I believe the foods we put into our bodies largely shape our overall health and wellbeing. I also believe that the foods we choose to consume are wildly personal for a myriad of reasons. You may do just fine on dairy, whereas I have a serious intolerance for it. The same can be said for every substance we ingest. So this post is by no means a you must eat plants instead of animals directive, it’s more of a, plants are generally considered to be a key part of our diets, so let’s maximize their benefits. Here’s how we incorporate them into our meals, and how we meet our protein goals as a plant powered family:

When I visited my cardiologist a few years back, he told me about a study where researchers looked at cancer cells paired with vegan blood versus carnivore blood. The vegan blood shrunk the cancer cells, the carnivore blood left it unchanged. I’ve seen countless studies on a plant forward diet leading toward a longer, more healthy life. Like this one that followed nearly 50,000 nurses and found that higher protein intake was associated with increased odds of healthy aging, defined as being free from major chronic diseases and maintaining good mental and physical function.

For every 3% increase in energy from protein, the odds of healthy aging jumped by 38%. Replacing animal protein, dairy, carbohydrates, or fats with plant protein showed even greater benefits. This is such hopeful news! Note that the study says nothing about eliminating other types of protein, it’s just a nudge to incorporate more plants where we can. Here are the plant proteins we have in rotation, and love.

whole food protein

Whole foods are always going to be our cleanest, safest bet in terms of any type of food we consume. By eating whole, nutrient-dense foods, we give our vessel the most optimal form of energy for digestion, absorption of vitamins and minerals, and brain and body boosters to clean our cells and function at full capacity. Not to mention all of the disease fighting benefits that come from eating fruits and vegetables (the polyphenols! the immune support! the fiber to stave off heart disease!). Can you believe some of these tiny veggies pack such a punch?

• Green peas – 8.5 grams of protein per cup
• Spinach – 5.4 grams of protein per cup
• Kale – 3 grams of protein per cup
• Broccoli – 2.5 grams of protein per cup
• Brussels sprouts – 3 grams of protein per cup
• Artichokes – 4.2 grams of protein per medium-sized artichoke

And just wait until you see the protein power in the legumes, nuts and seeds:

• Lentils – 18 grams of protein per cup (cooked)
• Chickpeas – 15 grams of protein per cup (cooked)
• Black beans – 15 grams of protein per cup (cooked)
• Kidney beans – 13 grams of protein per cup (cooked)
• Peas (split peas) – 16 grams of protein per cup (cooked)
• Edamame (Soybeans) – 18.4 grams of protein per cup (cooked)
• Navy beans – 15 grams of protein per cup (cooked)
• Pinto beans – 15 grams of protein per cup (cooked)
• Black-eyed peas – 13 grams of protein per cup (cooked)

I know some of the nuts might not look like a lot, but consider how they add up when paired in your favorite dishes (salad toppers, on the go snacks, trailmix). We love using many of these in homemade milks, then using the leftover pulp for easy, delicious crackers and cookies!

• Almonds – 6 grams of protein per ounce
• Peanuts – 7 grams of protein per ounce
• Pistachios – 6 grams of protein per ounce
• Cashews – 5 grams of protein per ounce
• Walnuts – 4 grams of protein per ounce
• Hazelnuts – 4 grams of protein per ounce
• Brazil nuts – 4 grams of protein per ounce – hot tip: the selenium in Brazil nuts help your body better absorb magnesium (which many of us are deficient in)
• Macadamia nuts – 2 grams of protein per ounce
• Pecans – 3 grams of protein per ounce

And don’t get me started on the seeds, particularly the sprouted pumpkin seeds that I use breakfast, lunch and dinner 😅. I am so obsessed, I even put them on my pizza! All of these make great additions to smoothies, avocado toast, baking!, pasta dishes. You can get really creative here!

• Hemp seeds – 10 grams of protein per 3 tablespoons
• Chia seeds – 4 grams of protein per 2 tablespoons
• Pumpkin seeds (Pepitas) – 7 grams of protein per ounce
• Sunflower seeds – 6 grams of protein per ounce
• Flax seeds – 3 grams of protein per 2 tablespoons
• Sesame seeds – 5 grams of protein per ounce
• Quinoa seeds – 8 grams of protein per cup (cooked)
• Coconut seeds (dried) – 2.5 grams of protein per ounce
• Watermelon seeds – 9 grams of protein per ounce

clean protein powder

If you’ve been in the Well of Joy community for any length of time, you might have noticed our love of smoothies. We’ve been making them every morning for almost two decades! Our go-to combo is a 1:1 ratio of vegetables (broccoli sprouts, kale, spinach, zucchini – really anything you like in rotation) to fruit (we love frozen strawberries, blueberries, dark cherries, black berries), then an avocado, homemade vegan milk, and a clean protein powder. This protein, fat and fiber combination helps your body digest the nutrients best, and keeps you full longer, rather than giving you a blood sugar spike from let’s say, just a fruit smoothie. Here are the protein powders we have in our cupboard, on subscribe and save, and keep in rotation. All of the following are organic, not chalky, delicious, and have less fillers/ junky ingredients than their counterparts:

• Truvani vanilla
• Sunwarrior vegan vanilla
• KOS superfood organic vanilla
• Four Sigmatic organic protein

vegan protein for meals

And lastly, here are the “meat” substitutes I reach for when I can’t reproduce it myself using a combination of the whole food options above:

• Eat Meati are made from mushrooms and are absolutely delicious. The carne asadas are my favorite!
• Dr. Praeger’s Perfect Burgers are the cleanest option I’ve found burger-wise, and they have 20 grams of protein per patty. They are outstanding!
• Abbot’s plant based vegan ground beef is absolutely delicious in a sauce with spaghetti, in tacos, protein bowls – it is so tasty and versatile. Plus, 18 grams of protein per serving!

If you have a question we can help answer, or care to share a plant protein you enjoy, please leave it in the comments below so all of us can give it a try. We are always on the hunt for more plant powered options! Stay well + joyful, kind friend!