy beans
• Potatoes & sweet potatoes
• Cheese: Parmesan, Emmental, Cabrales
• Green tea
• Soy sauce

I encourage the sensuality of food.  It is not only in the taste that we enjoy what we consume.  It is a sensual experience.  Below is a diagram exemplifying the way we enjoy what we eat.   

How we enjoy food. [1]

That's Vegetarian's Creamy Polenta with Creamy Polenta with Caramelized Fennel and Onions with Balsamic Mushrooms is quite savory (or umami) as well as the Cream of Tomato Soup. 

Remember to sign up on Facebook , Twitter, YouTube and subscribe to this blog.  Currently, we are pairing each That's Vegetarian recipe with wines from the BevMo 5 Cent Sale.  It makes sense for those of us in California and parts of Arizona.  For my Buffalo peeps, I could do the same when Premier is having their sale.  Let me know when "that" store in your neck of the woods has their wine sale and Sherrie Smith, TVeg's Official Sommelier, and I can pair those wines for you with our recipes. 

Go to That's Vegetarian and watch one (or all) of the recipe videos, print the recipe(s), and prepare any one of the dishes.  You'll find yourself saying "That's Vegetarian?!"

[1] Umami Info

That's Vegetarian - The Journey

I love to cook.  I am vegetarian.  I thoroughly enjoy wine.  I love to teach.  I constantly watch cooking shows and wonder how I can make the recipe vegetarian and what wine would go best with it.  The journey begins on creating a vegetarian cooking show to encourage people to eat one vegetarian meal a week.  By providing delicious, satisfying recipes, how to videos and an accompanying wine, I hope to make it an easy and enjoyable adventure for all.  There are many tips that I have learned throughout the years that I look forward to sharing with you.

Thank you for embarking on this journey with me.  Watch and download the recipes at  www.thatsvegetarian.com.  Prepare the dish.  It will leave you saying "That's Vegetarian?!".

Eggplant Zucchini Parmesan Napoleon

As much as I love to cook (and eat!), occasionally I'm excited to discover things I still don't know.  I described my healthier version of Eggplant Zucchini Parmesan I was making for the show to a friend.  She then informed me that it was more like an Eggplant Napoleon.  Learn something new everyday!

Many people will salt the eggplant first in order to draw out some of the moisture and to remove the bitter flavor. Let it sit for about 30 minutes, rinse and pat dry before cooking.  I don't always do that and find the eggplant tastes just fine.  Some people will cut off the skin too.  Find what works for you.

Prepare the Eggplant Zucchini Parmesan Napoleon and you'll find yourself saying "That's Vegetarian?!"

Eggplant Zucchini Parmesan Napoleon 

1 Eggplant, about 5" long, sliced in 1/2" slices  

2 Zucchini, about 3" long, sliced in 1/4 " slices

Salt 

1 c Vegetarian pasta sauce

8 oz Shredded low fat mozzarella

8 oz Fat free ricotta cheese

Sal y pimienta or extra virgin olive oil

After slicing the eggplant, lightly salt it and let it sweat for 30 minutes.  Rinse and pat dry.   

Spray the grill pan with olive oil and turn to med heat.  Place eggplant and zucchini on grill pan.  Cook on first side until soft for about 5 minutes.  Once malleable, flip eggplant and zucchini to other side.  Should see grill marks.  Cook for another 4 minutes.   Lower heat to med low.  Add about 1-2t of ricotta cheese on each zucchini and eggplant.   Sprinkle 1-2t of shredded mozzarella on each piece then 1T of pasta sauce to each piece.  Cover the grill pan to aid in the melting and heating up of the cheese, about 5 min.  Check the underside carefully not to disturb the cheese on top to see if there are substantial grill marks.    

Plate the eggplant and zucchini.  Top with fresh ground pepper and oil.

Prep time: 15 min (40 if you salt the eggplant) 

Cook time:  25 min

Serves 4

Difficulty level: Medium 

(7pp)

Where to Find Nutritional Information

Choosing to become vegetarian nearly 20 years ago had many reasons behind it.  At that time, there was the "red meat is so bad for you" craze, my father died of a massive heart attack at 45, high blood pressure and high cholesterol ran in my family not to mention battling the chubby bug since I was born.  I did not want that for me. "Is eating animals right?" was also part of the decision but we'll save that for another time. 

As the years have gone by, I have been a healthy vegetarian and an unhealthy dessertatarian.  I think I fall somewhere in the middle these days, but I feel I am making much more conscious decisions about what I eat.  There are so many resources available the Internet.  Many of you have connected to That's Vegetarian through facebook, Twitter, and YouTube and have seen some of this information.  For those of you who haven't, please do like, follow and subscribe, respectively, so you can receive this information as I find it.

Last week, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released the food pyramid replacement - Choose My Plate.  I find the website to have a lot of information on it with regards to choosing healthy foods. They have a section in Tips & Resources discussing how to get the essential nutrients in a vegetarian diet.

I have also encountered Nutrition Data from Self Magazine.  You type the food you want the nutritional facts for and it gives you an extremely detailed analysis of the food item.  For example, I entered asparagus.  This is part of asparagus's nutritional data:

Part of my journey has been to learn how much food to eat in a day.  I went to Weight Watchers for help.  I liked the way the I could translate food into Points (now the improved Points Plus), know what my limit was for the day and be able to cook my own food. The algorithm that calculates the Points Plus value of food generally makes good for you, fresh, non-processed foods a better bargain for you to consume.  There are websites and apps that use a similar program based on calories.  ChooseMyPlate.gov has that information to an extent, but I want to hear from you!! 

Is there a website you like to go to or an app you use on your smartphone that helps you with your nutritional needs or caloric intake?   Comment below.

  

Go to That's Vegetarian and watch one (or all) of the recipe videos, print the recipe(s), and prepare any one of the dishes.  You'll find yourself saying "That's Vegetarian?!"