Hi Dawn,

There are a lot of sources of protein besides meat, but the big "?" of modern time is whether plant protein is as good as meat protein. The other big "?" is whether low carb diets are good for us or not. I honestly think modern science is quite poor because there is no consensus on anything. For everyone group that says one thing, there is another who says something different. Any diet is as much a leap of faith as any religion!

I've got 2 books by Dr Atkins as I tried his diet for three weeks. It was a tough diet as a vegetarian as I was virtually eating salad and eggs or salad, cheese and high protein veggie sausages. I gave up after 3 weeks, but I got a period 3 weeks later, whereas previously I hadn't got one for a year. But it could be coincidence as I was still getting some menstruation at that point.

Anyway, I've been looking up this subject for some time now, and have found some things out.

Low or equal carbs:
Eggs
Spinach
Asparagus
Peppers
Some nuts i.e. pine, brazil
Seeds i.e. pumpkin, sunflower

lot of protein, but much higher carb content:
Quinoa
Rice
Wheat
Beans
Pasta
Couscous
Lentils

To get a complete protein from plants, it's necessary to combine them i.e. combining grains with legumes or seeds i.e. peanut butter on toast is a complete protein. Rice with beans is complete. Seeded bread is complete. Quinoa and lentils is complete. A meal of quinoa and lentils would give about 20g or protein, which is a good amount, but it would also give about 130 carbs.

I haven't found any vegetarian pre-made meat-replacer that is gluten, soya and milk free except Quorn chicken pieces. A serving of 100g gives 14g of protein.

I have organic cornflakes from Holland and Barrett, but that is 5g of protein to about 35g of carbs (including rice milk).

There is a drink called White Sun Milk that has the highest protein content of non-dairy milks after soya. I believe it's made of pea protein, but I generally don't eat much beans or peas because of the toxins that need to be boiled. But I do sometimes buy Organic Pronto from Tesco which is mixed beans, and has 10g of protein per half pot to about 25 carbs.

Soya is a source of protein, but highly debated on whether it is safe or not.