“How do you get enough protein?” is a question vegan duathlete Lisa Gawthorne has been answering for 20 years, often after crushing a run-bike-run race—she’s won both the European and World duathlon championships in her age group.
As a member of Team Great Britain and athletics club Vegan Runners, she covers her uniform in patches and pins advocating a plant-based diet. “I’m very vocal about being vegan for the animals,” she says. “It’s at the center of everything I do.”
She’s always happy to chat about the benefits of plant-based eating—from better sleep, skin and digestion to faster muscle recovery. She attributes her body’s resilience to the anti-inflammatory phytonutrients (natural plant compounds) in vegetables, nuts, seeds and legumes.
“I realized I was recovering much faster after races than my teammates who were younger,” Gawthorne explains. Sharon Palmer, plant-based dietitian and author, agrees that getting enough protein seems to be on everyone’s mind. “It’s the most common question I get,” she says. “But research shows that people who eat plant-based are meeting their protein needs.”
So just by eating plant-based, I cover all the bases. I’m getting health benefits, I’m helping the planet—and I’m helping animal welfare.”
Sharon Palmer, plant-based dietitian
Protein is made up of 20 amino acids that your body needs, including nine that your body can’t produce on its own. Soy products, quinoa, hemp and chia seeds, nutritional yeast (a savory powder used to flavor foods), amaranth and buckwheat contain enough of all nine for them to serve as “complete” proteins, while most plant proteins don’t have enough of one or two. But that’s easy to work around.
“There used to be this idea that you had to combine foods, like beans and rice, at the same meal,” to absorb amino acids properly, Palmer explains. “Now we know your body can pool those amino acids over the course of a day.”
Palmer recommends including at least one high-protein ingredient in each meal and reaching for protein-rich snacks. Her go-to protein sources include grains (oats, quinoa, brown rice), legumes (beans, lentils, chickpeas), soy products (tofu, tempeh, edamame), nuts (peanuts, almonds, pistachios) and seeds (pumpkin, hemp, chia).
The bioavailability (how efficiently your body absorbs protein) can be a bit lower in plant-based foods. Thankfully, studies show that all types of protein support muscle growth, and plant proteins come with added benefits—such as fiber, antioxidants and other essential micronutrients we often ignore—that support overall health and muscle repair.
When faced with friendly skeptics, Gawthorne has been known to pull out her food tracking app to prove her protein credentials: She eats at least 100 grams of protein every day, mostly from seitan and a rainbow of plants. “I think people forget that there’s protein in almost everything we eat,” she says. She encourages the veg-curious to start slowly—such as with Meatless Monday or Veganuary—and to focus on finding one plant-based, high-protein food they really like.
“Protein is one of the most significant foods we consume in terms of our impact on the planet,” Palmer adds, referring to the greenhouse gas emissions, pollution, and outsize land and water use associated with meat and dairy production. “So just by eating plant-based, I cover all the bases. I’m getting health benefits, I’m helping the planet—and I’m helping animal welfare.”
Photo by Lance Murphey/The HSUS/
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Stuffed acorn squash with herbed quinoa and cranberries
“This vegan stuffed acorn squash recipe is so easy that you can serve it as a one-dish meal any night of the week,” says Palmer, “yet it’s pretty enough to be the headliner at your holiday table, too.”
Total time: 55 minutes | Serves 6
3 medium acorn squashes
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
½ medium red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup quinoa, uncooked
1½ to 2½ cups vegetable broth
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
¼ tsp black pepper
8 oz meatless crumbles (such as Gardein, Beyond Meat or MorningStar Farms)
½ cup chopped parsley (plus more for garnish)
¼ cup chopped walnuts
¼ cup dried cranberries
½ lemon, juiced
- Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C).
- Split squashes in half lengthwise; scoop out seeds. Place in large baking dish or pan, cavity side up; drizzle with tablespoon of olive oil. Add 2 tablespoons water to dish. Cover with foil; bake for 30 minutes.
- Prepare the filling. Add remaining tablespoon of oil to large sauté pan or skillet. Sauté onion and garlic for 4 minutes. Add quinoa; sauté 2 minutes.
- Add 1½ cups broth, oregano, basil and black pepper. Cover; cook 12 minutes, adding more broth, 1 tablespoon at a time as needed, until liquid is absorbed.
- Add meatless crumbles, parsley, walnuts, cranberries and lemon juice. Cook 3 minutes, adding more broth if needed until moist, with all liquid absorbed.
- Remove squash from oven; fill each cavity with ¾ cup quinoa filling, packing with a spoon and mounding over top.
- Return squash to oven (uncovered); bake 10 to 15 minutes until tender and filling is browned.
- Remove from oven and garnish with parsley.
Per serving 377 cal, 11 g fat, 1 g sat fat, 33 g pro, 36 g carb, 6 g sugar, 7 g fiber, 450 mg sodium
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