'I’m a personal trainer – it’s a myth that you need meat to hit your protein goals'

By Sophie Macfie, PT and author

As a personal trainer and plant-based recipe developer, I’m all about sharing the joys of high-protein, plant-based cooking. I’ve even written a book about it – Soph’s Plant Kitchen.

When you pair it with resistance training (exercises designed to improve strength), protein helps us build, maintain and repair our bodies. It’s also the most filling macronutrient, helping us to feel satisfied. But there are a lot of myths surrounding protein – especially when it comes from plants.

Do you really need meat for protein?

Social media might tell you that plant proteins aren’t as good as animal proteins. And you’d be forgiven for believing it – the information out there can be confusing and contradictory.

The truth is that all plant foods have all 20 amino acids (the building blocks of protein), including the nine that are considered ‘essential’ – the ones our bodies can’t make so we need to get from our diet.

The confusion lies in the fact that often, one or two of those amino acids don’t come in sufficient enough quantities for the plant to be considered a ‘complete protein’.

There’s an easy way around this though: eating a variety of plants throughout your day. This happens naturally in a balanced diet anyway, making it easy to hit your protein goals.

Plus, there are plant-based foods that are ‘complete’ proteins on their own – we’ll get into those later.

Long-term studies shows that just swapping a small handful of animal protein for plant protein each week can decrease your risk of disease by up to 10%, so even one meatless meal a week is beneficial.

By adding more plants to your diet, you’ll also be supporting your gut health and getting additional fibre, which 90% of us in the UK aren’t getting enough of. So it’s a triple win!

How much protein do we actually need?

For those who resistance train, the advice is to get 1.6g protein per kilogram of body weight. If you exercise recreationally once or twice a week, 1.1 to 1.2g per kilogram is fine.

Most of us are already eating enough protein, so we don’t necessarily need to add more to our diet. It might be helpful instead to think about where we’re getting it from. A lot of the time it’s from animal sources, so often comes with saturated fat content and cholesterol.

High protein plant foods

To make things extra simple, here are some of the big protein hitters in the plant world.

1. Soy

Soy is low in saturated fat, has no cholesterol, contains fibre and is high in protein. It’s really versatile too, and is the basis of loads of different food products.

Tofu has 7–15g protein per 100g. While silken tofu is at the lower end (7g per 100g), it’s great for blending into sauces or soups to give a creamy, silky texture – an easy way to get an extra hit of protein.

Tempeh is less processed – it uses the whole soya bean and is also fermented, so has a prebiotic effect in the gut. It has more than 20g protein per 100g.

Edamame are young soya beans, containing 11g protein per 100g, which can be added to salads, or cooked in broths and curries.

Miso is a fermented soy bean paste – and a great salty, savoury flavour boost with 13g of protein per 100g.

Unsweetened soya yoghurt is also protein rich, and soya milk has the highest amount of protein of all the plant-based milks at 3.5g per 100g.

2. Legumes

Beans and chickpeas typically have around 6–9g protein per 100g, and are ideal for throwing into pasta, salads, soups, stews, curries and dals. Black beans, butter beans and cannellini beans are easy to find in the supermarket but any bean (dried, tinned or jarred) is great.

Lentils typically have 11–24g protein per 100g. They’re another easy, delicious addition to salads, pastas and curries. You can roast them and they become crispy, or you can combine them with rice or grains for an easy protein and fibre upgrade.

3. Seitan

Seitan is made from vital wheat gluten and is another good source of plant protein, packing 25g of it per 100g. It’s ideal for people that are allergic to soy.

It has a meaty texture and acts as a flavour sponge. You can buy it readymade or try making it, like in this vegan seitan chicken recipe.

4. Nutritional yeast

This popular seasoning is 50% protein, making it protein dense. For every tablespoon of nutritional yeast there’s around 3g protein, so it’s an easy way to ramp up protein in any dish.

It has a nutty, cheesy flavour and acts as a thickener in sauces. Try it in vegan moussaka which, thanks to the addition of nutritional yeast and lentils, has 16g protein per serving.

5. Whole grains, nuts and seeds

When packing in plant proteins, don’t forget whole grains, nuts and seeds.

A ‘power bowl’ (Buddha bowl or grain bowl) is a great way to layer plenty of protein and fibre into one meal. I like a mix of quinoa and buckwheat, which have around 7–9g protein per 100g, in place of white rice.

If you add nuts and seeds on top (a tablespoon will have around 2–4g protein), they add another layer of crunch as well as protein. I like to toast mine with a little tamari or soy sauce and some spices in the oven to make a readymade topper for salads, soups and stews. Dukkah is also great for this.

Oats also count as a whole grain and source of protein (10.9g per 100g). That means you can get a protein fix first thing with overnight oats, layered with berries for fibre and nuts for crunch and more protein.