I had my surgery about 5 months ago and am interested in being vegetarian. We’ve been doing Hello Fresh and I’m preferring the vegetarian meals most of the time and all meat besides steak doesn’t feel very pleasant to eat.
I know ethically it’s better to be vegan but I think it will be too difficult with my current dietary restrictions.
I have to get at least 60 g of protein a day and I only have room for about 2-3 oz of food per meal (I eat 3 meals a day). Does this seem doable as a vegetarian? I’m going to talk about it with my doctor, but it feels like it would be. I might need to add a protein shake or 2 into the routine.
If you are doing 'no processed foods' vegetarian, it will require being careful, and eating lots of beans to meet that. Things like high-protein tofu, tempeh, Seitan, and beyond meat-type subs are all around the protein density of meat though. The Beyond meat-stuff can be pricy, but seitan is super cheap if you make it yourself, and tofu can be cheap if you have an Asian market nearby, as I've found its over priced at most American supermarkets. Eggs of course are also in the same neighborhood of protein content, if you feel ethically okay with eating lots of eggs.
Seitan especially is super dense, and when I make it I usually cut it with wheat and/or mushrooms to make it lighter, but if you're worried about volume, pure seitan can get you your 60g protein in one 2oz serving. Its not complete protein, which is only really a problem if you aren't getting any other protein at all.