About once a week maybe twice, if I am lucky, I get bombarded with the question, “So since you're vegan where do you get your protein from?”This question makes me want to yell and scream "Why are you so obsessed with protein?".

Yes, I am vegan, and fairly new to this lifestyle. For people who are not sure what veganism is, it means I do not consume any sort of animal product, from meat to eggs, to cheese. I have done my research and have found plenty of ways to get protein rather than turning to animals. It seems that America has become so caught up with consuming meat and dairy, and think this is the only way to get protein.

Although protein is certainly an essential nutrient which plays many key roles in the way our bodies work, we do not need huge quantities of it. The FDA recommends that we take in 0.8 grams of protein for every kilogram that we weigh.

Many people don't know the background of protein. Protein is made up of amnio acids, in other words they can be called building blocks. There are 20 different amnio acids that can form a protein, and nine amino acids that the body can’t produce.

I have people constantly telling me how hard my life is going to be if I want to be an athlete. I hear the constant reasons, “You wont have any energy” or “You wont burn anything without meat, and you won't be lean.” Many people think that if you are an athlete you need an excess amount of protein to be strong and successful. The protein many of them eat is meat such as chicken, steak, cheese and more. Believe or not, there are many vegan athletes today making it known that they eat a plant-based diet. These athletes include Mike Tyson, Carl Lewis and even Venus Williams. A vegan athletes’ protein needs can range from 0.36 to 0.86 grams of protein per pound. Many dietitians believe that plant based diets contain such a wide variety of amino acid profiles that vegans are virtually guaranteed to get all of their amino acids with very little effort.

Here are some of my favorite sources of protein.

1. 1 cup of oatmeal is 6 grams of protein.

2. 1 cup of soy milk is 7 grams of protein.

3. 1 cup of vegetarian baked beans 12 grams of protein.

4. 5 ounces of firm tofu is 12 grams of protein

5. 2 tablespoons of peanut butter is 8 grams of protein

6. 1 cup of lentils is 18 grams of protein

7. 1 cup of green peas is 8 grams of protein

8. 1 cup of fresh almonds is 7 grams of protein

9. 1 cup of quinoa is 8 grams of protein

10. Vegan protein powder: Vega, MRM Veggie Elite and Sun Warrior Protein

It is very easy for a vegan diet to meet the recommendations for protein. Many people forget that all vegetables, beans, grains, nuts and seeds contain some amount of protein.