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A vegetarian diet is perfectly capable of providing you with protein
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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The most common myth about vegetarian diets is probably that vegetarians don't get enough protein. According to the USDA, women need about 46 grams of protein each day, and men need about 56 grams. Athletes and nursing mothers need more, of course. But that's not what's surprising. What's surprising is that vegetarian diets are great at providing you with protein. And they do it much better than meat-based diets.
Let's go over the basics. Take a steak. It has an average of 23 grams of protein. That's great and a lot, but along with that protein, you also get 14 grams of fat and 224 calories. So you eat the steak, and your body gets important, healthy proteins. But it gets all the fat and extra calories that you don't need.
Vegetarians and vegans don't need to eat a "heavy" steak from a slaughtered animal - they know hundreds of great ways to get protein from plant foods. This protein is not burdened with any fats and is easily digestible. The Huffington Post has compiled a list of the eight vegetarian foods richest in protein especially for you.
Here it is:
- Lentils (18 grams of protein in one bowl of lentil soup)
- Greek yogurt (13 to 18 grams of protein per cup)
- Beans (one cup of beans contains about 15 grams of protein)
- Tofu (half a serving of tofu is 10 grams of pure protein)
- Tempeh (15 grams in half a glass)
- Spinach (5 grams of protein per cup of fresh greens)
- Quinoa (8 grams of protein, plus lots and lots of fiber)
- Nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, peanuts, pistachios and all other types of nuts are an excellent and very animal-friendly source of protein)
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