Vegetarian teen, need protein?

Hi everyone! okay so i have a question that nobody seems to be able to answer! I'm 14 years old, and i am a proud vegetarian. My mom insists i need more protein, but alot of the protein filled foods are very high cal. Also, i am allergic to nuts so i cant even get protein from that like most people suggest. Does anyone have any good ideas for food I can eat that is high in protein and filling?

how much protein are you trying to get? the average person is actually getting way too much. so your mom might be thinking that you're not getting enough, when you actually are fine. but it also depends on your needs--if you're trying to build muscle, you'll need to get more.

i'm a vegan and i get my protein from beans, whole grains, and tofu. but do you eat eggs? they're a very good source of protein as well as cheese. fake meats have alot of protein but watch the sodium (i try to stay away from them anyway because they're so processed)

yes i eat eggs,milk,cheese etc. and i also buy the fake meats, such as boca burgers and morningstar farms ..but i DO notice my hair thinning a bit, which my mom says is from the lack of protein. What do you find has the most protein in it?

yeah, lack of protein causes hair loss. if you don't have enough time to really cook or plan your diet, fake meat is the best way to go cuz it's high protein for a small serving.

Egg whites are great, less then 5 cal/gram of protein.

Egg whites are what I use to top off my daily protein needs, without them many days I would be short 15-20 grams of protein.

Scott

Skim milk, 90cal a cup,  8.5g protein. All sorts of beans.  Yogurt, but watch out for chemicals and all that weird stuff some companies put in it (especially if you're concerned about insect wings that could go into the coloring, which you may not want with your vegetarian choice).  Eggs, 70cal for a large and 6g+ protein.

Broccoli, 30cal a cup and 2.5g protein; when cooked it's smaller, so you can eat enough to get a substantial amount of protein without feeling stuffed.  Kale, same as broccoli.  Dried Spirulina seaweed, 45cal a cup, 8.5g protein. Potatoes, 150 cal for a medium one with  4g+ protein.

Whole, regular oatmeal, ~4g protein per 100cal serving.   Special K, 120cal a cup, 7g protein. 

And of course, numerous protein bars and powders. :]

Yay for being a vegetarian so young! I have been a full veg for 5 years now and gave up pork and red meat at the age of 9. Can you have soy? I have a friend allergic to nuts and also to soy too. Boca burgers are fabulous! They taste awesome! One burger has 70 calories, .5g of fat, only 6g of carbs, and 13g of protein. they are great to cook with. I make quasadilias with them, wraps, put them in pasta, all kinds of things. Tofu is so great for you! Its low calories I believe under 90 per serving, low to no fat and again you can do anything with them! Egg whites are great too! One cup of egg whites scrambled has 107 calories and like 26g of protein. Dairy is great! Cheese has good sources of proteins too. Soy milk high protein, low fat and good. I like special k meal bars. They have 180 calories, great flavors, 5g of fat, and 10g of protein, and they keep you full which is great. Most protein bars are very high calorie and high fat and taste like chalk! Whey protein is awesome too. They are so many options out there now for us. Good luck!

There are some great ideas here. All I want to add is that you should try logging your food over, say, a week, and then click on 'analysis' to see what percentage of it has been protein. It should be about 30%. If you're already getting that much, there might be some other reason your hair is falling out. Go see a doctor.

Also, don't worry too much about protein often being higher in calories. It's also more filling, and you NEED a certain amount of fat to keep your body going. I just had a boiled egg on toast for breakfast, and it'll keep me going twice as long as the same amount of cereal.

In addition to tofu, try tempeh & seitan as meat substitutes.

I love to put a scoop of vanilla whey protein powder in my dannon light and fit yogurt it is only an extra 50 cal but adds 10 grams of protein to the allready 7 grams of protein in the yogurt. So for 110 cal you can have a super yummy 17 grams of protein packed yogurt. (the best flavors are peach and cherry vanilla!)