No Meats.... No Problem!

This subject was requested by one of my dearest friends Katie! Her and my other friend Jenn do meals on Mondays called 'No Meat Mondays'. For those of you who think that to get protein, you have to mostly consume meat..... not true!

There are quite a few good sources of protein that don't involve meat! From the nut family such as peanuts, almonds, pistachios, cashews are very high in protein. Some as high as 9g per serving! Although keep in mind that this group is high in protein but pack a punch as far as calories. Don't freak out though, most of the calories are a result of the high amounts fats that you need everyday because they are good for your heart! Just be aware of the serving size! These nuts are good roasted with a little sweet spice, or a great substitute for croutons on salads if you want that crunchy ingredient!

Legumes are also a good source of proteins! Legumes include black beans, lima beans, pinto beans. Garbanzo beans (also known as chickpeas), and lentils. This group is a GREAT replacement for protein because they are also incredibly high in fiber per serving (usually about 1 cup)! Great meals to make with these include black bean burgers/burritos, lentil soups, and homemade hummus (with chickpeas)

There are also dairy products that are a good substitute for protein. Foods like cottage cheese, mozzarella, goats milk, goat cheese, whole milk, feta cheese, and greek yogurt are all good sources of protein.

My personal favorite source of protein is...... EGGS! Eggs have the highest biological value of protein. In fact, when the quality of protein in a food is assessed, it is compared to the egg. The best part is you can use eggs in almost anything! Sandwiches, omlets stuffed with veggies, burritos (and throw in some black beans!), boiled and cut for salads.... the list goes on and on!

So as you can see there are TONS of alternate sources of protein that don't involve meat, and this is just the tip of the iceberg! Below, I included a list of sources of recipes that are high in protein and don't include any meat. If you want to do your own research, if you just search 'high protein vegetarian recipes' there are a lot of results there as well!

http://www.choose-healthy-food.com/high-protein-recipes.html Out of all the 'non-meat' recipe sources I looked at, I really like this one the best! it also includes HUMMUS recipes!!!

http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/vegetarian-no-meat-meals-pg-935545/view-all/  33 NON MEAT meals that everyone in the family can enjoy!

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbooks.asp?cookbook=58148

Eat Happy, Live healthy

Lindsay