Putting this in a spoiler because it's a bit off topic. I'm not vegan, but my OH is, so I eat vegan 95% of the time. That means that sometimes I'll get a cheesy frozen pizza, or sometimes I'll put a bit of parmesan on our homemade pizzas, but the rest of the times it's vegan. Cheese is really the only non-vegan thing I'll do, except that I don't exclude packaged foods based on trace ingredients from the labels, like OH. I don't like eggs.
But the protein thing is a challenge, especially if you're very physically active. I try to make sure every meal has some protein, and that all ingredients are as high protein as possible. In our house it's always whole wheat flour, for example, even for pastries. We eat really well, though I say it myself.
Last three dinners:
-Homemade pizza with tempeh, asparagus, peppers, and onions. Crust 100% whole wheat flour.
-Pintodillas. My own invention. Homemade low fat refried pinto beans substitute for cheese in quesodillas. Topped with lime-cilantro veggie hash, salsa, and home grown greens.
-Garlic scape pesto pasta with onions, edamame, mushrooms, and broccoli. Lots of walnuts in the pesto sauce. Whole wheat pasta.
I'm very conscientious about making sure all major meals contain good amounts of protein and green veggies. (I get cranky when I go out and can't find a vegetarian meal that fits those criteria.) An easy weeknight meal for us would be stir-fry veggies and tofu with quinoa.
Snacks:
I've become addicted to an organic nuts and berries trail mix that our grocery store sells, so that's one of my go-to snacks. I also like Newman's Own high-protein pretzels, which I like to eat with a high protein dip, made with cashews, lentils, or sunflower seeds. We also of course eat lots of fruit.
Lunches are usually leftover dinners for me. My go-to easy lunch these days involves one of the Thai rice noodle packets (https://www.thaikitchen.com/Products/Instant-Rice-Noodle-Soups.aspx) with about a cup of tofu, then about 2-4 cups of steamed (read: briefly microwaved) veggies (carrots, broccoli, kale, scallions, mushrooms, etc.).
OH has two hummus and kale sandwhiches for lunch pretty much every day. Here's our bread: https://www.foodforlife.com/product/breads/ezekiel-49-sesame-sprouted-whole-grain-bread
Breakfast for me can be muslix with flax seed milk, homemade muffins (current batch is whole wheat almond-peach-flax seed), or toast with almond butter. OH makes a daily smoothie with high quality (non-soy) protein powder.
So I haven't added up the protein in my diet in a while, but the last time I did I was getting about 40-45 grams a day without effort. I'd like it to be higher, and some days I'm sure it is, but I also know it's lower on some days. CDC recommends about 46 grams of protein/day for the average woman. This is a fiercely debated number.
