“Yes, Virginia, you CAN get protein without meat or dairy!”
5 ways to build major muscle — Animal-Free / Animal-Light edition
Heya!
I don’t know where you are on this, but I think ~ 40% of my friends and clients are either pescatarian, vegetarian, dairy-free, or vegan-ish. (That’s a lot of people.)
Protein is so important for gaining muscle (and staying lean). But this can present us with the following dilemma. When our choices for protein sources are limited … but we need to take in a lot of protein to achieve our goals … Well, you see the problem.
At various points in the past, I’ve belonged to each of the above-listed populations. The rest of this article lays out what worked for me back then, plus what I’ve learned since.
For vegan diets: OK. I just discovered powdered peanut butter. (At Target. I could also search online for it.) I LOVE IT. It takes away (almost) all the fat of peanut butter, but keeps the delectable taste and high protein content. I’d make sure to get a lot of this, daily, if I was a vegan. In addition — and especially if I had a nut allergy — I would also supplement with pea protein powder (Trader Joe’s). I’d also lean into oats/oatmeal, and Ezekiel4Life bread products, for their protein content and health benefits.
For a vegetarian diet: All of the above, plus, I might take in protein from egg whites. (I don’t know if they make a free-range egg white protein powder, but free-range is the most humane of all methods when it comes to eggs, and is notably more humane even than “cage-free.”) Also: I could take in whey and casein protein supplements (milk-derived).
For a dairy-free diet: All of the above, sans the whey and casein.
For a pescatarian-focused diet: All of the above, plus I focus a lot on tuna.
And, if you’re a “flexitarian” — which I am right now — then you’ve got the liberty of incorporating all the above into a routine that also permits meat and dairy, when the desire strikes.
Wuddya think? Do any of these categories align with your values right now? Which one, specifically?
Me, too,
Branden
brandenhayward.com
