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Comment by justboxing | Hacker News Reader

Thanks. Do you know of any naturally-high-in-protein plant-based source that isn't soy (i.e. tofu etc) or hemp?

Asking cos I've had a hard time finding protein dense plant based alternatives, and as a vegetarian, it's really hard to get a lot of proteins from plant-based sources without processed stuff like Vega etc.

I do eat quinoa but 1) it's very expensive and 2) you have to eat 2 or 3 cups of cooked quinoa to get like 25 gms of protein which is a lot of quinoa per day.

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I think there have even been studies that correlate all protein intake (regardless of source) inversely with longevity, so I try not to get too worked up about not having a meal with a lot of it. Beans, lentils, peanuts, etc. have a decent amount of protein, but even bread has protein and nowadays it's not hard to find high fiber, high protein bread. I love meat so this is all difficult, and I hope to eat less over time. I think it's a balance between the short-term benefits of protein (energy, muscle) and the long term effects of high protein consumption (tough on your organs).

There is protein powder available from plant only sources, like pea protein. It is obviously processed(not sure how strictly you are against processing), but 'pea protein(extracted from yellow peas)' is the only ingredient in my whole foods version. 20g of it has 15g protein, <1g carbs, 1.5g fat.

edit: Just looked up vega and it looks like it is just plant protein like I recommended - sorry about that. What's wrong with extracting proteins out of plant matter? You don't end up with any noticeable amount of reagents or any intermediaries in the final product, thanks to chemistry.

Plant sources tend to have a higher ratio of calories to protein, so it's tough if you're limiting calories. Chickpeas, eggplant, and tahini all have protein; Trader Joe's Eggplant Hummus has all three, but somehow manages to claim a lower calorie-to-protein ratio than any of its ingredients (not sure how that can work). Mushrooms are good too. Also seitan if you don't mind something a little more "processed".

> somehow manages to claim a lower calorie-to-protein ratio than any of its ingredients

Hummus usually has more oil added on top of the tahini. And chickpeas are the main ingredient and they have a lot of starch on top of the protein.

Right, that's why I find their nutritional claim hard to believe: 2g protein per 35 KCal is better than tahini, eggplant, or chickpea individually.

Nuts.

To a lesser but still significant extent, legumes.

Soy is safe for all but a small few who are allergic. (true of any food)

The dairy industry did a stupendous job convincing people it will interfere with their hormones though. Master class in PR.

pea protein is a very cheap vegan source

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