[0:00] Greetings! Today,
[0:01] I'm giving you a realistic look at what
I eat in a week featuring some of my
[0:04] current favorite high protein vegan
meals that are simple, easy to make,
[0:08] and super tasty... obviously.
[0:09] I wanna show you that getting enough
protein on a plant-based diet doesn't have
[0:12] to be stressful - you don't need to chug
protein shakes all day - and hopefully
[0:16] I can inspire you to get in the kitchen
and get excited about trying some new
[0:19] recipes. Before we dive into the recipes,
[0:22] one really simple thing we've been doing
lately has been to swap out our oat
[0:25] milk for higher protein plant milk
options in our morning lattes.
[0:29] So for example,
[0:30] I have been making Eric's daily iced
latte with the Silk protein milk.
[0:33] This is a cashew and almond blend and
it's fortified with pea protein and one
[0:37] cup of this contains 10
grams of plant-based protein,
[0:40] which is even higher than regular
dairy milk. Another option is Ripple.
[0:44] It's a pea protein milk too, and we love
it, especially their chocolate milk.
[0:48] It's really delicious, we
like it for dessert sometimes.
[0:50] And I usually prefer hot
drinks in the morning,
[0:52] so I have been rocking with classic soy
milk again because I think it froths
[0:56] really well and depending on the brand,
[0:59] one cup can net you anywhere between 5
and 10 grams of protein. Now of course,
[1:04] I hope it goes without saying that if
you love your oat milk or almond milk
[1:08] lattes, keep drinking those -
enjoyment is very important.
[1:11] But this is just one simple substitution
to consider if you aren't necessarily
[1:15] married to one particular kind of plant
milk and you just want an easy way to
[1:19] sneak in some extra protein
early on in your day.
[1:22] I think this can also be especially
helpful if you're someone who doesn't have
[1:25] much of an appetite early
in the morning like myself,
[1:28] so usually I'll drink my soy latte right
when I get up just to get something in
[1:31] my system. I'll drink water, then I'll
go for a run or do my workout at the gym,
[1:36] and by the time I get home,
[1:37] I have much more of an appetite
for real food worked up.
[1:40] And we usually drink our lattes outside
because I recently learned on the
[1:44] Huberman Lab podcast that getting exposure
to natural daylight first thing in
[1:48] the morning really helps to
regulate the circadian rhythm,
[1:51] and it really has made a huge difference
for us over the past few months since
[1:54] we've been doing it, so
I highly recommend it.
[1:57] So our current go-to high
protein breakfast has been
these breakfast tacos with
[2:01] Just Egg and beans, and my
secret ingredient are these
carb counter tortillas,
[2:05] not because I'm against carbs,
[2:06] but because these actually have
some sneaky protein in them.
[2:09] They come in lots of different sizes,
[2:10] but these tiny little street
taco tortillas each have
three grams of protein.
[2:16] I like to use either seasoned black beans
or chili pinto beans for extra flavor
[2:20] without having to mess around with spices.
[2:22] Just because I really don't
enjoy cooking in the morning,
[2:24] so I just try to keep breakfast simple
and easy so I can eat it and start my
[2:27] day. Then you'll also need some
Just Egg and any veggies you like.
[2:31] We always add some spinach
to get a serving of greens,
[2:33] and then we'll usually add a little vegan
cheese or some avocado if either one
[2:36] of those is on sale that
week. So to keep things easy,
[2:38] I will typically just add my beans
to my tortillas and pop those in the
[2:42] microwave while I make the scramble.
I give the spinach a headstart,
[2:44] and this is where you would cook any other
veggies like bell peppers, mushrooms,
[2:48] or onions if you want those
in your breakfast tacos.
[2:51] Then I add in two servings of Just
Egg and I cook until they're set.
[2:54] This does have a tendency
to stick quite a bit,
[2:57] so I recommend using a good non-stick pan,
[2:59] especially if you don't wanna use
any kind of vegan butter or oil.
[3:02] Then I just finish the tacos off with
some kind of salsa or hot sauce for extra
[3:06] flavor.
[3:07] Eric usually uses a chipotle salsa and
my current obsession is the Trader Joe's
[3:12] sriracha. So if you run the numbers,
[3:14] two breakfast tacos lands us right
around 30 grams of plant-based protein,
[3:19] 12 grams from the Just Egg, 1.3
grams from a cup of spinach,
[3:23] 10.7 grams from the black beans,
and 6 grams from the tortillas.
[3:29] I also prepped a double batch of my baked
sesame and panko crusted tofu to eat
[3:33] over the course of a few days. So this
was two blocks of tofu that I froze,
[3:38] defrosted and then pressed, and I like
to cut into these cute little triangles.
[3:41] Season the tofu with salt and pepper,
[3:43] and then prepare a simple batter with
flour and either milk or plain water.
[3:47] I used all purpose flour and some Ripple
pea protein milk for extra protein.
[3:51] And then the breading is
just a combination of panko
breadcrumbs and raw sesame
[3:55] seeds.
[3:57] Then we just have the somewhat tedious
job of first battering and then breading
[4:01] all of the tofu nuggies.
[4:03] I definitely recommend using one hand to
work with the dry stuff and another to
[4:06] work with the wet so that you
don't end up breading your fingers.
[4:11] And once you're done,
[4:11] I think a little bit of spray oil
helps them to brown nicely in the oven,
[4:15] but it's not strictly necessary.
[4:16] You're just gonna bake these at
425 until they're golden brown.
[4:19] And they come out super crispy and the
sesame seeds get toasted and they develop
[4:24] this really nice flavor.
[4:26] And these are great just for
snacking on with some kind of dip,
[4:28] like sweet chili sauce or barbecue sauce.
[4:30] And I also love to top
my salads with these.
[4:34] And they're super easy to crisp back up
in the air fryer or in the oven the next
[4:37] day. Hey friends,
[4:38] I'm gonna take a quick pause to give a
big shout out to the sponsor of today's
[4:41] video, Ritual. Ritual is a long
time friend of the channel.
[4:44] I have been taking their women's
daily multivitamins since 2018.
[4:47] I love it just for filling in
any gaps in my daily nutrition.
[4:51] But recently they came out with a
new product called Synbiotic Plus,
[4:55] and this is a three in one prebiotic,
probiotic, and postbiotic supplement,
[5:00] and I just take one a day to help support
my gut, digestive, and immune health.
[5:04] So you may already be
familiar with probiotics,
[5:07] but prebiotics actually support the
beneficial bacteria in your gut,
[5:11] and then probiotics help
support the gut lining.
[5:15] Synbiotic Plus contains two of the
most clinically studied strains of
[5:18] probiotics,
[5:18] and they use a delayed release technology
that makes sure that the probiotic
[5:22] strains make it all the way, not
just to the stomach but to the colon,
[5:25] which is the actual ideal
place for them to grow.
[5:28] Your subscription comes straight to
your door every single month with free
[5:31] shipping, and the capsules
require no refrigeration.
[5:34] So I actually just keep my
multivitamin and my Synbiotic together.
[5:39] I take them at the exact same
time every day, so I never forget.
[5:42] It is vegan friendly, it's
free of all major allergens,
[5:45] and Ritual is always a hundred percent
transparent about the sourcing and the
[5:49] environmental impact of all of
their ingredients and materials.
[5:52] If you're interested in trying out Ritual,
[5:54] they're currently offering 20% off
your first month using my code,
[5:58] which I'll have on the
screen. Speaking of salads,
[6:01] here's one that I've
been eating a lot lately.
[6:02] It's a crunchy cabbage salad with
a creamy Asian inspired dressing,
[6:06] and it's surprisingly high in
protein. At the start of the week,
[6:09] I'll prep the salad base, so I use my
food processor to shred up a half a head,
[6:13] each of green and red cabbage,
and then a bunch of carrots,
[6:17] and I like to add a lot of fresh cilantro,
[6:18] but you could also add mint
or some Thai basil instead.
[6:21] If you're not a cilantro
person for extra protein,
[6:24] I add in a serving of edamame
and then some roasted nuts,
[6:27] something like cashews or almonds.
[6:29] And you can use a store-bought ginger
sesame dressing or make your own.
[6:32] So I add soy sauce, rice
vinegar, some almond butter,
[6:36] or you could use tahini or
peanut butter to make it creamy.
[6:39] Some minced ginger and a little bit of
minced garlic, some toasted sesame oil,
[6:43] little bit of lime juice
and some brown sugar.
[6:46] Then just whisk it up and add in some
water as needed to get a nice thin
[6:49] pourable consistency and toss
your salad mix with that.
[6:53] So this week I am topping that salad with
a few pieces of my crispy sesame Panko
[6:58] tofu. I just reheat those in my air fryer.
[7:00] It actually takes like under 10 minutes
to get them really nice and crispy
[7:03] again.
[7:04] So I added all the ingredients to a
nutrition tracker and one serving of the
[7:08] salad without the added tofu
already nets you around 11 grams of
[7:13] protein, which is pretty good.
[7:14] Then add one or two servings of that
crispy tofu and you're adding seven
[7:19] to 14 grams of extra protein there.
[7:23] Then here is Eric just eating some of
that leftover sesame tofu with a vegetable
[7:26] curry. We really love this
barbecue sauce and again,
[7:29] the Trader Joe's sriracha
to accompany that.
[7:33] This next recipe is a dessert that I saw
on one of Mina Rome's latest videos all
[7:38] about tofu. This is a tofu peanut
butter mousse. I have to admit,
[7:43] I was very skeptical going into this,
[7:44] but I wanted to give it a shot
and it has just six ingredients.
[7:48] It calls for a container of silken tofu,
[7:50] about three quarters of a cup of peanut
butter - I would imagine you could make
[7:54] this with any kind of nut butter -
some powdered sugar, vanilla extract,
[7:59] a dash of cinnamon and a pinch of salt.
[8:02] Add it all to a blender and blend
until it is completely smooth.
[8:08] Then divide that mixture up between a few
jars or really any containers you like
[8:11] and let those chill in the fridge
for a few hours or overnight to set.
[8:22] Gonna try the tofu peanut
butter mousse, pudding, dessert.
[8:29] *Mousse*. I'm excited. <laugh>.
I'm excited about this.
[8:37] Hmm. Oh, it's delicious.
[8:38] I'm shocked at how much I like it.
[8:40] I was kind of afraid we're
gonna have to throw it all away.
[8:42] Oh, no.
[8:43] Because I feel like I've made
a dessert using silken tofu
[8:48] before, but I use like the kind
of silken tofu that comes in the,
[8:52] that aren't in the refrigerated section,
[8:54] and I feel like those have a really
strong flavor. I don't taste the tofu.
[8:57] Here. Not at all. It's
extremely peanut buttery.
[9:00] It just tastes like peanut butter, really.
[9:02] You could probably make
it with almond butter too.
[9:04] Cashew butter. Sunflower butter.
Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. Yeah. No -,
[9:08] no hint of tofu and the texture's really
nice. The consistency is quite nice.
[9:11] I'll give it back. I promise.
[9:13] I was thinking we just got this peanut
butter protein granola at Trader Joe's.
[9:18] Hmm. This is it. This has 11
grams of protein per serving,
[9:21] so if you wanted to have like an extra
peanut buttery kind of parfait situation,
[9:26] you could combine these two. I.
[9:28] Thought you were gonna say
a peanut butter party. Yeah.
[9:30] That too.
[9:31] A peanut butter parfait party. Mm-Hmm.
[9:33] <Affirmative>. I think we're
definitely gonna mix that again. Yeah.
[9:36] How? How can we make it chocolate?
I want to add a little chocolate.
[9:38] In there. By adding chocolate.
[9:40] <Laugh> Let's do that.
[9:42] Another thing I love to meal prep every
week is a loaf of homemade vegan deli
[9:46] meat.
[9:46] I just shared a Short all about how to
make this from scratch and the recipe's
[9:50] on the blog. It's way more cost
effective than buying Tofurky,
[9:53] and it's actually
surprisingly easy to make.
[9:56] The main ingredients are extra
firm tofu and vital wheat gluten,
[9:58] so it is packed with protein and it's
easy to customize with your favorite
[10:02] flavors. Honestly, we
love the stuff so much,
[10:04] sometimes we'll just snack on it as is,
[10:06] or we'll make little
roll-ups with vegan cheese.
[10:09] I also love making sandwiches or wraps
using those Carb Balance tortillas,
[10:13] but it's also worth noting you can just
chop the seitan into cubes and use it in
[10:16] stir fries in place of tofu,
[10:18] or you can shred it and
toss it in barbecue sauce
to make like a pulled seitan
[10:23] barbecue sandwich. It's just a
super versatile protein option,
[10:26] but usually we do just slice
it up and use it as cold cuts.
[10:33] Here is another high protein salad we ate
for lunch over the course of the week.
[10:37] It's a kale Caesar with tempeh bacon,
crispy chickpeas, and a tahini dressing.
[10:41] It is so good. Step one is to
make some crispy chickpeas,
[10:44] which will take the place
of croutons in our salad.
[10:47] And the key with these is to thoroughly
rinse and dry your chickpeas to help
[10:50] them crisp up and brown
nicely in the oven.
[10:53] I keep it simple and I just toss
them with olive oil, salt and pepper,
[10:56] and these take about 45 to 50
minutes in a 425 degree oven,
[11:00] and you just wanna mix them around a
few times to make sure they cook evenly.
[11:03] They get super crispy, and I
find these to be so addictive.
[11:06] I can easily eat a whole can of crispy
chickpeas to myself over the course of a
[11:10] day.
[11:12] Try some?
[11:16] Whoa. Aren't.
[11:17] They good?
[11:18] Have you ever made them this
crispy before? It's amazing.
[11:21] It's that trick of letting them dry out
on the counter first. Mm. Yeah, they're.
[11:25] Really good. That was really tasty. We
got, I'm gonna stop eating them so you.
[11:29] Can put them in the salad <laugh>.
[11:31] We're also gonna whip up a batch of
my stovetop tempeh bacon to boost the
[11:35] protein in this salad.
[11:36] Check out the blog or my previous video
featuring four high protein meals for
[11:40] more about this recipe.
[11:42] The only thing I did different this time
was to chop the tempeh into little bits
[11:45] so it would be easier to get some
in every single bite of the salad.
[11:49] Kale is probably one of my favorite
vegetables, and when I use it in salad,
[11:52] I always like to massage it
with some fresh lemon juice,
[11:55] a pinch of salt and a drizzle of olive
oil and massage it for a few minutes.
[11:59] It shrinks a lot in volume
and it gets dark and glossy,
[12:02] and this helps to tenderize it and
remove some of its natural bitterness.
[12:06] Then I also made a simple
vegan tahini-based Caesar
dressing with a quarter cup
[12:11] of runny tahini, some lemon
juice, some crushed capers,
[12:14] and a splash of the brine from the
capers in place of traditional anchovies,
[12:18] some Dijon mustard,
[12:20] a teaspoon of white miso paste to take
kind of the place of the Parmesan in
[12:23] traditional Caesar, a clove of
minced garlic, fresh black pepper,
[12:27] and then just add enough water to
thin the dressing out to a pourable
[12:30] consistency. To assemble the salad,
[12:32] just toss together the massaged kale
with the tahini dressing and the tempeh
[12:36] bacon.
[12:37] I think some fresh sliced tomato makes
a really nice addition to this too,
[12:41] if you have some.
[12:42] Then save the roasted chickpeas for last
so that they stay crispy in the salad.
[12:46] When I plug all the ingredients
into a nutrition tracker,
[12:49] one serving of the salad contains
just under 20 grams of protein.
[13:03] That's good.
[13:05] That's really good. If you don't
like kale, you're eating it wrong.
[13:08] Massage.
[13:08] It. So many people have said
on our videos in the past,
[13:12] you lost me kale, kale's gross.
[13:14] I don't think I liked kale either
until you started cooking for me.
[13:17] Massaging it helps remove the
bitterness, it tenderizes it.
[13:21] Even when I'm putting a dressing
on, like with the Caesar salad,
[13:25] I still massage it first. It makes
a difference. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>.
[13:27] I love salads that have
like so many things in it.
[13:31] Obviously I tried the chickpeas by
themselves and I've had the tempeh many
[13:35] times. It all really works together.
I mean, obviously it works together.
[13:38] We knew it was gonna work.
You're addicted to those.
[13:43] They're so good. I'm ready for
like, true salad season. Mm-Hmm.
[13:47] <affirmative> like warm
weather, sunny salad season.
[13:51] Only four more months here in the PNW.
[13:55] Next up,
[13:55] we made a high protein vegan mac and
cheese with the white bean cheese sauce
[13:58] from the blog.
[13:59] I actually had Eric make this for me
because my period started and I was
[14:03] getting, uh, mad cramps. So thank
you, Eric. Eric to the rescue.
[14:07] You need a can of white
beans. We used canelli beans,
[14:10] some nutritional yeast
for a cheesy flavor,
[14:12] half a cup of cashews soaked or boiled,
some cooked carrots, mostly for color,
[14:17] onion powder, garlic powder, and some
smoked paprika. Juice of half of a lemon,
[14:21] a little bit of miso paste,
[14:22] some full fat coconut milk
to make it rich and creamy,
[14:25] then some salt and blend it
all up until it's smooth.
[14:30] Then we cooked up some of
this protein plus pasta.
[14:32] I really like this because it
does have extra protein in it.
[14:35] It's 10 grams of protein per serving,
but it's not a fully gluten-free pasta.
[14:39] It's not made like entirely of chickpeas,
so it still has a really nice texture.
[14:43] It's not mushy or gritty. Honestly,
[14:45] it tastes very similar to regular
pasta to me. So we boiled that up.
[14:49] Cheese sauce recipe makes a big batch
and we use maybe half of it with half a
[14:52] box of the pasta. We saved the rest of
the sauce for later to use as a dip.
[14:56] I really like adding pickled jalapeños
and chopped tomatoes and a few spices to
[15:00] turn this into like a nacho cheese sauce.
[15:02] A roughly one half cup
serving of the cheese sauce,
[15:04] served with one serving of the protein
plus pasta lands us at just about 16
[15:10] grams of protein.
[15:11] That isn't quite as high as some of
the other meals we've featured in this
[15:13] video, but I think compared to a regular
vegan mac and cheese, it's pretty good.
[15:18] It's basically just like the
regular vegan mac that you make.
[15:22] And that wraps up this week
of high protein vegan meals.
[15:25] Thank you so much for watching.
[15:27] I would love for you to subscribe
if you found this video helpful.
[15:29] And if you haven't already,
[15:31] check out my previous video with four
more high protein vegan recipes that I
[15:35] make all the time. Or check
out my video about easy,
[15:38] high protein vegan meal
prep. Love you guys so much,
[15:40] and I will see you in my next video.