…the Vegan way!
OK, it’s simple.
A Full Protein is made up of a combination of essential amino acids, nine to be exact.
Protein is found in many things besides for animal products, for example seeds, beans and grains.
However, all animal products are full proteins on there own (containing all esential amino acids)- the proper combination of things like rice and beans creates a full protein too.
Though, it is not necessary to combine specific protein foods at one sitting. Throughout the day, as you are consuming plant based proteins, your body will combine proteins from all sources to get all the “complete proteins” it needs.
Plant Based Protein is divided into 3 categories:
Grains
Seeds/Nuts
Legumes
Legumes combined with Seeds, Nuts or Grains form a complete FULL protein.
Hummus is a full Protein!
Why?
Chickpeas: Legumes
Tihini (sesame paste): Seeds
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sando!
Peanuts: Legumes
Bread (I like gluten free brown rice bread): Grains
millet, quinoa, rice & lentils, chia seeds, mixed rices, pumpkin seeds, oats
Examples of Protein Sources:
Grains:
Rice
Oats
Wheat Bread
Amaranth
Barley
Rye
Buckwheat
Corn
Millet
Couscous
Pasta
Seeds/Nuts:
Pumpkin Seeds
Almonds
Walnuts
Brazil Nuts
Flax Seeds/Chia Seeds
Nut and seeds Butters (Almond Butter, Tahini, etc)
Legumes:
Black Beans
Kidney Beans
Pinto Beans
(all beans!)
Soy
Peas
Peanuts
Tofu
Temphe
Lentils (my favorite!)
Soy and Quinoa are the only plant based full proteins
Example of Complete Protein Meals
Breakfast:
Oatmeal with soy milk (nuts & flax seeds)
Toasted oats, ground flax seeds, walnuts and cinnamon, with a little plain organic yogurt
Quinoa cooked with almond milk (Add nuts, flax, cinnamon, honey…)
Chia Seed Pudding (2 T seeds + 2 T oats + 1/3 cup water, 1/3 cup soy milk, let sit for 10 minutes and it turns into pudding consistency. Top with the same things you would oatmeal)
Toast and Peanut butter
Lunch and Dinner:
Green salad with brown rice and beans (my staple)
Corn tortilla, black beans, pupmkin seeds, shredded lettuce, salsa, etc
Rice Cakes with hummus and sliced avocado
Veggie Burger (I like making Quinoa Lentil burgers, with a tahini sauce)
Nori roll with Rice, tofu and Veggies
Stir-fry veggies and tofu over brown rice, sprinkle with sesame seeds
Chili and Corn Bread
Brown Rice with Curry Chickpeas
