I'm not vegetarian, but I'm not a full-on meat eater. So I'm looking for ways of getting protein in my diet.

I've just started back working on my weight and health in general. I take meds for HBP and cholesterol and want to get off these eventually. So I have to watch my intake of sodium and the amount of cholesterol/sat fat etc. in my foods.

• I love BOCA burgers and BOCA chick'n patties. But they have a lot of sodium.
• I did research on 'fake' sausage (I love sausage!) and based on what I read, I tried Gimme Lean sausage roll....ICK!! All I could taste was sage... ugh, just like thanksgiving.
• I love beans and like them in chili, rinsed and straight out of a can, and in soup. But I'm not a huge soup person.
• Peanut butter is good, but high in fat.
• Dairy - good way to sneak protein in, but again, cholesterol and sodium.

Help! What else is there? I don't want to spend a lot of time cooking.

Sorry, I will still eat some meats, but will cut back due to the cholesterol. I hope I don't upset anyone for posting here. I do love my fruits and veggies!

I think the Tofurkey Italian Sausages are good.

I do beans in salads and pastas (like black beans and garbanzos). I also make low fat tostadas with a smear of nonfat refried beans, tomatoes, and some melty soy cheese - but I know sodium would be an issue with the refried beans.

Well my question is how much protein are you aiming to eat and why? The RDA for protein is 50 grams and I reach that pretty easily without trying.

I eat lots of leafy greens (which are composed mostly of protein), other veggies, whole grains and psuedo-grains (like amaranth and quinoa which are good sources of protein) and beans. Except for pure fats, every natural food has protein in it.

I use chia seeds or quinoa as my major sources of protein. I use chia seeds the most, adding them to smoothies, fresh vegetable juice, and as an egg replacer in baking. I use quinoa in place of brown rice or I make quinoa milk. You could probably use hemp seeds also. I used to toast them and toss them in salads.

Tofu, once you get used to it, it is just delicious !

thanks for responding!

Nelie - 50 g of protein a day - that's all... really? i thought more protein was needed for keeping/building muscles. and it's funny, your comment is the 2nd time in 2 days that i've read about protein being in greens and veggies. i had never heard that - and i'm a research junkie! i'll definitely get more info on that.

Mikan - a long time ago i read all i could find on tofu (pre-internet in my home) and just never tried it. i have an issue with paying for food and throwing it out if i don't like it, wasting my money. i do like to try things. i wish there was a local grocery or something that would do cooking classes on tofu. i had tofu at a chinese restaurant one time that was delicious! it was a dessert and tasted like almonds, but i would have no clue what to do, i assume it was firm tofu.

Nelie - thanks for that info. I'm detoxing for a couple of weeks to clear up a few inflammation related issues so not eating any soy, dairy, gluten.... Since I don't eat any meat my protein has been pretty low even with beans at every meal. Glad to know I don't need to worry about it.

Cyndi - I'd recommend having an overall balanced diet. I believe quinoa and amaranth are gluten free and they are really good sources of protein.

takeadeepbreath - Interesting thing is that the protein push is relatively new in terms of history. I was reading a couple months ago that until the mid 1980s, the common body builder diet was a high carb diet and 10-15% of their calories came from protein. If you eat a lot of processed foods, then you do have to worry about vitamins and nutrients but if you eat an overall more natural balanced whole foods diet, then most everything takes care of itself.