How will you ever get enough protein without eating meat?!

This is one aspect of living a vegan life style that has always pushed my buttons; when people say that without meat, you could never have enough protein! I've heard this over and over again, finally I have had enough. You do NOT, I repeat, do NOT need meat to have enough protein in your diet! In fact, most people in the United States who eat a "traditional American diet" consume way too MUCH protein; let me share with you why I disagree with all the new "protein" fad diets...

Believe it or not, the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for protein is a little less than 1/2 gram per pound you weigh. However, most Americans consume four to eight times their daily requirement! So a 140 pound person should consume a little less then 70 grams per day. Where most Americans eat 280 to 560 grams per day! Think about that!

The average non-vegan consumes 15-20% of their caloric intake from protein alone. A vegan averages about 10-12% of their caloric intake from protein.

Diets such as the Atkins, South Beach, Zone, and other low-carb diets requires you to eat absurd amounts of protien and wipe out carbohydrates all together. Let me give you a perfect example of why these diets do terrible things. Take Dr.Atkins, he followed his own diet for 39 years up till his death in 2003, he died at age 72. At the time of his death, Dr.Atkins stood at 6' tall and weighed 258 pouds, which is considered obese by any standard. I kid you not, this just makes me mad! (If you would like to know why these low-carb diets work for a very short period of time, leave me a comment asking why and I'll be sure to let you in on the secret!).

Too much protein is a terrible thing. By consuming too much protein, your absorption of calcium goes wacko, which increases your risk of kidney disease and osteoporosis! Crazy, right? Who would have thought that too much protein (along with too much calcium) could be a bad thing?! Along with this, too much protein can cause heart disease and various forms of cancer.

"But without meat you won't have enough protein!" WRONG.

Here is a list of plenty of other sources of protein that are vegan friendly:
-black beans (15g) -chickpeas (14.5g) -lentils (18g) -navy beans (16g) -fresh peas (9g) -soybeans (28.5g!) -split peas (16.5g) -two slices of whole grain bread (4 to 8g) -1 cup cooked grains (4 to 8g) -2 ounces cooked pasta (10g) -3 to 4 cups raw spinach, kale or lettuce, or 1 cup cooked collards, cabbage, or spinach (3 to 4g) -84g of firm tofu (6g).

Believe me, this is just the tip of the iceberg!

See what I mean? Who says you need meat, I certainly don't. I dare you to try some of these options in replace of meat products! They have great flavors, and are awesome to cook with! Really, try it!