Skip to content

Top Navigation

Cooking Light Cooking Light
  • Recipes
  • Cooking 101
  • Eating Smart
  • Healthy Living
  • News

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Email Preferences

Manage Your Subscription

  • All Access Subscribers
  • Magazine Subscribers
  • Cooking Light Diet Subscribers
Login
Logout
SUBSCRIBE
Pin FB

Explore Cooking Light

Cooking Light Cooking Light
  • Explore

    Explore

    • 31-Day Healthy Meal Plan

      Our 31-day calendar of meals and tips shows you how to cook more and love it with fun, family-friendly meals that come together quickly and deliciously. Read More
    • Dinner Tonight: Quick and Healthy Menus in 45 Minutes (or Less)

      Hundreds of delicious recipes, paired with simple sides, that can be on your table in 45 minutes or less. Read More
    • Our Favorite Healthy Air Fryer Recipes

      Who ever said that chicken wings, doughnuts, and pizza couldn't be healthy? Read More
  • Recipes

    Recipes

    See All Recipes
    • Breakfast & Brunch
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Drinks
    • Recipe Makeovers
    • Quick & Healthy
    • Diabetic
    • Gluten-Free
    • Vegetarian
    • Cooking Light Live
  • Cooking 101

    Cooking 101

    See All Cooking 101
    • Essential Ingredients
    • Cooking Techniques
    • Meet the Chef
    • Cooking Resources
    • Budget Friendly
    • Smart Choices
  • Eating Smart
  • Healthy Living

    Healthy Living

    See All Healthy Living
    • Weight-Loss
    • Health
    • Fitness
    • Home
    • Travel
    • Nutrition 101
  • News

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Email Preferences

Manage Your Subscription

  • All Access Subscribers
  • Magazine Subscribers
  • Cooking Light Diet Subscribers
Login
Logout
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home
  2. Recipes
  3. Beyond Tofu: 3 Smart Plant-Based Proteins

Beyond Tofu: 3 Smart Plant-Based Proteins

May 26, 2015
Each product we feature has been independently selected and reviewed by our editorial team. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.
Skip gallery slides
Pin
Credit: Photo: Randy Mayor
These options all cater to a wide range of diners, from those who are committed to a plant-based diet to those who dabble. By: Alison Ashton
Start Slideshow

1 of 4

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Benefits of a Plant-Based Diet

Credit: Illustration: Sarah Wilkins

Call it what you like: vegetarian, vegan, flexitarian, plant-based, vegetable-forward cuisine. It all adds up to us gobbling more vegetables and less meat. "Once we hit 54% of Americans now looking to reduce or completely eliminate meat from their diet, that's not fringe anymore," says Karen Page, author of The Vegetarian Flavor Bible. "That's mainstream, and chefs are changing in response to the customers."

There has never been a more delicious time for food lovers to focus on plants.

1 of 4

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 4

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

1. Go for Whole Grains

Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey

Grains are a great way to get protein—as long as you opt for whole varieties, since those refined to remove their bran and germ sacrifice up to 25% of their protein, along with a host of other nutrients. Quinoa and amaranth (known as pseudograins because they're technically seeds) are particular favorites because they're complete proteins that boast all nine essential amino acids. But other whole grains, from your morning oatmeal to your lunchtime bulgur salad, offer varying levels of protein as well, so enjoy a variety. There's also meaty-textured seitan, made from wheat gluten and nicknamed "wheat meat." It's best marinated, then baked, fried, grilled, sautéed, or stir-fried.

PROTEIN TALLY: 5 to 9 grams per cup, depending on the variety, for cooked whole grains; 21 grams per 3-ounce serving of seitan

2 of 4

3 of 4

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

2. Bean Cuisine

Credit: Photo: Johnny Autry

"There are far more beans and lentils than there are animal proteins," says Dawn Jackson Blatner, RDN, author of The Flexitarian Diet. "When I think of Italian food, I think of white beans. When I think of Mexican food, I think of pinto beans or black beans." Garbanzo beans are a natural in Greek and Middle Eastern fare, while edamame is right at home in an Asian stir-fry. Legumes are turning up everywhere—from variations on hummus to roasted chickpea snacks to pastas. And soybeans deserve a special mention, since they're the source of such versatile meatless standbys as tofu and tempeh. "Plants protect people," Blatner says. "And what are they protecting them from? Obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer."

PROTEIN TALLY: 7 to 8 grams of protein per ½ cup

3 of 4

Advertisement

4 of 4

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

3. Add Nuts and Seeds

Credit: Photo: Randy Mayor

Whole nuts and seeds are two of the world's easiest and most satisfying snacks. Use toasted nuts as a garnish over salads and oatmeal or incorporated into a veggie burger mix. Nut and seed butters are tasty thickeners in soups and smoothies, and they add great flavor to sauces and dressings; try tahini (ground sesame seeds) as a base for salad dressing. Nut-based flours lend flavor—and protein—to baked goods.

PROTEIN TALLY: 4 to 7 grams per ounce of whole nuts and seeds or nut and seed butter, depending on the variety. They're calorically dense, too (about 170 calories per ounce), so enjoy them in moderation.

4 of 4

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 4 Benefits of a Plant-Based Diet
    2 of 4 1. Go for Whole Grains
    3 of 4 2. Bean Cuisine
    4 of 4 3. Add Nuts and Seeds

    Share & More

    Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message
    Cooking Light

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Customer Service this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise

    Connect

    MeredithCooking Light is part of the Allrecipes Food Group. © Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Cooking Light may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright Cooking Light. All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.cookinglight.com

    View image

    Beyond Tofu: 3 Smart Plant-Based Proteins
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.