Complete Protein...

...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