This morning I had the first of my very tough leg workouts as part of my 12 week program. My legs have already turned to jelly and I am dreading the inevitable soreness tomorrow and the next day. To help my muscles repair (and then grow) I am going to pack in the protein for the next 24 hours. I followed my workout with a simple protein shake then a late breakfast omelet with a high percentage of egg whites and veggies. For my late lunch I very quickly through together this tasty protein packed Stir Fry.
Tempeh is one of the most protein dense foods on a vegetarian/vegan diet. It is made from whole fermented soy beans which means it is really easy for your body to digest and is all natural. One cup of Tempeh can boast 31g of protein. Once you flavour this cream coloured, veggie burger like, food it is really tasty, versatile and satisfying.
Protein Packed Post Workout Stir Fry
1 teaspoon coconut oil
1 packet of organic, non GMO, tempeh
2 teaspoons red curry paste
1 stick celery
large handful of beans or snow peas
3 heads of pak choi
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon tamari soy sause
Place a large heavy pan over a high heat and spoon in the coconut oil.
Dice the tempeh into 2cm cubes and add to the pan.
Spoon in the red curry paste and stir with a spatular for 2 minutes.
Add in the chopped veggies, quinoa, water, tamari soy sauce, stir once and cover with a lid.
Cook for a further 5 minutes stirring occasionally, returning the lid each time.
Serve straight away and garnish with your favourite fresh herbs or edible flowers.
Hi Robyn,
Thank you so much for your message and kind words. I hope you don’t mind if I share it on the comments section of the blog.
Well done for trying something different and committing to the challenge of the Primal Blueprint (Paleo diet). You have set yourself a very hard task as there is not much left in the Paleo diet once you remove the meat.
What remains are: vegetables, fruit, roots, and nuts.
What is excluded are: grains, legumes, salt, refined sugar and processed oils.
Strictly speaking soybeans and peas are legumes so that rules out soy and pea protein shakes, which are always a great option for vegetarians and vegans.
This also rules out the protein packed soy products, quinoa and sprouted brown rice protein shakes. I am a big fan of Sun Warrior sprouted brown rice protein (www.sunwarrior.com) and have also used pea protein although the flavor is not that great.
I am currently switching between rice protein and whey protein shakes.
So my recommendation would be to eat lots of veggie and egg white omelets and bend the rules to include some protein powders of your choice.
Hope this helps. Best of luck!
Megan
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On 30 Apr 2012, at 00:31, Robyn wrote:
Name: Robyn
Message:
Hello,
I am a veggie currently embarking on a 21 day challenge based on the Primal Blueprint (paleo diet) and am struggling to keep my protein intake as high as I would like given my increase in exercise!! I noticed your comment about simple protein shakes are your leg workout and I wondered what protein you use?
Love your blog – plenty of healthy options for us veggies! Thanks