protein combination

[buffboi26]

Hi Shelley,

I was a great fan of yours on curezone. I am glad i followed you to this new place and that you have not completely disappeared out of our lives.

I hope you can give me your insight on the following: I am a bodybuilder and i would like to cut down on animal protein intake and make some of it plant protein.

1. Can you please teach me a little about plant protein combination so that I can have complete plant protein at every meal.

I hear brown rice and nuts or brown rice and beans are good, but brown rice does not go down well with me. too difficult to digest. I hate soy, doesn't go well with me at all. eggs dont gel with me too. hence the situation is a little tricky.

2. what would be a good complement to lentils as I am huge fan of them?

3. Can you please confirm if bananas and avocadoes have complete protein?

4. as a bodybuilde, I need to count my protein intake, how do i do it with plants then?? 25g of (incomplete) protein from plant A + 15g of incomplete protein from plant B results in 15 g of COMPLETE protein and the remaning 10 g is turned into energy. is that it?


many many thanks for your input Shelley, I really really appreciate it.

[shelley]

Hi Hi! I'm so glad you found the new site.

The easiest way to get complete protein is to mix Whole Grains with Legumes. You can use any whole grain/legume combination you wish. All you need is a 4 to 1 ratio, that is, if you have 1 cup of whole grains, put in 1/4 cup of legumes. Then if you add just a single slice of chicken breast, or just use chicken broth to cook the grains/beans, you intensify the protein variety soooooo much more than just grains/legumes alone, or just poultry alone.

There are many many dishes based on this principle, every culture has one. It's only in the States that we think we need to eat an 8 ounce steak every day or even at every meal! And even for bodybuilders that's just not necessary. Paella, burrito bowls, Japanese rice bowls with peas and a Tempura Shrimp or Teriyaki beef on top or a bit of sashimi, Couscous with peas and bits of chicken or fish, Indian Dahl on basmati rice, Near East Rice and Lentil Pilaf, all of these follow the complete protein standards. Be sure to check out my recipe for Kichadi, it's yummy and you can make a large batch to last for several days.

You say you don't do well with eggs - have you tried my protein shake? or egg drop soup?

To do nuts well you really have to germinate them (soak them overnight in warm, salted water). Same with brown rice. Brown rice has to be soaked all night in hot water in order to not constipate. Check the Kitchen forum for Congee recipes, there's even one you can make in a Thermos flask and take to work to have for lunch. For quick brown rice, use Basmati, much easier to digest, especially if you add Cumin. OR for a nice sweet taste, get to know Bob's Red Mill Brown Rice Farina. totally easy to digest and cooks up in less than 10 minutes. Hot cereal is one of the best breakfasts in the world - nice steady energy. Toss in some nuts and you have wonderful protein. Use Udo's Choice for the fat and you have an even better energy source.

You should get to know your alternative grains, particularly Quinoa. Quinoa is one of the most complete foods out there.

If you make sprouts you get lots more available protein than just regular veggies, same with fermenting things. Fermented foods are the bomb, and something that bodybuilders who need lots of calories really should get into because that way they don't overwork their digestive systems. Fermented foods are pre-digested, they don't take a lot of work. Check out the Cortido recipe in the Kitchen forum, it's tasty!

Avocados are wonderul. Add Avocado to just about anything for better protein and also good oils and tons of potassium. Bananas are prized for the potassium mostly, but actually they don't have as much as avocados or oranges. The problem that I have with bananas is they are very very slow to digest, so much so that they are a cure for diarrhea, and their sugars can stress the liver over time. So I don't tend to rely on them much.

Hope that answers your question!

[buffboi26]

many thanks for your very informative post. it was great. will put alll those initiatives you recommned.

kichardi: yes i have been making them for months. got the recipe off yr curezone page. it's great, really warming. the 1st time i made it, my flat mate thought it semlled so great and asked me for the recipe. i printed off curezone and gave it to him.

will try other recipes here too: lentil salad, moroccan soup..etc. I am cleansing now, so will temporailiy give kefir a miss.

I haven't tried yr egg recipes or protein shake becos they involve raw egss. I am afraid of parasites. I know i have a lot of them in me. i can't sllep at nite and i can feel them wiggling.

will look out for Quinoa and Bob's red....


Just one final query: I'm not sure what lentil is, a grain or a legume. can youplease help with this small question??

Many thanks again, Shelley.

[shelley]

A lentil is a legume. A legume is anything that can be split in half, basically. Usually we see lentils that have already been split so it's confusing, yep.

Are you in the UK? I don't think Bob's Red Mill cereals have made it over there yet unfortunately.

[buffboi26]

you are quite psychic..yes I am in the Uk

[buffboi26]

Sorry shelley,

for bodybuidling purposes, i am still unclear about the resulting amount of protein from grain/ legume combination.

in the 4 to 1 ratio, the resulting complete protein is how much??

an example:

12g of protein from 1 cup of rice combined with 4 g of protein from 1/4 cup of peas.

the resulting complete protein is

1. 12 g
2. 4g
3. 16g
4.?????

hahahahahaha, i hope you can understand what i am asking and shed some light on it.

Many thanks

[shelley]

oh my I DO understand what you're asking, but you know what? There's no way to answer it, and all those "experts" who claim they can are just wrong wrong wrong! So the answer would be something like 3 plus "X".

So really, don't worry about it. One of the keys to good health is simply going by how you feel. Aim for 50 grams of protein per 100 pounds of body fat, make sure most of your protein is complete or aided for absorption by the use of real bone-in gravies and broths, the 4 to 1 ratio of grains and legumes plus a bit of broth or pure protein, and LEAVE IT AT THAT!

what really determines whether you're getting enough protein for bodybuilding purposes is whether you're getting enough fat and carbs to ensure that your protein is spared for protein purposes and not just energy purposes.

[buffboi26]

hey Shelley,

i just made your congee today. it tastes fantastic!!!!!!!

2 more ways of protein combination suddenly struck me:

grains + nuts
legumes + nuts (great for stir-fry)

should these 2 combos be in the same proportion as grains + legumes ie 4:1?

as for protein intake counting, are these 2 combos calculated in the same way?

Many thanks, your recipes are gr8. will try beiler broth very soon. can't find zucini, will substitue with courgettes instead. plan to add nuts.

All right, look forward to what you say. Take care shelley.

[ono]

Hi there buffboi! My husband is an athlete too. I do almost all the cooking, and we have had lots of good results (easy to digest and provides lots of energy) with Quinoa and lentils. My husband claims beans are too hard to digest, unless I puree them like hummos. For rice I mix 1 part brown rice with 2 to 3 parts white Basamati rice. Much easier to digest. I like the eat right for your blood type suggustions (we are both O) but, do not follow them perfectly. We still have animal protein and eggs almost daily. The less you cook your eggs, the easier they are to digest. We eat a lot of home made mayonnaise.

[shelley]

Hey buffboi!

I'm so glad you like the congee! wooo hooo!

Yep, grains + nuts etc. is a fantastic way to get protein, and most nuts (peanuts are the exception) are quite an alkaline protein source. The problem with nuts is they can be very difficult to digest, so use with care! Chop them up or grind them after soaking them all night in warm salt water. Buy raw, blanched nuts for this (no skins).

Almonds are highly prized for their nutrition, as are Brazil Nuts - great source of selenium - and sunflower seeds. One of the best energy/nutrition snacks in the world is 50/50 sunflower seeds and raisins. Chop/process them up together, shape into cookies, and dehydrate. Yum!

My favorite way to get nuts in my diet is to use them in baking cakes and pancakes. I simply substitute some of the grain flour for nut flour and it comes out so tasty and rich! I also like making Pestos. Most people are familiar with basil pesto, but pesto can be ANY green blended with ANY nut, olive oil, garlic, and used as a sauce or salad dressing. Yum yum!

[buffboi26]

ono, thank you for yr response...will try yr initiative about mixing brown rice and basmati rice. will try quinoa and lentils soon.

shelley, thks for yr reply. will try out out alomds soon. brazilian nuts are a tad difficult to get here.

nevertheless, can Shelley or Ono (or anyone) confirm this:

what ration should grains+ nuts

and

legumes + nuts be combined in?

would be very grateful to Shelley, Ono or anyone who clarifies this. Cheers.

[shelley]

No particular ratio, just try not to eat more than a handful of nuts at a time, They're really tough to digest.

[buffboi26]

many thanks..your bieler broth was SUPERB!

[smoothcriminal]

what a great discussion!!
answered a lot of my questions!! i have tried the grain and nuts thing and i do struggle a bit so must find another way to include them. i even tried soaking the ground almonds first but still truggled a little. brazil nuts you should find in holland and barrat buff boi.. i'm in the uk too and am trying to bulk up without throwing my digestion off.. i use my tongue as an indicator.. i tried cottage cheese the other day with fresh pineapple and it was lush with no probs of digestion!!

try egg shakes with some yorghurt, blended saoked raisin-figs-apricot, garam massala, cinnamon, egg yolks, lecithin, nutritional yeast and a teaspoon of glutamine powder. lush

smooth

[ono]

My idea for food ratios is every person is soooo different, everyone metabolizes food so differently, the effects are veried. Maybe keep a journal to document how meal effect the way you feel. I know body builders need certain things to get the bulk, but I eat according to the way food makes me feel. Just an idea