If one of your goals is to move towards a plant-based diet, you may be wondering if it will be difficult to meet your protein needs. In some cases, you can swap one food for another without reducing your total protein intake. Or you may need to combine a few foods in order to take in the same amount of protein. Here are 7 swaps to replace about 20 grams of animal-based protein with 20 grams of plant-based protein.
1. Replace chicken with tempeh in salads
Swap 3 oz cooked chicken breast cooked (26 grams of protein) for 4 oz tempeh (26 grams of protein).
2. Replace steak with edamame in a stir-fry
Swap 3 oz cooked flank steak (23 grams of protein) for 1 ¼ cups cooked edamame (23 grams of protein).
3. Replace ground beef with mushrooms and lentils in pasta
Swap 3 oz of ground beef cooked (22 grams of protein) for 1 cup cooked lentils + 1 cup diced raw mushrooms (21 grams of protein).
4. Replace pulled pork with jackfruit and lentils in a sandwich
Swap 3oz pork (23 grams of protein) for 1 cup of jackfruit + 1 cup of lentils (21 grams of protein).
5. Replace carnitas with black beans in a burrito
Swap 3 oz pork (23 grams of protein) for 1 ½ cups black beans (22 grams protein).
6. Replace chicken with roasted chickpeas in shawarma
Swap 3 oz cooked chicken breast (26 grams of protein) for 2 cups canned chickpeas (24 grams of protein).
7. Replace eggs with tofu in a scramble
Swap 3 extra-large eggs (21 grams of protein) for 9 oz firm tofu (21 grams of protein).