Healthy recipes for vegetarians, nutritionally balanced and not lacking in protein

As long as vegetarians eat "whole grains with complementary plant protein + daily supplements of bacteria, algae and nuts", it can fully meet the protein needs of different age groups and different exercise intensities. It can even avoid the metabolic burden caused by excessive red meat intake than an unbalanced omnivorous structure.

A while ago, I accompanied my friend Ayou, who has been a vegetarian for 6 years, for a physical check-up. Her albumin and hemoglobin indicators were all stuck in the optimal range, and her newly released half-marathon results were 8 minutes faster than last year. This was not the case when she first became a vegetarian - white rice and stir-fried cabbage every day. Within three months, her face became sallow and her hair fell out. When she went to the hospital to check her albumin, she almost hit the lowest level, and the doctor asked her if she was on a diet.

To be honest, many people think that vegetarianism must be deficient in protein. In fact, it is really a stereotype. Most of the people who fall into this trap are like Ayou who just became a vegetarian. They equate vegetarianism with "eating vegetables" and completely ignore the high-quality protein sources in plants. Of course, I don’t agree with what some vegetarian bloggers say, “Plant protein is 10,000 times better than animal protein.” Objectively speaking, single plant proteins do have amino acid shortcomings, such as rice lacking lysine and soybeans lacking methionine. When eaten alone, the protein utilization rate is indeed not as good as that of eggs and milk, but as long as it is paired correctly, the utilization rate can completely equal that of animal protein.

Oh, yes, there are several types of vegetarian food nowadays, including lacto-ovo vegetarian, vegan, and even raw food pie that only eats raw food. The needs are different and the matching logic is quite different. There is no need to stick to a unified template.

If you are just getting started on the olactozoate diet, protein supplementation is actually too simple. For breakfast, drink a cup of whole milk and a boiled egg, which will provide nearly 15g of high-quality protein. Add a multi-grain steamed bun with soybean noodles, take a small box of original almonds in the morning, and eat seven or eight when you are hungry. This is basically enough to meet your protein needs for the whole morning. My colleague is a lacto-ovo vegetarian, so I took a few bites of the lunch she brought every day: brown rice mixed with 1/3 chickpeas, a portion of fried dried celery, and a fried egg. Calculated, it has more than 30 grams of protein, which is higher than the protein content of the rice bowl I eat every day. She went to jazz dance after get off work at the same time, and she was not hungry for two hours.

If you are a vegetarian, don’t panic, just eat more processed soy products - the digestibility of whole soybeans is only about 60%, but after being made into tofu, senjang, tempeh, and soy milk, the digestibility can rise to more than 90%. Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS) Directly fill it up to 1, which is the same as the utilization rate of eggs and milk. I know a vegetarian fitness blogger who doesn’t use animal supplements at all during the muscle-building period. His daily diet is quinoa rice with grilled tofu + fried tempeh. After training, he drinks a cup of freshly ground thick soy milk and a spoonful of peanut butter. The protein intake can reach 1.8g per kilogram of body weight. The muscle lines he develops are smoother than many omnivorous fitness enthusiasts who eat creatine.

You can also hide some tricks when cooking. For example, when stewing cabbage, throw in a few bamboo fungus. It is so fresh that you don’t need to add chicken essence. The protein content of bamboo fungus is higher than that of lean pork.； When cooking multigrain rice, mix 1/4 of red beans or chickpeas, which just complements the amino acids of grains and doubles the utilization rate. ； Don’t always nibble on potato chips when fishing in the afternoon. Grab a handful of pumpkin seeds, which can not only supplement about 5g of protein, but also some zinc. It is much healthier than eating snacks.

Of course, I have to be honest. Vegan friends must supplement with extra vitamin B12. This is almost not found in plants. Don’t force yourself to take supplements. Take supplements when you need them. Don’t listen to others saying that “it’s useless to take supplements even if you’re a vegetarian.” Many omnivores are deficient in calcium and iron. Diets are inherently about supplementing whatever is lacking. No dietary structure is perfect.

I've seen people make excuses before, saying, "You said vegetarian food is so good, so why are so many monks in temples so skinny and sallow?" I dare not say anything else. Several friends I know who work as volunteers in temples include tofu, yuba, peanuts, and various mushrooms in their daily vegetarian meals. Most of the masters are strong and can climb mountains and plant trees in their eighties. How can they be so skinny and sallow? If we really want to say that there is a lack of nutrition, it is also a matter of random combination, and it really has nothing to do with whether we are vegetarian or not.

Finally, I would like to say something heartfelt. Whether you are a vegetarian for health or animal protection, you don’t need to put too much pressure on yourself. You don’t need to count the grams of protein every time. Eat different types of protein. Pay attention to the albumin and hemoglobin indicators during your annual physical examination. Just make adjustments if you are lacking. Happy eating and physical comfort are more important than anything else.

If you are too lazy to think about matching, you can just copy Ayou’s daily meal template and change the ingredients:

For breakfast, you can choose soybean flour pancakes with fried tofu and 10 pumpkin seeds, or oatmeal with a spoonful of peanut butter.； Each lunch is guaranteed to include "multigrain rice/quinoa + mixed beans/soy products + mushrooms". You can choose from stir-fried chickpeas and broccoli, stir-fried shiitake mushrooms, and stewed tofu with mixed mushrooms. ； Dinner should be light. A bowl of millet porridge with cold yuba is enough. If you are hungry, you can add half a corn. As long as you have a combination of grains + high-quality plant protein + bacteria, algae/nuts for each meal, you don’t have to worry about protein deficiency.