My protein plan

A lot of people ask me what I'm going to do about protein, especially those who know I'm athletic. A lot of them stress protein shake supplements and multi-vitamins as being essential for vegetarians. I appreciate the concern, but through my research I've found that protein, vitamins and minerals are all easily attained in vegan diets. I had the exact same concerns as I was preparing to make the shift to being meat and dairy free, so I read up. What I found was that not only was it possible, but in fact vegetarian and veagn diets are healthier. And vegetarians, on average, live longer than omnivores. Protein is found in plant foods in high amounts, and is generally easier to absorb than meat protein. And, I was ingesting way to much protein before anyway, so now I'm more where I should be.

Here are a couple of online resources if you're interested. I like these because they give sample diets. This first one breaks down protein needs intricately. The second is more of an overview:
Protein in the vegan diet
Vegetarian nutrition

I'm also very interested in reading Thrive Fitness, by Brendan Brazier, an Ironman  triathlete who's a vegan. I'm interested in his intake and suggestions. Who knows, it might suck. But I don't think so, I checked out one of his earlier books at Borders last weekend and it was pretty interesting.

But, for now, my plan is as follows: Incorporate foods I know are high in protein as often as possible into my regular diet. And it's working so far. I've done cardio for hours on end, lifted weights and recovered, etc. If anything has changed it's that I have more energy. Maybe things will change, but for now I feel I'm getting adequate nutrition. I'll get a physical and bloodwork in a few months just to be sure. Here's my plan:

• Eat 2 pieces of whole grain toast for breakfast (12 grams protein), or high protein cereal with unsweetened almond, rice or soy milk
  
• A few servings of any kind of beans daily (a lot, depending on the bean). I usually make burritos with beans, or bean dip for chips, or add them to salads.
• Vegan energy bars made mostly with nuts—high in protein.
  
• Brown rice or white rice with my veggies and beans for maximum nutrient absorption
  
• Soy yogurt here and there (6-8 grams protein)
• Sprinkle various weird seeds on salads and stir fried veggies for minerals like iron, and some protein (sunflower, pine nuts, almond slivers, and these little green ones)
• 2-3 servings tofu every other day or so with veggies and brown rice
• Lentils on days I don't have beans. They have more protein than almost any other food.
  
• As many different colored veggies and fruits as possible. Some veggies have a surprising amount of protein, like broccoli
  
• Frozen dinners when in an emergency, but only ones high in protein and low in sodium, and vegan, of course

I'm still exploring right now, and I've been overwhelmed with great resources and recipes. So, I'll post what is working and what I'm liking as I figure it out. I just got my copy of Vegan Yum Yum and I'm really excited to start cooking with it.