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Vegan

Join Mumsnet's vegan community and discuss everything related to the vegan diet.

Vegan Protein Powder

16 replies

RisingMoon · 21/03/2022 20:14

I’m transitioning to vegan and am need of a protein powder that isn’t soy/whey based. (Hurt my stomach)

I can’t eat many pulses/legumes due to IBS. I don’t eat any processed vegan franken-foods or meat substitutes. I mostly eat fruit and vegetables, oats, and peanut butter, EVOO. And some flaxseeds.

I have an oat protein pot in the morning but it has milk powder and whey. It hurts my stomach to eat it but I’ve just put up with it.

I’d like to switch to adding a non-chalky vegan powder to some almond milk oats and also to my frozen fruit/ almond milk “ice cream” that I eat most days.

Any recommendations or ones to avoid would be great. Usually shop Ocado but could order online from an independent supplier. Thanks

OP posts:
Hockeyboysmum · 21/03/2022 20:26

Team rh do a vegan millionaire shortcake vegan protein powder

Yutes · 21/03/2022 20:33

The Myprotein website I think offers hemp and brown rice protein. Sometimes they offer tasting packs to buy too, before committing to a big pack?

Cormoran · 22/03/2022 22:47

If you can't eat soy or pulses, you are going to become malnourished even with a protein powder because protein powders are the ultimate ultra processed food.

There is quinoa, but variety is important.

Protein powders can be a supplements, but not the main source of your protein.
Is it all legumes? lentils, beans, chickpeas, soy? And which form of soy . Soy isolate and tofu are two very different things.

Nutrition is far more than the sum of its macros . The additives, emulsifiers will damage your gut even more . You should treat your IBS by lowering inflammation before making the switch to an imperfected vegan diet.

16lily · 22/03/2022 23:23

I would recommend the vegan protein powder from bulk.com. I've used it for years and it's a good mix. I've only had the white chocolate coconut so not sure about other flavours. I used to love the vegan myprotien blend but they removed the hemp from it and it now tastes rank to me. However, either of those are good value if you get them on offer. I would expect to pay no more than £35 for 2.5jg

HollowTalk · 22/03/2022 23:26

Pretty sure that Huel is vegan. I was watching an interview with the founder the other day. He said that he has two throughout the day and that they are vegan.

Onynx · 23/03/2022 01:31

I use Nuzest Protein powder and it tastes quite good. Available in most health stores.

MrsAvocet · 23/03/2022 01:35

We're not vegan but my sporty teenage son is allergic to dairy and eggs so he uses vegan recovery shakes. He uses a chocolate flavoured powder from My Protein. It is a bit grainy but much more palatable than some of the others he's tried.

RisingMoon · 23/03/2022 05:26

Thank you for the recommendations. There are so many vegan powders out there, I couldn’t decide. Now I will work my way through the recommendations.

@Cormoran thanks, I know it isn’t an optimal diet but I have developed a complete repulsion to (most) animal products following an acute and prolonged illness. I can’t eat meat and/or most vegetarian protein products. I do prepare meat, fish, and vegetarian proteins for my family so they are available to me but the thought of eating them completely repulses me.

I can eat very small amounts of pulses and legumes in soups but it’s literally a few spoonfuls blended into a soup. So I am assuming it isn't enough protein.

Peanut butter is main source right now and also vegetables, oats, do have protein.

I know protein powder is a highly processed food but thought that maybe as I try to get a more balanced diet, I would add it as it at least it is some protein, even if not the best. I only mentioned the “franken-food” reference because I assumed (but don’t know for sure) that vegan meat substitutes might be a source of protein.

I haven’t tried tofu - I roast vegetables, I might try adding tofu to the veg. Or a soft tofu to a fruit smoothie (would that be gross). I haven’t tried quinoa but could try adding that to the roast veg as well.

At this point just finding more vegan protein sources that don’t irritate my IBS will be my goal.

OP posts:
Mummydoctor · 23/03/2022 05:35

I use Awesome supplements protein powders - they taste fab, have minimal list of ingredients and have been highly recommend by a nutritionist I know.

Cormoran · 23/03/2022 07:38

Quinoa needs to be cooked, you can't add it to veggies straight from packet. . I cup quinoa for 2 cups of water at low heat until fully absorbed . I keep a container in the fridge, and mainly like to eat it on its own with soy sauce. You can add it cooked to your stew or poké bowl . I buy the tricolor one.

Nutritional yeast is very high in protein. I like to add to soups and I make my vegan parmesan with it (1 cup cashew, 2 heaped tbls nutritional yeast, some salt, onion powder and blitz. Hide from the kids, because they will love it and eat it straight from jar.

Tofu would be your ideal source. It is extremely healthy . I hate the silken soft one, so always buy the hard, extra hard one. Once unwrapped, you need to drain the water. I wrap it in 3 kitchen paper sheets and squeeze. Then you need to marinate it. I like 3 tbls olive oil, 3 of soy sauce , and 1 of nutritional yeast. Cut the tofu in 1 cm slice and lay in the marinate. Then on a tray in the oven.
For Bolognese, I roast it first in oven. Same marinate as above, but instead of nutritional yeast , I use liquid smoke. Hold the dried block in one hand, and a fork in the other and start grating the fork so crumble of tofu fall in the marinate.Once you have all this popcorn size chunks, lay on papered tray in the oven for 20 min. If you manage not to devour it , you can add it to your bolognese base for the last 5 min.

You need to think of tofu as a blank canvas. It is what you add to it that will make the difference between the Mona Lisa, and the void. There are pre-marinated tofus, try maybe teriyaki or the smoked tofu is quite nice as well.

The silken tofu would be use for creams. Not sure about putting it in a smoothies. I am quite passionate about food tasting good, not only nutritious

Are you sure about peanut butter and other fatty food? Doesn't fat exacerbate gut dysbiosis and therefor IBS?

Which vegan milk do you use? I use a high protein soy, so a glass gives me 10gr of protein. Oats tastes nice but it is low in protein. Almond even less, but good for calcium

As you rightly say, all plants have protein, so yes to oats, whole grains and cereals, even fruit.

Protein powder can be a temporary fix, but even with a reduced list of ingredients, it is the processing. Most powders use protein isolate not the protein itself. Occasionally that is fine, but not as the main source of protein in a diet if choosing a vegan diet to fix complex health issues. . The beyond burgers are made with pea protein isolate, the same as most vegan powders. One is wet, one is dry.

And an important question: are you taking supplements such as B12 (a MUST) , vit D, EPA-DHA , and iodine if not eating seaweed, and selenium if not eating 1 Brazil nut a day.

@RisingMoon I would recommend a book on vegan nutrition because it is very easy to become malnourished and if you were sick for a long time, you can afford to be misinformed on vegan nutrition www.brendadavisrd.com/books/becoming-vegan/

RisingMoon · 23/03/2022 11:11

Thank you for your comments, @Cormoran

I see that Ocado sell the tricolour Quinoa so I will make that and add a few spoonfuls to the roasted veg when I eat them. I could add some tofu to the veg as well - you must be in the USA because I’ve only seen liquid smoke available in the USA. Is it available in the UK? I would enjoy that on tofu. If I can tolerate the tofu.

I could also eat some hard tofu on its own. I cannot eat full meals, only small amounts of food throughout the day. Fortunately I work from home.

I agree about food tasting delicious! while my diet may not sound very tasty, I actually really do enjoy the vegan food that I eat. I’m going to try smooth tofu in the frozen fruit bowl and see how that tastes, probably not good but worth a try. Otherwise I will add a protein powder.

I use Califia Farms Almond unsweetened Vanilla milk - it isn’t high in protein but it doesn’t cause me gut pain. I will see what alternatives might have higher protein.

I had a look at the beyond burgers and they resemble real meat too much for me! I am only just about able to prepare meat for my family and don’t think I could eat such a meaty looking product. Sorry that sounds so persnickety!

I am taking B12 (started a soon as I quit being able to eat meat), take Vit D, and had Vit D test done recently. I have been meaning to add EPA-DHA so will do that. And we have Brazil nuts as DCs eat them for snacks so I could manage 1 or 2 a day. Will check on the iodine.

I don’t know why the Peanut Butter doesn’t cause me gut problems, I eat about a teaspoon at a time, that might be why. It is organic and only peanuts and salt. The olive oil is minimal on roasted vegetables but makes them more filling as I eat them through out the day.

Also, I am really not trying to heal myself with a vegan diet. I genuinely have developed a repulsion to eating animal products so have become an accidental vegan.

Having read your post and looked at the link, I think I might try to consult with a vegan nutritionist - that had been in the back of my mind as an option but I’ve put it off. I didn’t want to be given a long list of recipes that I don’t have the time or energy to prepare alongside preparing my family’s carnivore meals.

Thank you very much for spurring me on towards improved vegan nutrition.

OP posts:
Cormoran · 23/03/2022 17:35

I am in Australia. Carnivore Land. I totally share your repulsion for some animal products, I have issues with the smell of eggs and bacon when you enter a cafe in the morning for coffee. You go to an hardware store, they is a sausage sizzle in the carpark, they even have BBQ in the grass strip next to the beaches. The smell is everywhere.

The cheapest Omega 3 index test is performed by Omegaquant . There should be one lab in uk omegaquant.com/shop/ very easy, a prick test done at home. The first time , you could maybe do a fatty acids studies to identify imbalances, the most expensive and then later only the index once a year.
I take 2 gr of EPA-DHA from DEVA algae based .
My 3 kids and DH are not vegan. We usually have the same meal with only a tiny difference. I am from Monaco, so a mix of French and Italian cuisine . We don't usually have the "one pot" meals such as curry, shepherds pies, but a few cooked/raw vegetables, and then for them , there is a steak/fish/chicken ... and I will have some stewed lentils, grilled tofu or whatever. Often, we will have the same, some soups (minestrone, dhal , ...) at least twice a week, polenta with ratatouille, big salads, bruschetta, a risotto, and they will add the cheese in their plate, or a pasta, so many non meat recipes. This red lentils soup recipe is so delicious cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016062-red-lentil-soup-with-lemon and uses only 1 cup of red lentils. I double the amount because we are 5 and the kids always have second servings. They add parmesan, I add nothing because I love it as it is.

I use cronometer.com to control my vitamins and minerals intake and in the days I am low on something I either supplement directly or take 1 of the www.thorne.com/products/dp/basic-nutrients-2-day-vm2nc after a while, I know roughly if my day is low or not on something. B12 needs to be 1000ug alternating days. Way more than what you find in a multivitamin, so I have single bottles as well. I take the sublingual methylcobalamin form.
On cronometer you can also check your protein intake and it is even divided by single amino acid ( I restrict my methionine and this is why I avoid animal products) and did I mention it is FREE You might actually consume more protein that you think. However, ideally you should consume 30 gr of protein in one meal for optimal utilisation, preferably in the first half of the day.
I eat roughly 45 gr of proteins a day. Some days less , some days more. Nutritional yeast shoots them up.
The requirements are 0.8 gr/kg of bodyweight until the age of 65. I am quite slim so don't need much.

You shouldn't eat Brazil nuts as a snack. They are incredibly high in selenium, so just a few. I eat only 1. Give your kids almonds, macadamia , walnuts and add just a few Brazil nuts to the bowl to avoid selenium toxicity.

Calcium is important as well, and if you read the vegan book I listed, you will understand that nutrient content in a food doesn't mean nutrient you can absorb, for example spinach are high in calcium but because of the oxalate content, your body can't absorb it. Kale and broccoli are better options. Tofu , especially the one with firming agent calcium sulphate is very high in calcium. (labelled as 509 on packet)

Do you tolerate chickpea flour? You can make a lot of nutrient rich dishes with it. From socca to falafel. Plenty of Lebanese and Israeli recipes. But stay away form lentils/chickpeas chips or snacky food, They are rubbish.
What about edamame? They are the yummiest protein I can think of. A small pot of boiling water, two handfuls of frozen edamame, 6 minutes in water, drain well and when dry , a bit of salt.

I see you eat flax seeds, they are quite high in protein, even if nobody eats 100 gr of them. I have 35gr most mornings. You eat a lot of fruits, so fibre doesn't seem an issue for you. You might want to try chia seeds. I am not a big fan, but once a month, I might have a chia pudding (2 tablespoons chia seeds in a jar, 1 cup almond milk, mix well leave in fridge overnight, next morning, a small pot, add 3 very generous handfuls of frozen raspberries, let it melt and simmer until it looks like marmalade, add to the chia jar. many add some syrup like Marple or rice, I like it tangy)

Your local library should have a decent section on vegan cookbooks and they often include a few chapters on nutrition. Once you understand which nutrient are important, it becomes automatic.

I consulted a dietician before I started to eat a whole food plant based diet, but not for recipes, only for her to review the meal plans I had designed and identify deficiencies.
@RisingMoon Vegan nutrition is not complicated once you know the main principles. If you have gut issues and can't eat large amounts, you need to be smart about what you eat.

whatisheupto · 23/03/2022 17:38

What about Purition? They have a vegan range.

EgonSpengler2020 · 23/03/2022 17:41

Myprotein clear vegan, just taste like (overly sweetened) squash. Not chalky at all. Not sure what the protein sources are, but worth a look.

Coffeesnob11 · 23/03/2022 17:43

Awesome supplements or reflex, both uk based both the best tasting and give me the least stomach issues

Yutes · 23/03/2022 19:44

@EgonSpengler2020

Myprotein clear vegan, just taste like (overly sweetened) squash. Not chalky at all. Not sure what the protein sources are, but worth a look.
That’s pea protein. Not sure the OP can have that if they’re not good with legumes?
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