Ovo-lacto vegetarians?

I should post this on the main board too, but I am very seriously considering going ovo-lacto vegetarian (still eat dairy and eggs - organic and cruelty-free).  I was actually raised this way and didn't eat meat until my teens.  At the time it was more because that's how I was raised, but now its more about animal farming conditions.  It grosses me out.  I already try to only get organic and cruelty-free cage-free meat, but its pricey and sometimes still gives me pause.  What can I say, I'm a bleeding heart.  I'd save a bit of money this way and not feel bad about eating it.  My concern is getting enough protein and also how much carbs would increase.  I am not crazy about tofu so protein would mainly be from lentils, beans, milk, vegetarian rennin cheese, yogurt, soymilk, edamame, etc.  Its certainly doable, but a challenge.  I know my family, especially my very picky mother, is often protein-deficient and I think I was for quite a while as a child.  Are there any vegetarians/vegans around here?  What do you do to get your protein in?

Well, if you go lacto-ovo you still have the option of myoplex shakes.  You can buy a Myoplex EAS chocolate dring at Krogers next to the slimfast.  It has about 300 calories and 45 grams of protein. You can also get protein from peanut butter too, but you will get the sugar from that unless you go with a low sugar peanut butter. There are completely vegan protein shakes as weel if you do a google search.

You should also go to a Whole Foods market and look into almond milk and almond cheese. It's allot like rice milk and cheese but without the aftertaste. You also may want to look in the vegitarian section for a product called seitan (pronounced Say-Tan).  This has a texture and a taste just like chicken. I once deep fried it with a flour coating and made "chicken" nuggets before. It's awesome.

One food I really advise is Veganaise. If you like mayo then this is the best option to go completely vegan. I used the fake chicken with the Veganais to make a "chicken" salad.  I just added jiccama, apples, and roasted almond slices and it was perfect.  

Good lord that sounds good!

There's an egg white protein drink called Vitrol that's very good.  Don't know if those little eggs are from cruelty-free hens, though.  You can also get bean flours from Bob's Red Mill direct, or your local grocer may carry them.  The green pea flour can be added to guacamole.  I add the white bean flour to nearly everything I bake, and I bake with only whole grains. My morning bran muffin is fortified with white bean flour, powdered milk, dairy whey, and powdered egg whites.  You can find small ways to add protein to your diet. Lynn

Hey, I am vegan and I have not had any problems with protein.  I too do not eat meat for the same reasons..well and milk, dairy, eggs, etc as well...."cage free" and "free range" is not FDA run and cage free can be considered the chickens being out of the cage for 10 minutes a day.  There are some legit places for sure.  Well, back to subject..lol...boca burgers, soy burgers, "fake meat" has lots of protein.  You can get fake bacon, sausage, turkey, corndogs, etc. from any store.  You can get fake anything now a days!  The best place is the internet to research high protein, low carb, and non-meat recipes.  Good luck to you and I am sure lots of little hearts are thanking you!!!

Thanks for the info guys!