Top 8 Complete Plant-Based Protein Sources To Know About

Being vegan, paying close attention to particular sources of plant-based protein is imperative to consume the required nutrition. You might have come across a list of several vegan protein sources to add to your daily diet pattern. However, mere consuming several or all plant-based food sources with protein content is not enough. You need to take care of the essential amino acids present in the food source along with complete protein intake. Consuming quinoa puffs, seitan, spirulina, and other combinations of vegan protein sources are essential for you.

Understanding the Role of Amino Acids in Food

Amino acids are building blocks element present in the protein. You need protein to get healthy muscles and tissue condition. Whenever you consume any plant-based protein food source, you do not get its benefit directly. When protein enters your body, it breaks down into amino acids and reaches different muscles and tissues of your body. From this process itself, you get to strengthen your body and meet the nutritional requirements with ease.

Another thing to know is that not all sources of vegan protein offer the same level of amino acids intake inside the body. Every food source has a different amount of amino acids to consume and build muscles accordingly.

Essential Amino Acids

There are amino acids essential for your health and must be included in the diet pattern. In general, the human body make some amino acids by using the left ones inside the body. However, some varieties of amino acids cannot be manufactured from the inside, you need to consume them from external sources. Here is the list of essential amino acids that you can get from particular vegan protein sources.

* Isoleucine

* Histidine

* Lysine

* Leucine

* Methionine

* Phenylalanine

* Threonine

* Tryptophan

* Valine

What is a Complete Protein?

A complete protein source comprises all 22 essential amino acids inside. Consuming complete level protein helps repair muscle tissue, improve digestion, and increase metabolic function to an optimum extent. You can make combinations of two incomplete vegan protein sources to make one complete protein and consume all the essential amino acids.

8 Best Sources of Plant-Based Complete Proteins

1. Quinoa

There is nothing like the versatile, gluten-free, crunch, and protein-rich quinoa to add to your vegan diet pattern. Not exactly a whole-blown grain itself, it is a pseudo-grain that is naturally a complete protein source.

It is versatile in sense of being consumed in different ways like savoring quinoa puffs as crunchy snacks, adding in salad or wraps after cooking, or inside breakfast porridge. As a complete protein vegan source, quinoa can provide 8 grams of protein in the appropriate quantity of 185 grams.

2. Soy

Soy has rightfully claimed the status of being a go-to-meat substitute, another source of complete protein for plant-based eating people. It deserves to be on the list because of having different varieties available in the form of tempeh and natto.

You can add soy products to a different set of meals and can even make low-calorie snacks with full complete protein content inside. In terms of nutritional value, soy-made tofu offers 12 grams of complete protein from 1/2 cup serving, 15 grams from 3 ounces of tempeh, 18 grams from 3.5 ounces of natto, and 17 grams from 1 cup of edamame.

3. Buckwheat

Buckwheat is another pseudocereal to add to your diet as the best source of complete protein. It offers a nutty flavor and is easy to cook oatmeal is best to add in breakfast or midday healthy snacks meals to satiate your hunger.

The most common form of consuming buckwheat is in noodles style which in Japanese is known as soba. You can consume buckwheat and get around 6 grams of complete protein from the approximate quantity of 168 grams per serving. In addition to the presence of all amino acids inside, buckwheat further contains manganese, phosphorus, copper, magnesium, and iron.

4. Rice & Beans

One of the simplest and most easily accessible complete protein vegan options you have is the combination of rice and beans. These are two incomplete protein sources that combine to form one complete protein meal that we already talked about.

For the information's sake, most beans have low methionine and high lysine. On the other side, rice both brown and white is low in lysine and high in methionine amino acid. So, you can prepare and combine them to get 8 grams of protein in one cup serving.

5. Seitan

Seitan is another best source of complete protein for vegan lovers to consume something more on the healthy side. The food source is made after consuming the mix of wheat with several spices. It comes as a complete protein alternative for meat.

You can cook seitan with soy sauce to bring additional elements of lysine and rich in amino acids. Also, note the fact that seitan contains gluten-rich wheat, people having celiac disease must avoid the same.

6. Hummus & Pita

A delectable combination of Middle Eastern special pita bread when teamed up with pita makes a complete protein combination. This clubbing of meals provides the essential nine amino acids to your body to stay on a healthy spree.

As you already know, wheat is used to make pita bread which contains its level of protein. For making the hummus, you can use chickpeas that contain a high amount of lysine. So, you can take one medium size (57 grams) of whole white pita bread combined with 2 tablespoons i.e. 30 grams of hummus to get 7 grams of complete protein.

7. Spirulina

Most people do not know the fact that the tablet form of blue-green algae is a complete source of protein. Not just this only, it is one of the highest sources of plant-based protein that you can add to your vegan diet pattern.

It is up to you to buy a tablet or the powered form of spirulina. Mix inside your favorable choice of plant-based milk smoothies along with your preferred choice of nuts inside. You can get 7 grams of complete protein from just one tablespoon of spirulina. It is simply useful to consume in your diet.

8. Peanut Butter Sandwich

Another vegan snack combination that provides you with complete protein intake is the peanut butter sandwich. You can lay your hands on natural peanut butter and spread it evenly inside the whole wheat grain bread to make a healthy sandwich.

In terms of the complete protein combination, wheat is low in lysine and peanuts are high in lysine. Together both the ingredients form a delectable choice of the protein-rich sandwich as your go-to snack.

Conclusion

Consuming protein is a necessity for you to repair muscle fibers, make the tissues strong, and stay on a healthy spree. Include the complete protein vegan sources in your plant-based diet to avail of all the essential amino acids. You can include quinoa, beans, hummus & pita, rice, and other sources in your everyday meal pattern. Further, bring a crunchy taste, add plantain tostones from the Ojas Vegan brand.