How do you find high-protein foods as a vegetarian in Argentina?

There are 6 replies in this Thread which has previously been viewed 303 times. The latest Post (January 29, 2025 at 3:25 PM) was by Splinter.

    I just moved to Argentina for my exchange program, but I’ve been struggling to find high-protein foods. I’m vegetarian (possibly the only one within 10 miles lol) so I can’t just eat steak. In previous countries I’ve lived in, I relied on foods like Tofu but they're hard to find here.

    I found an Argentina-based app, Nutrix AI, that’s been helpful, but I’m open to any other suggestions! What I like about Nutrix is that I can tell the chatbot about all my preferences (diet, budget, and whatnot) and it’ll recommend meals for me. I just wish it told me the exact stores where to buy the stuff from.

    Nutrix, if you're interested: https://bit.ly/3PWirFq

    Edited once, last by jamiesparks: Merged a post created by jamiesparks into this post. (January 29, 2025 at 11:44 AM).

    Hi Jamie,

    my husband is also a vegetarian and we eat mostly pizza and Indian food (which I make myself).

    Supermarkets here have a poor offer to begin with, let alone of healthy food. You have to look for Dietetíca, which are sort of mini Whole Foods. The assortment varies and they are not cheaper than supermarkets, but they do carry products not available elesewhere.

    Are you in Palermo? There are a few chains of Dietéticas like Tienda Nova, New Garden, Tienda Callao, Coquito, Dietética Tomy, El portugués (for bulk pulses and nuts, usually packed in 500g and 1 kg bags).

    Some verdulerías double as dieteticas and you can buy bulk (unpacked) beans and nuts.

    There are many Dietetica stores that will have everything you need to prepare higher protein foods at home. Some who have seitan, tempeh, and tufo. Also many that have packaged fresh and frozen vegetarian foods. I find the most reliable is the habit of soaking dried beans, soy, and lugumes found everywhere, to prepare in our meals the next day. Though we mostly eat animal meats, with the beans and legumes to add variety.

    Thanks for adding dried beans to the list, aficionado . Large white porotos are one favorite.
    I love to soak dried beans and use them in hearty soups during cold weather. But sometimes the beans take many hours of cooking to soften, even when I’ve used the booster method of boiling for 5 minutes before the overnight soaking. I’ve always assumed that the longer you keep dried beans, the longer it takes them to cook. Do you know if there’s anything to that idea? Do you know of any techniques that can shorten the cooking time?

    Quote from aficionado

    There are many Dietetica stores that will have everything you need to prepare higher protein foods at home. Some who have seitan, tempeh, and tufo. Also many that have packaged fresh and frozen vegetarian foods. I find the most reliable is the habit of soaking dried beans, soy, and lugumes found everywhere, to prepare in our meals the next day. Though we mostly eat animal meats, with the beans and legumes to add variety.

    Got to agree. Even here out in the sticks there's plenty healthy food shops with more opening all the time. I'm very surprised our new member is having difficulty finding the ingredients from the site he's plugging. ;)