Complimentary Protein Foods

NFH

Looking for quick, easy meals that have high protein values. For example, 'beans on toast'. I know meats and poultry are good sources but I'm lookin for different almost vegatarian ideas. Started eating Quinoa(kinda like cous cous) but apparently its not enough by itself you need to have it with beans to make it a full protein dish, but I don't really know what kinda beans etc. Any suggestions would be great, cheers.

ApeXaviour

Baked beans are chock full of sugar, then if you're putting them on white toast, it's just a recipe for insulin spiking.

It's a pity you're going the vegetarian way. It's difficult to get good protein on that. Legumes/pulses are high in protein granted. However only soy really has the "high biological value protein" (as we called it in junior cert home ec). What this means is that they don't all the amino acids your body can't make on its own. That's okay though, protein is still protein. My main problem with legumes, and the reason I avoid them like the plague, is the amount of lectins in them. Now lectins aren't as evil as sugar, but still, if I can get my protein elsewhere, I want no part of them.

Will you eat fish? Tuna, mackeral, salmon, basically all types of fish are great protein, not to mention omega 3 sources. How about eggs? Eggs have the most bioavailable protein known to man. They're genetically geared towards that. Eating 3 eggs a day (organic is better due to what the chickens are fed) is definitely a healthy way to go.

Maybe supplement your protein too, a fruit/veg smoothie with a spoon or two of whey protein powder.

NFH

Im not vegatarian, Im just lookin for the most handy way of getting protein, meat sometimes requires too much prep and can be expensive. I'm lookin for any way to get protein not just beans and pulses etc, didnt think of soy or tofu.

When you say 3 eggs a day do you mean egg whites because I've been told you shouldnt eat more than 6 eggs(with yolk) a week as it too high in colesteral.

I eat meat, fish, eggs etc but Im in college and I always have these long gaps between meals and I would like somethin quick and easy I could throw in a lucnh box and eat fast, thats why quinoa, beans and all that seemed like a good idea, so if you know of anything other than meat, fish and eggs that would be the next best thing for protein and is handy, I'd be open to suggestion

ApeXaviour

NFH wrote: »

When you say 3 eggs a day do you mean egg whites because I've been told you shouldnt eat more than 6 eggs(with yolk) a week as it too high in colesteral.

The link between dietry cholesterol and serum cholesterol is a tenuous one. If you have low fat diet (which you shouldn't because it is a big load of BS) then maybe it is an excessive amount of saturated fat for you. I'll refer you to g'em's post on steak:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=54574794&postcount=11
The same applies to steak as to eggs, it's the proportion saturated fat intake. Fish, olive oil, nuts, seeds etc make up a decent amount of my caloric intake, so I can happily eat as much eggs as I want.

NFH wrote: »

I eat meat, fish, eggs etc but Im in college and I always have these long gaps between meals and I would like somethin quick and easy I could throw in a lucnh box and eat fast, thats why quinoa, beans and all that seemed like a good idea, so if you know of anything other than meat, fish and eggs that would be the next best thing for protein and is handy

So you're not vegan, and you're looking for "the most handy of getting protein". Then why are you so focused on things other than meat, fish, eggs etc? You can get wild pink salmon for 90c a can, ready to eat. Tinned mackerel is cheap. Eggs are easy to cook and cheap also. You can get chicken for a decent price.
The handiest is whey protein powder you can get from any healthfood or bodybuilding store. Though I don't do this.

Beans on the other hand.... while cheap, require over night soaking and hours of cooking. They're difficult to prepare well, they have unpleasant gastric effects, they have lectins and their protein isn't well utilised. It's a poor poor trade off.

What's stopping you grilling a chicken/beef/pork/lamb steak/chop at home (5 mins), boiling an egg (4 mins) or opening a tin of fish (30 secs). Then cutting it up and throwing it into a tuppaware container with some lettuce, carrot(add what you want here, mushrooms, scallions, onion, nuts, seeds, dressing, olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, cheese, chili oil, etc.). I'm poor, in college too and I do this all the time for lunch.

NFH

Ok now I'm just really hungry, cheers

g'em

ApeXaviour wrote: »

What's stopping you grilling a chicken/beef/pork/lamb steak/chop at home (5 mins), boiling an egg (4 mins) or opening a tin of fish (30 secs). Then cutting it up and throwing it into a tuppaware container with some lettuce, carrot(add what you want here, mushrooms, scallions, onion, nuts, seeds, dressing, olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, cheese, chili oil, etc.). I'm poor, in college too and I do this all the time for lunch.

Werd

I'm not a student anymore (*sniffle*... responsibility sucks), but I still bring my meat & veg lunch into work every day. It never gets boring as there's lots of different meat/ seafood/ egg combos you can use and an absolute slew of vegetables available.

rubadub

ApeXaviour wrote: »

Baked beans are chock full of sugar, then if you're putting them on white toast, it's just a recipe for insulin spiking..

Looking at my tin 3.8% sugars. Dunno how much of that is natural and how much is added. The sauce can always be rinsed off, used to open the lid almost all the way, then stick under the tap, it dilutes the sauce which runs over the side and you are left with water & beans, then tilt with the lid still on do pour off the water. Then I would heat them with spices. Baked beans are dirt cheap.

Tecso are now doing frozen chickpeas and red kidney beans. Probably less processed than the tinned stuff, and no soaking needed.

Piste

Hmm are baked beans from a can really that terrible if you drain off almost all of the sauce? How much better are the weightwatchers/low sugar ones?




Hummous made from chickpeas is also a great delicious source of protein OP.

LivingDeadGirl

I eat Batchelors 'Sugar Free' beans, they're great! Can't eat the ones with sugar now, they're too sickly sweet!