Getting Enough Protein in Pregnancy as a Vegan

Vegetable proteins generally are incomplete proteins, meaning that each source does not contain all the essential amino acids.  To get around this, eat from a variety of different groups to ensure intake of all the different amino acids.  For instance, have beans with your rice, or nuts with your seeds.  It is not necessarily important to eat combined proteins always in one sitting, as I understand it.  Just be sure to choose from several different groups throughout the day.

And if all else fails, there are many vegetable protein powders out there, often with protein from nuts, seeds, and grains already mixed.  I usually have a few of these powders on hand, so I can switch ‘em up or mix ‘em up, when the mood strikes. A smoothie with frozen fruit, spinach, flaxseed, and protein powder and maybe some oat/soy/almond/rice milk doesn’t necessarily sound great, but it tastes delicious and seriously—I can eke 40 grams of protein out of those suckers when I’m on my game.  Halfway there by breakfast?  I’ll take it.  (This is not to overlook the fact that protein should also be dispersed throughout the day. Peanut butter with sunflower seeds and apple slices for snack, anyone?)

One of the best ways for me to get enough protein, or any nutrient, is to plan ahead. For me, this means having boxes of healthful granola bars, bags of trail mix, protein powder, nuts, seeds, cans and/or bags of beans, etc. available at all times.  At every grocery trip, I forage the aisles for new and exciting protein-packed snacks, my nostrils sniffing excitedly and my eyes lighting up when I find a promising new snack and say to it, “9 Grams!? You’re coming with me!”

Because ya know what?  When I don’t plan ahead, I don’t eat enough protein. And then I feel loads of mom-guilt and the child isn’t even born yet. This is why I struggle on the weekends and holidays when I don’t have to go to work. On workdays, I lay out all my food that I’m bringing with me for the day and take stock of the nutrients: “How many servings of fruits and veggies is that? Am I getting any calcium today? How many bleeping grams of protein is that, again?” I really try to think about getting extra protein on the days when I’m on my game, so it will even out across the days that I’m not.

Eating out is another challenge, and another place to plan ahead. Many restaurants offer surprisingly little protein for vegetarian eating. Never mind if you want to go vegan. I’ve been known to order off side menus and confuse servers with my requests for beans and rice and broccoli when I have a veritable smorgasbord of the salty, deep-fried, or triple-stacked deliciousness available to me.  It can be helpful to review menus online before choosing a restaurant, or to keep a mental tab of places where you can enjoy good food with the nutrients you’re looking for.

And then, all this preparation beside, there is certainly something to be said for simply eating mindfully and paying close attention to what your body is asking for.  I imagine that the earliest mothers were not spending their time analyzing their food intake, but rather, they likely just knew what they needed and made it happen.  And I think that, in balance with the wealth of information we have about, well, pretty much anything, we have the ability to be mindful and intuitive, too.