But Where Do You Get Your Protein? An Honest Answer
By Ami · 7 June 2026 · 5 min read
The protein question is far easier to answer than the internet makes it sound. Beans, lentils, tofu and more, plus what a high-protein day actually looks like in my kitchen.
If I had a pound for every time someone has asked me this one, I would be writing to you from a very nice beach somewhere. "But where do you get your protein?" It comes up at every family dinner, every chat over the garden fence, every time someone finds out I eat this way. And I do understand why people ask, because the internet has made the whole subject sound terribly complicated and a bit frightening.
So let me give you the honest answer, the one I wish someone had given me years ago. It is far, far easier than it sounds. You do not need to make it your life's work. You do not need a chemistry degree. You just need to eat a good variety of whole plants across the day, and the protein quietly takes care of itself.
The plants doing the heavy lifting
Here is your lovely, unfussy list. Beans of every kind, chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans, butter beans. Lentils, red and green and brown. Tofu and tempeh, those brilliant soya foods. Edamame, which are just young soya beans and make a smashing snack. Peas, the humble frozen pea, criminally underrated. And yes, even your everyday potato chips in a bit too.
These are not exotic or expensive. They are the cheap, cheerful, cupboard-and-freezer staples most of us already half-have at home. Build your meals around a rotating mix of them, a lentil bolognese one night, a big bean chilli the next, tofu scramble for breakfast, and you are getting a good spread without ever sitting down to calculate a thing.
No powders, no fussy combining
There are two myths I would love to gently bin for you. The first is that you need protein powders and shakes to manage on plants. You really do not. Whole foods do the job beautifully, and they come with all the lovely fibre and fullness that a scoop of powder simply cannot give you.
The second myth is that you have to carefully "combine" proteins at every single meal, beans with rice at precisely the same sitting, or it somehow does not count. Please let that one go. Eat a varied diet across the whole day and your body is perfectly capable of sorting it all out. You do not need to choreograph every plate. Variety over the day is the whole trick, and it is a wonderfully relaxed way to live.
Why it matters, especially for us
Now, I do not want to pretend protein does not matter, because it does, particularly for us busy mums as the years tick on. Keeping our strength up as we get older is one of the kindest things we can do for our future selves, the version of us who wants to carry the shopping, lift the grandchildren one day, and stay steady on her feet. Getting enough protein from those whole plants helps us hold on to that strength. So it is worth caring about, just not worth stressing about.
What high protein actually looks like on my plate
Now I am building muscle as well as staying lean, I do pay a bit more attention to this, and it still is not complicated. Beans blended into my morning oats. A chickpea scramble. Tofu in the curry. A lentil chocolate pudding after dinner, which sounds mad and is so good. A cheesy broccoli hashbrown bake that my kids fight over. All of it whole food, all of it big portions, all of it doing the protein job without a single scoop of powder.
Watch: So many high protein whole food plant-based meals for maximum weight loss shows you a whole day of them, including that hashbrown bake.
So the next time someone asks you where you get your protein, you can smile sweetly and tell them: from my dinner, same as everyone else. It really is that simple, my love.
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Quick answers
How do vegans get enough protein?
Beans, lentils, chickpeas, tofu, tempeh, edamame, peas and whole grains, eaten in variety across the day. If you are eating big portions of these, protein takes care of itself.
Do I need to combine proteins at every meal?
No. That is an old myth. Eat a varied diet across the whole day and your body sorts it out.
Do I need protein powder to lose weight or build muscle on a vegan diet?
No. I am building muscle now on whole foods. Powders are optional at best, and they lack the fibre and fullness that whole beans and tofu give you.
Topics
- where do vegans get protein
- vegan protein sources
- plant based protein for weight loss
- high protein vegan meals
- do vegans need protein powder
- protein combining myth
- tofu protein
- beans and lentils protein
- protein for women over 40
- Broccoli Mum
Ami x 🥦
Broccoli Mum