You know how WordPress gives you those top search terms for your blog? Well, one of mine for the day is “crispy chicken burger patties recipe.” I have a feeling they didn’t find what they were looking for. Especially since Monday featured an entirely vegan day of mega protein, and I’m back today with another effort. I’m ramping up my protein intake to meet ramped up gym efforts–I’m going to talk more about the how and why of that at some point this week–and I want to share easy ways to add a few extra grams (although of course the grand total is more than average-ly needed).
Today’s post also happily lines up with WIAW: The Summer Staples, since (A) this is what I ate and (B) it includes lots of fresh and in-season goodies from my garden.
Breakfast: 4:00 am. 20g.
(Oats + Hemp Protein + Nooch)
Green mush in a green bowl? Savory oats are delicious, looks aside. Starting the day with a simple, non-sweet and filling bowl of carbs and protein was the right choice.
Mid-Morning: 7:30 am. 25g.
(Green Protein + Banana + Garden Fresh Collard Greens)
I promise, some of today’s food involves more than containers-with-green-stuff. Don’t let the looks and the simple ingredients fool you, this was delicious with just the right amount of sweet.
Lunch: 11:00 am. 14g.
(Red Lentils + Curry Spices + Garden Fresh Eggplant, Tomato and Okra)
See? I promised there was variety! Container-with-brown-stuff.
Mid-Afternoon: 2:00pm. 19g.
(Chickpeas + Nooch + Garlic + Garden Fresh Basil and Tomato)
I know, I know–more green, but this? This is spectacular. I spread this dip on a couple slices of toast, and it was like pizza. Or power-bruschetta at the very least.
Dinner: 5:00 pm. 35g.
(Homemade Seitan + Portobello + Onion + Garden Fresh Peppers)
I went to AJ’s for trashy TV shows and best friend time and made deconstructed fajitas that were at least acceptable to the non-vegan, non-protein-crazy palate.
Dessert: 8:00 pm. 21g.
(Tofu + Protein…Eaten Near a Garden)
Pudding in a tea cup? I am the embodiment of class. Just don’t look at the old plastic containers I dump everything else in…
Grand Total: 134g of Protein.
While this wasn’t as photogenic of a day as Monday, every one of these meals was delicious, doable, and full of protein! I felt great by the end of the day, and any set-backs were minor ones.
4 AM breakfast? Girl how on earth are you awake that early????
And the curry looks wonderful! I’ve been on a big Indian food kick lately and I ordered some Indian spices from World Market – do you have any favorite curry recipes?
I have the weirdest sleep habits ever, that’s how, haha. I am a morning person to the extreme.
And here’s my go-to easy-to-use guide to non-authentic curry:
1C dried legumes, soaked overnight (lentils, etc.) or grains like rice or quinoa (not soaked)
Whatever vegetables I have in the fridge, freezer or garden
Fresh ginger and garlic (lots, of course)
A combination of curry powder (2-3 t), turmeric (2-3 t) and cumin (1/2-1 T)–Or your World Market spices!
Salt to taste
Enough liquid (water or broth, maybe some coconut milk if you want to get fancy) for the right consistency
I dump it all in a crockpot and leave it for the day–until the legume is soft/cooked (checking liquid every so often to see if more is needed), but you could easily do the same thing on the stove. Not exactly a “recipe,” but it is SO flexible and is a super simple and quick way to use what you have on hand and get a good, complete meal. The results freeze well, too. So if you make a huge batch and don’t want to burn out by eating it for every meal–save it for later!
Holy cow that’s a lot of protein!!! That’s awesome!! I love how you find so many vegan sources of protein!
wowzers, have some protein girl!! Great job there. and Im pretty horrid at getting in protein, but Im trying to up it! The worst part for me is breakfast…
Do you set your alarm to get up that early?? What do you do all morning? How early do you go to bed?
I set a “peace of mind” alarm for 4:15, but I can’t remember the last time it’s gone off–I usually wake up on my own a little before 4. And in the morning? Breakfast, gym and general getting ready for the day. My workday starts at 7, so I have to get an early start if I want to get anything done before then. Now I want to do one of those minute-by-minute daily schedule posts…
I love those schedule posts! I’m always curious to see how others spend their days.
I was really looking forward to seeing you day of eats. Awesome job on the protein! Make sure you’re drinking a ton of water too (at least a gallon).
Can I just follow you around and eat? I am all over your lunch, snack and dinner!
Thanks! And I did some math to figure out what a gallon of water is…and it’s five of the water bottle I have sitting on my desk at work…and I was already drinking that much on a daily basis, haha. So at least one new habit I don’t have to form! Phew, slightly easier…
And oh my gosh, my meals definitely improved as the day went on! That dinner was killer, it’s definitely going to reappear in my life. Many times. Thank goodness I made and froze a bunch of that “meat.” Plus, since it’s homemade, it doesn’t have the same insane amounts of sodium as grocery store seitan/fake meat.
For sure – I was amazed at how well seitan froze!
That chickpea spread looks so good! The combo sounds very pesto-ish…which is always a good idea in my opinion! Nice going on your eats- you & Laura really are proof that the whole ‘vegans don’t get enough protein claim is a load of BS!
Awesome protein roundup! I’ve been trying to add more to my diet and look forward to these posts. Thanks!
I’m envious of your morning personality. I am caught in this really awkward middle-ground where I have a tendency to function six hours of sleep or less. Now that I workout in the morning, I’m up at 6am and at work at 8am. I’ve been toying with getting up earlier for a longer workout, but I almost never fall asleep before midnight (unless it’s on the couch…). There was a period in my early 20s where I would get up at 4am and hit the gym, though! I was in bed by 10pm. Ha!
You’ll be building all kinds of muscles with all this protein! I am all over your savory oats, lentils, and chickpea spread. Eating protein never tasted so good! Looking forward to your post about your ramped up gym efforts. I’m nosy.
I want some of that chickpea/nooch/basil dip in my life, stat. I am also guilty of the ugly food in ugly containers thing, but I think ugly food tastes better!
Oh man, turns out it’s a really easy thing to get in your life! New favorite dip, that’s for sure. And nothing tastes as good as huge bowls of brownish mushy curry…If only photos could capture the taste rather than just the mush
I love when my veg-friends show how they manage to adequately consume enough protein each day! And holy crap 4am – I am actually jealous I wish I could drag myself out of bed at that time!
What’s hemp protein like?! I’m pretty curious about it~And your lunch looks like a great combo! Hope you have a great day~:)
Wow I am so impressed on how much protein you can manage to get without meats/fish! I have tried savoury oats before, but just can’t do it. I think it’s the combination of the texture in flavour I just can barely swallow! That homemade seiten looks so fantastic! I have vital wheat gluten but I have never made homemade seiten before. Is there a recipe you follow?
I can definitely see that they wouldn’t be for everyone, but I have a hard time with sweet in the morning, so it’s the perfect solution for me! And I vaguely followed this recipe: http://vegandad.blogspot.com/2008/03/homemade-sausages.html for this particular seitan, with a few subs and additions.
Your lunch looks tasty! I love eggplant, so it totally sounds like something I would love!
Wow, and here I was feeling good about myself for waking up at 5:00 AM.
Totally impressed with your ability to get in vegan protein. I’m vegetatrian and still kind of struggling with it, so hats off to you
Well, if you ever need some protein advice, feel free to ask! And 5am is definitely a more normal “early” time to get up, haha.
all your food looks so good! Seriously – I love how it is not complicated, but everything looks tasty!