Whether you're reducing meat for health reasons, for budget pressure, or to vary your table, our Gulf kitchen already has everything you need.
Why plant protein at all?
Because it arrives as a complete package: protein plus fibre — the component Lancet reviews link to substantial reductions in mortality, heart disease and diabetes[1] (details here). Meat gives you no fibre; lentils give you both.
Options from our table
- Lentils: the backbone of Ramadan soup — protein, fibre and plant iron.
- Fava beans: a cheap traditional breakfast that keeps you full for hours.
- Chickpeas: whole or as hummus with tahini — and tahini adds calcium useful for bone (the bones article).
- Black-eyed peas and white beans: already part of our everyday cooking.
- Nuts and seeds: protein and healthy fats — but calorie-dense, so a handful, not a bowl.
- Laban, yoghurt and cheese: animal protein without meat, plus microbiome benefits (the Stanford trial).
- Eggs: the cheapest complete protein on the market.
The critical point: iron
Plant (non-haem) iron is less well absorbed than iron from meat — which matters greatly in a region where iron deficiency anaemia prevalence is estimated at 30% to 56% per the Saudi national epidemiological survey[2], reaching 40.5% among adolescent girls in Riyadh[3].
The fix: combine plant iron sources with vitamin C (lemon, tomato, pepper, orange), and separate tea and coffee from the meal by an hour (full details here).
And how much do you need anyway?
See the protein requirement article — the official recommendation is 0.8 g/kg, and higher for older adults per the PROT-AGE group[4]. A plant-based source can hit the number, but it needs clearer planning and greater variety.