What vegetarians eat instead of meat for a protein is not usually ultra processed food, though it can sometimes be. From my personal experience it usually consists of regular cooked beans. Sometimes sometimes they get fermented and processed into things like tempeh, or tofu. I suggest this is because that ultra processed stuff is expensive, beans are dirt cheap, and tofu is cheap(and delicious). The vegan athletes I know supplement their diet with vegan protein powder, but nearly all people who are serious about being athleats use protein powder.
There’s other protein sources too, if you make overnight oats with soy milk and hemp seeds (or flax seeds or nut butters) you can easily get 20+ grams of protein.
Most of the vegans I know will also eat eggs from responsibly farmed chickens, which is pretty easy to check where I live.
What vegetarians eat instead of meat for a protein is not usually ultra processed food, though it can sometimes be. From my personal experience it usually consists of regular cooked beans. Sometimes sometimes they get fermented and processed into things like tempeh, or tofu. I suggest this is because that ultra processed stuff is expensive, beans are dirt cheap, and tofu is cheap(and delicious). The vegan athletes I know supplement their diet with vegan protein powder, but nearly all people who are serious about being athleats use protein powder.
There’s other protein sources too, if you make overnight oats with soy milk and hemp seeds (or flax seeds or nut butters) you can easily get 20+ grams of protein.
Most of the vegans I know will also eat eggs from responsibly farmed chickens, which is pretty easy to check where I live.