Vegans refrain from eating any food that comes from animals. Though a vegan diet can be nutritious and healthy, it is more limited than a non-vegan diet, and you need to be aware of this, so that you can eat well and meet your nutritional needs. It's easier to get complete protein from animal based foods, but if you keep your vegan diet varied and understand a few principles of nutrition, you'll be able to get all the protein your body requires.
Complete and Incomplete Protein
Protein, one of the three macronutrients, along with carbohydrates and fats, is needed for the body's growth and survival. Proteins are built from amino acids, some of which can be made by your body, while some, called essential amino acids, must come from the diet. If you don't get enough of even one amino acid, your body can't build protein properly. Protein from animal sources is complete, meaning that it contains all the amino acids you can't make yourself. Vegetable protein is usually incomplete, lacking one or more essential amino acids.
Soybeans and Quinoa
Soybeans and quinoa are two plant foods that do contain complete protein. Soy protein is considered equivalent in its nutritional value to protein from animal sources, and is a significant source of protein in the vegan diet. Soy is a versatile bean that can be made into a huge variety of foods, such as soymilk, tofu, and tempeh. Tofu in turn can be fried, stewed and used in soup. Quinoa, a grain native to South America, has been compared to dried milk in its nutritional value. It can be prepared like rice, or used to make soup, flour or breakfast cereal.
Complementary Proteins
Grains such as rice, wheat and corn and legumes such as beans, peas and lentils, all contain incomplete protein. Nuts, such as walnuts or almonds, are another such example. Legumes are deficient in some amino acids; grains are deficient in others. Rice and beans, for example, complement each other, one providing the essential protein that the other lacks. Though they're typically eaten together, as long as you eat foods with complementary proteins within the same day, your body can combine the protein from the two sources to create the complete protein it needs. (see ref 4)
Dishes with Complete Protein
People around the world have been combining plant foods into complete proteins for thousands of years without knowing the scientific rationale for it. Mexican and South American cuisine combines corn, rice and beans. When you eat a bean burrito, you've eaten complete protein. Japanese and Chinese dishes commonly combine rice and tofu. Indian dishes combine wheat or rice with lentils. A Thai stir-fry with tofu and peanuts served with rice and a whole wheat peanut butter sandwich are two more examples of dishes that contain complete protein.
References
- Harvard School of Public Health - The Nutrition Source: Protein
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - College of Environmental, Consumer and Agricultural Sciences: Soy Protein Quality
- Illinois Center for Soy Foods: Recipes
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Protein
- The Vegetarian Resource Group: Protein in the Vegan Diet
- Ohio State University Extension - News Article: Quinoa
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