Where do you get your protein?

When people learn that I am a vegetarian, a common question I get asked is "Where do you get your protein?"

I should start trying to remember to ask them in response, "How many grams of protein per day, do you think we are supposed to get?"   ...because chances are, most people have no idea.  It's not until you seek out information like that, that you find the answer, and when you do, you learn that the amount of protein is we need per day is a lot lower than you would think, and most people would meet it easily by consuming plenty of things that are not animal flesh. For someone my size, I only need 29 grams of protein per day. 

What people also are unaware of is that a lot of foods they always thought of as a "carb", also contains protein.  Just 1/4 cup of oats contains 6-7 grams, a slice of wheat bread contains 2 1/2 grams, a serving of brown rice contains 7 grams.... And then when you add in foods that are known for having high protein such as beans, nuts and nut spreads, seeds etc, reaching 29 grams is no problem.  In fact, not going over that amount is a lot harder than reaching it!! 

So when you think about the average American who eats meat at least 3 times per day, and each serving size is at least twice the recommended amount... most people are consuming way way too much protein.