help please! i need fat and protein

hello fellow veg-heads (as i like to call myself anyway...),

the past few days i've been eating super-duper healthy - grains, fruits, veggies..and some dairy...

but i am finding it really hard to get my fat and protein levels up to a decent range. today for example, my log shows that i have about 12% fat, 14% protein. i eat tofu products, sometimes drink soy milk...

is there any food (vegetarian obviously) which could help me get my fat and protein up? i don't like avocados so don't suggest that!! :)

anything else??

thanks a bunch

EDIT: i am looking for low-cal options. i could easily boost my fat and protein by eating peanut butter but i'd have to sacrifice like 300 calories just for good ol PB in order to benefit from the fat/protein.

Hiya,

For proteins, have dairy products like milk, yogurt and cheese.  Also beans, legumes and lentils are good sources of proteins.  We vegetarians should eat alot more beans products in order to get in enough proteins.  Don't know if you like peanut butter but I'm a sucker for that, good fat and proteins.

Fat like olive oil, nuts and seeds, yeah that sorta thing.

Hope it helps.

Joey

Ground flax seed, nuts and seeds.  Try to cut out dairy products and introduce lentils and beans.  Avocados are a good source of healthy fat.

I cook with small amounts of olive oil.  Ground flax seed I eat everyday in my oatmeal.  I use a protein powder (recently switched to ground hempseed) in smoothies after my work outs.

Fellow veghead,
:)

I don't like avocados either... so I'm with you on that one =P Even though... I recently tried to make guacamole and I liked it. The yucky avocado taste somehow became tasteful joined with cherry tomatoes and cilantro.

I actually avoid tofu because it has too many fat grams... The cereal I have every morning has some brazil nuts so it ends up having 8g of fat, and 6g of protein (<a href="http://www.calorie-count.com/calories/item/98 274.html">Here for the nutrition facts</a>). At 220 cals for 3/4 cup I don't consider it high call, not low cal like many other cereal, but it suits me since that is all I have for breakfast. I also add a tbsp of flax seed oil to my cereal every morning, which gives me 11g of fat (all the daily recommendation of omega 3,6 and 9).

I also have soy yogurt daily which is a good source of protein and it has 3g of fat.

I'd consider adding some beans like garbanzos and black beans, maybe some nuts. I know they're high in fat, but you could use the fat. I had the same issues with fats. I added flaxseed meal to my breakfast, its a good source of healthy fats (i think around 13g and only 120 calories). Since you eat dairy, you could add some low-fat dairy into your diet as opposed to non-fat. soy yogurts are higher fat and protein. mmm. Protein is the hard one, but the beans should really help out, along with veggie burgers or chilis or stews if you cook. I hope that helped you.

You actually don't need any more fat in your diet to be healthy.  You only need 4-6% of your calories to be fat in order for you to process fat-soluble vitamins.  Also, patients on the Ornish eating plan have their fat intake restricted to 10% of calories, and this amount of fat can reverse heart disease.  However, you probably do need a bit more protein.  Beans are a great way to do that.

I agree with lazuri that the quantity of fat in your diet is sufficient.  The quality of the fat is of course another matter.  By eating ground flax seeds (as someone else suggested) and walnuts, you would be getting foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, that are important for maintaining good brain function into our later years.

As far as the protein goes, the amount you are getting appeared quite sufficient to me.  It is about the same percentage of protein that I eat, and I know that I'm getting enough grams of protein to meet my requirements.

I put ground flaxseed in my morning oatmeal.  It's great for omega-3s and a little extra fiber.  Definitely consider more beans and lentils.  There's a wonderful variety of them and they all have different qualities.  I also cook a lot of indian foods because many hindus have been vegetarian for several thousand years, and imho they figured out how to do it right!  This site has some great looking possibilities:
http://www.syvum.com/recipes/ivrindex.html

Egg Whites?  I boil up about 8 eggs at a time.  They will stay good for nearly a month.  Then I can grab and eat just the white without hassle.  The puppies get the yoke.  They love that. ~ Lost Artist
.

Magic - ever tried any of the soy "meat" products?  My DD is a lacto-ovo vegetarian and loves the MorningStar products. Some folks shy away from this stuff, I know.  I like them too and use them often as well.  Here's a brief rundown of what's in our freezer right now-

chicken patties - 1 = 150 cal 9g protein (1g sat fat-6 fat gr ttl)

buffalo wings - 5 = 200 cal 12g protein (1.5 sat fat-9g fat ttl)

sausage patties -1 = 80 cal 10g protein (.5 sat fat 3g ttl)

bacon - 2 strips = 60 cal 2g protein (.5 sat fat- 4.5 fat gr ttl)

She loves to use the bacon for BLT's or a sauage pattie with egg and cheese for her own breakfast sandwich.  I often use just 2-3 of the "wings" chopped up on a salad.  Very tasty.  She makes her own sandwiches to take to school with the chicken products.

Hard-boiled egg whites, like somebody mentioned.  Low-fat cheese and milk.  Beans and (brown) rice together make a complete protein. 

I know you said no avocados.  I'm not crazy about them either but drown them in salsa and spread it on a tortilla -- not so bad.

There's this food item that's essentially a really healthy bread dough with most of the moisture removed from it so it makes for a passable meat substitute in casseroles and such.  I know it starts with a "T" -- can anyone help me out?

Hummus is like, a diet staple for me.

I'm on the Ornish reversal program.  They recommend that you don't fall below 6% total fats.  4% is too low.  I stay between 6 to 8%, sometimes going up to the maximum 10%.  12% sounds good.

I'm usually able to keep my protein at a minimum of 50 to 60 grams on a 1200 to 1500 calorie diet.  I use Life Extension protein powder (whey) when I need it. 

Protein is everywhere in smaller amounts.  Is tempeh what you're looking for?  TVP, seitan, tempeh, and tofu are good protein sources along with all of the above mentioned.  I do have to use egg whites to keep up, but that is mostly because I haven't yet learned to use the soy products efficiently.

Ezekiel cereal claims to be an almost complete protein mix of grains.

Forgot to mention MorningStar and Boca.  Those that fit into my program are the Boca original burger.  The roasted onion slips in fairly well.  Boca has a chili that works well for my plan, also, but some of the products go over 3 grams of fat which is my limit per serving.

I like the Morningstar meal starters - steak strips and chicken.  When I really want a meat fajita they take the edge off.

Here's what I ate today. It is really healthy, well balanced, and has a proper amount of fat, carbs, protein, etc.

B: 2 servings firm tofu, 1 tbsp nayonnaise, 1 medium banana
S: 1 luna bar, black coffee
L: 2 slices 100% ww bread, 2 tbsp raw unsalted almond butter, 1 oz dried apricots, 1 cup silk light vanilla soymilk
S: 1 large apple
D: 1 cup ww pasta, 1/2 cup tomato sauce, 1 serving Trader Joe's meatless meatballs, 1/2 large bell pepper
S: 2 servings tums (for calcium), 1 multi-vitamin.

It totals to aprox 1645 calories, 46g fat (aprox 27%), 4g saturated fat, 265g carbs (aprox 55%), 35g fiber, & 70g of protein (aprox 18%), which is perfect for the amount of exercise I do (30 - 90 mins daily).

For proteins you should look into a protein combining; Red beans and brown rice combine to give you a complete protein intake. What about an egg white omelette? Or, instead of having plain baby carrots has a snack, have baby carrots with hummus. You could also try having a glass of skim milk with a meal. If you have a salad, throw in some olives. I think the trick is to sneak in your protein and fat throughout the day.

Someone in this thread mentioned tofu having too much fat.  They do make light tofu and it tastes pretty much the same.  FYI :)