Successful vegetarian and vegan diets are organized around high-protein plant food sources such as grain, beans, nuts and seeds. You cannot meet your daily protein needs eating only fruits and vegetables. Chronic protein deficiency results in kwashiorkor, a disease usually found only in areas of famine and characterized by wasting of muscle tissue, fatigue and a large swollen belly. The first tissue lost during protein malnutrition is in the liver and visceral organs, followed by muscle and skeletal tissue.
How Much Total Protein?
Based on nitrogen balance studies, federal guidelines suggest that adults, both male and female, require 0.8 grams of protein each day for every kilogram, or 2.2 lbs., of weight. The guidelines suggest that calories from protein should not exceed 35 percent of total caloric intake. Therefore, an average 5-foot, 4-inch American woman who weighs 152 lbs. requires 55 g of protein daily to maintain her health. If she exercises three times each week, she should eat 1851 calories daily, of which a maximum of 647 calories should be from protein. So any food or combination of foods that meets that protein need without exceeding those total calorie guidelines provides an adequate amount of protein.
Potatoes and Broccoli
Potatoes and broccoli are the best sources of protein in vegetables. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Nutrient Database for Standard Reference reports that one large baked potato weighing 299 g contains 7.47 g of protein and 278 calories. Doing the math: to reach an average woman's goal of 55 g of protein each day would require her to eat 7.3 large potatoes, for a total of 2046 calories, which would exceed her daily calorie goal. Broccoli is higher in protein than potatoes. One-half cup of chopped and boiled broccoli contains 1.86 g of protein and 27 calories. To meet an average woman's goal of 55 g of daily protein would require 14.78 cups of broccoli a day, for a total of only 798 calories.
Green Leafy Vegetables
One cup of boiled, chopped spinach contains 5.35 g of protein and 41 calories, so an average woman could meet her protein needs by eating only 10.28 cups, or more than 1/2 gallon, of cooked spinach daily, for a total of only 421 calories. One cup of boiled, chopped turnip greens contains 1.64 g of protein and 29 calories. One cup of boiled, chopped kale contains 3.69 g of protein and 39 calories.
Fruits
Fruits are not good sources of protein. One small banana 6 inches in length and weighing 100 g contains 1.1 g of protein and 90 calories, so about 53 bananas would meet an average woman's daily protein goal, while greatly exceeding her calorie needs. One large apple 3.25 inches in diameter and weighing 223 g contains only 0.5 gram of protein and 116 calories. A cup of raw blueberries has 1.1 g of proteins and 84 calories. A large papaya weighing 778 grams contains 3.67 g of protein and 336 calories.
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