High protein veggie ideas

[Habibtihayatiii]

I'm looking for high protein (and iron if possible) vegetarian foods/meals/ideas if anyone has any they can share.

I'm in peri- menopause and trying to lose a little weight while building/maintaining some muscle. Just come back from the Drs where blood tests show I'm low in Vit D and iron and I'm just so bloody tired all the time. Looking for reasonably easy wins that don't take hours to cook as my capacity for that feels a bit shot at the moment but I do prefer to cook and eat 'real' food rather than take supplements/protein powders etc. Despite being a more than capable cook, I'm just out of ideas at the moment!

Take supplements of iron and cut D to get you over the jump while you sort your diet and lifestyle out. Vitamin D is hard for your body to make naturally in the uk, especially at this time of year.
Low fat protein foods like eggs, pulses and grains are really filling and you can bulk out with leafy greens to increase the iron.
Dahl takes half an hour to make a batch for a whole week's worth of lunches and is pretty well balanced:
Put finely chopped onion, carrot, garlic and a tsp of oil in a pan with your favourite spices: I use ginger, turmeric and cumin with just a pinch of chilli so it isn't hot.
Once the onion has gone transparent add in rinsed red lentils, a can of chopped tomatoes and a tin of water. Cook for 25 minutes or until it us thickened and the lentils are soft. Add in as many handfuls of spinach as the pan will fit and then just heat through until the spinach water has evaporated off. We like it quite thick to eat with a spoon on its own but I know some people have it thin, almost like a soup, with flatbread. You can add more water or more lentils/veg to make it exactly as you like it. Don't add salt until the end as it stops the lentils mushing down as well.
It's really filling, low fat, delicious, packed with fibre, good vegetable protein.

I also love shakshuka: eggs poached in lots of saucy herby veg .
There are recipes on the web but I will say that you don't need oil if you dry roast the vegetables before you add them to the sauce as it really intensifies the flavour.

How about Spanish Omelette and salad?

I agree with taking supplements for now, even if it's for the short term. Us Brura find it hard to produce enough Vitamin D in July, you're really going to struggle getting enough in February

Enchiladas https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/bean-enchiladas

Sesame tofu https://www.sainsburysmagazine.co.uk/recipes/mains/sticky-soy-and-sesame-tofu-with-broccoli-rice

Paneer omelette https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/saag-paneer-omelette.html

Tofu peanut butter noodles https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/tofu-peanut-butter-noodles.html

Five bean chilli https://www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/vegan/five-bean-chilli/

After having shakshuka, I realised there are other things that I'd like with an egg poached in them - thick tomatoey veg and bean or lentil soups, or just half a can of Heinz 5 beans for a quick lunch - I like them microwaved in the bowl till the yolk is just set. Obviously this sort of thing can be eaten with cheese instead/as well.

I think beans and lentils are pretty high in iron and the tomato may help absorption?

There's some good ideas here and we make a lot of similar food.

I make a lot of stews with lots of veg, tinned beans (any type really, I like to mix them up - butter beans, chickpeas, canellini beans, black beans, whatever). The beans are a protein source but I often put veggie sausages in too for an extra one.

Simple curries - we use chickpeas, paneer or Quorn pieces as the protein source.

Halloumi - tray bake/'burger'/salad/fajitas

Lots of cheese on everything!

Veggie mince alternatives - in bolognese, tacos, or keema. Or lentils could work for the first two.

Fajitas or enchiladas with Quorn pieces.

Vitamin tablets, vit D in particular is hard to get in the UK. You also need vit C to absorb iron.

Buy a cast iron / black iron balti pan or wok. Or an iron fish.

Beans, lentils, tofu, nuts and seeds plus dark green veg, you know the sort of thing.

Example meal
Mexican style: refried black beans, crispy spicy tofu, tomato salsa (toms, shallots, coriander and water cress dressed with lime juice) and some tender stem broccoli. For pudding dip some walnuts into dark chocolate and have a blood orange.

Lunch: minestrone with minimal pasta plus a wide variety of veg and beans (use a tin of mixed beans), get some kale in there.

Make sure you enjoy eating it.

Thanks everyone, I'd forgotten I posted this and came back to some great ideas!

I'll add a couple of my own I've made over the last few days...

• Veg (aubergine, cauliflower, courgette, tomato) and chickpea maqlooba with spinach yoghurt salad

• Cheese and chive omelette

• Tacos with mushroom and walnut 'mince meat'

• Halloumi and courgette tomato stew

• Thai green curry with tofu, green beans, baby corn, broccoli, carrots, and pak choi

Make quinoa for your grain - complete protein.

*us Brits

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/jul/26/how-to-make-the-perfect-gigantes-plaki-recipe-felicity-cloake

These are good OP, you can make them with regular butter beans instead if easier. I like them on toast!

also scrambled tofu is good. very quick and easy to make - eat on toast or with some veggies.