Pass the Protein, Please!

One thing about going vegan is that your intake of protein surely suffers! One of the more well-known sources of protein is of course beans. Since I am trying to avoid canned goods this equates to making beans from a bag. The problem that is arising with this for me is that I am the only person in my household who is eating this way so I end up with a lot of leftover beans that eventually end up in the trash. I don't like to waste food so I naturally gravitate away from them when cooking. This is not good! The other well-known source is tofu and cooking this stuff seems like a daunting task! I can feel that something is off in my diet because my diet is so clean; ie it makes it really easy for me to pick up on when something is not right. I investigated further into this matter today. I was given a pamplet on the Eat Right America campaign that is supported by Whole Foods Market and it is a program that is suppose to make you a nutritarian and help you transition more smoothly into the vegan lifestyle while not missing out on the things that you need form your diet (http://www.eatrightamerica.com/). This is definately a program I need to be involved in, but I really don't want to spend the money on it.

What I have decided to do instead is focus on adding in protein and eating more of a variety of foods in general. They mentioned a book called Eat for Health by Dr. Joel Fuhrman that I think I will look into after the holidays; education is power people! One thing I came across today that I think is a great resource for finding non-animal protein sources is an article found at http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/protein.htm. If you scroll down it will show you some sample menus as well as a run down of some of the basic plant sources of protein. When I read how much protein I am suppose to be taking in everyday I was floored. My number is nowhere near that number, which means my body will start breaking down muscle. I actually think it has already began that process because I am losing quite a bit of my circumference at what appears to be a significant rate. I must remedy this pronto! I want my body to be supported not dragged down even further into the pits of non-health hell! I better go eat some almond butter...this whole thing is making me muscle sad!