How do you get protein if you're funny without meat?

[Mounjarooo]

Am realising as an adult I am autistic (Have an assessment soon)

I can't deal with meat. I like it but it freaks me out.
If I eat something and it has fat or gristle I can't eat another bite.

Sometimes it just smells weird or I think about animals

But I have constantly low iron and need to improve my diet.

I eat very bland UPFs alot of the time.

I'm the same with eggs
I eat them but then the other day there was something black in the egg white and I threw up and now can't think of eggs again!

I need high protein low risk things!

I have been veggie all my life. No issues with iron and I am pretty healthy at 53. I eat eggs, yoghurt, lentils, cheese....
However I dont eat a British diet and I suspect that helps.

Reducing your reliance on UPFs would be a good choice but looking at your preferences and concerns, I'd be inclined to take a middle ground. So, for example, rather than cooking the lentils yourself buy those pouches - they're processed but mostly not UPF. The benefit being that everything is completely consistent so if you like a pouch and find it good, you'll find the same tomorrow. You can try different pouches with different grains - lentils, quinoa etc.

I had 1/3 of a packet of puy lentils yesterday for lunch which I topped with roasted tomatoes and onions that I'd cooked with some oil, garlic and balsamic and then I added some additional feta cheese. So quite high fiber and high protein.

I sometimes make a sort of rice pilaf where I fry some onion then add spices - I like mustard seeds, fennel and a bit of cumin, add the rice and a handful of slivered almonds, and cook it (or use a pouch) and then I add a tin of chickpeas when it's just about cooked and make a honey/lemon/mustard dressing. I usually top this with roasted carrots and some feta or goats cheese.

Do you like hummus? You can make your own, or you can buy it in.

Definitely add yoghurt. If you have greek yoghurt with some cereal and a handful of mixed nuts in the morning, that's a good protein breakfast.

Re eggs - my sister was the same with eggs for a long time. She found she could eat them scrambled though after that, but not sure if that helps you!

Assuming you're not a weight lifter or something, these sorts of things will add to your protein, without you needing to add a LOT extra.

See this is another issue, I've had gastric surgery and anything dairy heavy has, ever since, gave me terrible stomach cramps. So the protein yogurts and shakes don't work for me which is really frustrating as they would be great for me. If I drink one, within 30 mins I have terrible trapped wind and stomach ache.

Oh I dont take supplements. At my recent health checkup all was well so I dont feel I need them. Also dont eat UPF except for occasional crisps and chocolate.

Yes, I think that a lot of Asian and mediterranean diets are high in grains and pulses that are also high in protein and fiber vs western vegetarian diets which tend to rely more heavily on cheese? DS is a great eater and eats a lot of veggies but he has some sensory issues so while he'll eat lentils as part of a bigger meal, he finds the texture in themselves awful. Same with chickpeas etc. It's really frustrating becuase I used to try make sure we ate vegetarian at least 3 times a week but I found myself with too many meals that were quite high effort and/or very cheese/dairy heavy, especially as both him and DH are very very active and really do need meals with a decent amount of protein.

Yes, also high in iron rich greens. I can quite see that people find the texture of chickpeas offputting. I guess childhood habits are hard to break.
One of my DCs is very athletic and muscly, and he has stopped being veggie as he needs a lot of protein.

@Lentilweaver Greens aren't a problem here - we eat those a LOT.

You're so right about childhood habits. DD is quite fussy and very resistant to new foods. But I've been adding lentils to spaghetti bolognaise as long as I can remember - for increased fiber, additional nutrition, variety etc. I had to use a pouch the other day so rather than brown/green/red lentils that were really well cooked in and a bit mushy, they were a lot more obvious. Fussy little DD didn't even notice! [Also, I fully accept that our (DH was in charge!) crapness when weaning DD vs our (okay, my) brilliance while weaning DS has played a part here.

When you say gastric surgery do you mean bariatric surgery ?

I think you have to take a load of multivitamin and mineral tablets every day for ever, so you should be getting your iron from there.
If another kind of gastric surgery, then can you take an A to Z multivitamin and mineral daily tablet, to make sure you get enough of everything.

I’d avoid Quorn if you have stomach issues but have a look at other veggie meat alternatives. Vegetarian schnitzel are ultra processed but that means they have very consistent textures. You can buy ‘meat’ pieces that work in stir frys - no ick factor because there’s no meat!

Vegan protein shakes?

I've never had issues after quorn? I use it a few times a week with the sausages too.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight-loss-injections/5206450-i-need-100-grams-of-protein?latest=1
This has some good tips

If you’re good with quorn that’s great. It was just that you mentioned new digestive issues after your operation.

Get a pot of Fage - it’s real Greek yoghurt, a standard portion gives 15-20g of protein and it’s bloody yummy with some honey and seeds/nuts mixed in!

I am a recent convert to Fage. I eat it with berries and seeds to up the protein. It's expensive, though.