So I’m sure a lot of you are like me, we grew up in the 70s and 80s where we were told by advertisers that we must eat loads of meat in order for us to get lots of protein into our bodies. Why do we even need protein? I never knew, I just thought I needed to eat lots of red and white meat otherwise I will have no energy and my bones would break!

I’ve been researching a lot about this lately, as I cannot eat too much meat and I’m keen to know how non meat eaters manage to get their protein. So what is protein and why do we need it?

Protein is found all throughout the body; muscles, bones, skin, hair and tissue. It makes up enzymes that power many chemical reactions and haemoglobin which carries oxygen to the blood. Proteins are the main building blocks for your body and we need them to keep us healthy and strong! Our bodies use Protein to build and repair tissue. Protein can also aid weight loss and can boost your metabolic rate, it can help to build muscle but you must also exercise in order for this to happen. Protein is not only about how much we consume but the quality is so important.

Sources of clean and good quality Protein are:

Almonds, Wild Fish, Organic Eggs, Whey Powder, Tempeh, Spirulina, Quinoa, Hemp Seeds, Chia Seeds, Grass Fed Beef, Lentils, Organic Chicken, Cottage Cheese, Greek Yoghurt, Pea & Rice Protein Powder

I eat lots of salmon, trout, quinoa, chia seeds and I’ve just started using pea & rice protein powder in my smoothies. I’m going to give tempeh (protein-rich soy food) a try as it looks nice, have any of you tried it? Would be great to hear your thoughts on the Facebook group.

So to summarise we don’t have to eat lots of meat to get our protein intake!