Meatless Monday: Enough Already -- Busting the Myth of Plant-Based Protein Deficiency

A new study published in Global Environmental Change shows by cutting meat and dairy consumption by 25 percent, we could reduce two greenhouse gases by 80 percent. This is a big, honking deal. So if you're thinking about moving to a more plant-based diet, welcome aboard and thanks for helping the environment. You'll be helping your wallet, too, because plant-based protein is cheaper than most animal protein, and you'll be helping yourself -- plant-based protein is low in fat and contains zero cholesterol. Still, what people want to know when they find I'm vegan is, do I get enough protein.

Protein is also a big, honking deal. It's a conga line of 20 amino acids your body needs for healthy muscles, blood and skin. Protein keeps you vital. It gives you chi (life force). Alas, you can't generate it yourself. Fortunately, it's in a lot of what you eat, including plants.

The Food and Drug Administration's basic formula for calculating protein needs is .8 grams of protein for every kilogram of body weight. If you're an average guy of average weight, that's 56 daily grams of protein. For a woman, it's 46 grams. And if you're pregnant or nursing, that number bumps up to 71. Even then, it's easy to get your protein RDA. The fact is, most Americans get twice that. This is not a case of more being better. Too much protein can up the risk of nasties from heart disease to impaired kidney function. You want your heart to keep beating and your filtration system to be in optimal condition.

Then there's the myth of incomplete protein. The blame for this falls on the otherwise fine Frances Moore Lappe' author of Diet for a Small Planet. Lappe' advocated a plant-based diet in her book which first came out in 1971, but said plant-based protein sources must be combined at each meal. This seemed to give people a license to dismiss a vegetarian diet as requiring too much effort. A few years later, Lappe' reversed her decision, the 1982 edition of Diet sets the record straight, stating plant-based protein requires no eye-crossing combination or calculation, it's great by itself. Even the American Dietetic Association is on board and released a statement as much. Do we listen? No. What lingers in collective memory is the idea plant-based protein is somehow lacking. People, let it go.

So how does a vegan get enough protein? Tempeh's king, with a stratospheric 20 grams per 4-ounce serving. Tofu has about 9 grams per serving. For those who'd miss the taste and texture of meat, faux meats --veggie burgers, veggie dogs and the like -- make an excellent soy-based substitute, averaging around a dozen protein grams per serving.

To me, fake meats are too close to the real animal deal. I prefer my protein unprocessed and plant-based, by way of beans like chickpeas (15 grams per 1-cup serving) and lentils -- (18 grams per 1 cup serving), nuts (5 grams in a small, delicious handful) and whole grains like oats (6 protein grams per 1/2 cup serving) and my favorite surprise protein source, quinoa. It looks like a grain, but is really a grass, cooks up quick, is mild-flavored, fun in the mouth, versatile as hell and half a cup has a dozen protein grams. Even my favorite vegetable broccoli contains protein (4 grams per serving).

This should you'd think, put the whole "enough protein" myth to rest. But it won't. Would that I had a dollar for every time it came up. I could afford to buy an organic soy cappuccino every day for an entire year (thus ensuring I'd be getting at least 7 daily grams of protein without even trying).

Smoky Quinoa With Mushrooms

This dish requires some cooking time, but does so on its own, without you fussing. The recipe doubles easily, so you can make it tonight and enjoy leftovers tomorrow. Serve it with a side of marinated tempeh or blob or two of hummus and you'll be doing the protein strut.

4 teaspoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup water or broth
3/4 cup quinoa
4 cups fresh spinach
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped, for garnish

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add minced garlic and sliced mushrooms. Toss to coat. Saute for 8 minutes, until vegetables soften. Cover and reduce to low. Continue cooking for 30 minutes.

The mushrooms will have produced a lot of juice. This is good. Stir tomato paste, lemon juice, paprika and cumin to form a thick sauce.

Rinse quinoa in cold water twice so it's free of saponin, quinoa's natural bitter coating. Add to mushrooms. Stir in broth.

Cover and simmer another 30 minutes, until the quinoa has absorbed all the liquid. Stir gently so mushrooms and quinoa combine.

Arrange spinach on a platter or on individual plates. Mound quinoa on top. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Serves 4.

 

Comments

[liberalrebuttal]

02:46 PM on 07/27/2010

I eat a lot of brown rice.

A LOT

[44jupiter]

03:22 AM on 07/31/2010

I eat brown rice a few times a week, often topped with onions, garlic and ginger sautéed in olive oil and/or with a drizzle of kecap manis (Indonesia­n sweet soy sauce) or Bragg Liquid Aminos seasoning. Delicious! I never get tired of it.

[edva]

01:42 PM on 07/27/2010

Going meat-free is also a sure way to not contribute to the inhumane mistreatme­nt of farm animals.

[Melanie Good]

09:31 AM on 07/27/2010

I went vegan while pregnant *and* still nursing my firstborn. I had no trouble getting enough protein, iron, calcium, B-vitamins­, etc that I needed. Moreover, compared with my pregnancy with my first (when I was still omni), I had more energy, felt healthier, and had a much easier labor and delivery. I went on to make plenty of milk, even while tandem nursing a toddler and a newborn. My children are also being raised vegan, and they are healthy and strong 6 and 8 year-olds who love veggies, whole grains, and legumes. Personally­, I'd be much more worried about the health of a family who goes to fast food restaurant­s all the time, and feeds their kids nothing by high-fruct­ose corn syrup, MSG, partially-­hydrogenat­ed oils, preservati­ves and saturated fats. But no one questions those folks--as long as they eat their meat, they must be healthy, right? Meanwhile, our mostly-org­anic, whole foods packed with anti-oxida­nts, fiber, and nutrition is somehow a diet that everyone feels they have a right to question the nutritiona­l soundness of, just because we forego animal products.

[Crows]

11:18 AM on 07/27/2010

1st fanned.

[StoryTime]

02:26 PM on 07/27/2010

22nd!

[Flygande Jakob]

08:41 AM on 07/28/2010

Melanie!!! It's Jason. :)

Your kids have a gooood mom. :) Nice to know not every parent is filling their kids with synthetic food!

[lrobb]

09:16 AM on 07/27/2010

Not to mention, plant-base­d protein is far lower in calories than animal-bas­ed protein. Faux-meat veggie alternativ­es such as soy/mushro­om burgers actually don't taste anything like the real thing. In most instances they taste much better. There is no way my husband will ever be fooled by a veggie-dog­, but if I tell him it is something that tastes great he will try it.

I am certainly not a vegetarian or vegan, but I choose vegetarian alternativ­es based on both taste and calorie count. Why are vegetarian recipes not promoted heavily for people trying to diet? That is how our family found them.

[expressionista]

04:33 AM on 07/27/2010

yum

[Sandra Lawson]

09:07 PM on 07/26/2010

Thanks for the article. Try being a vegan weight lifter, that eats mostly raw food and people are surprise that I'm a vegan, but I let my weight lifting and muscles prove that we don't have to get our protein from animals.

[sabelmouse]

06:48 AM on 07/27/2010

tell that to my son please.

[Beegood]

08:29 PM on 07/26/2010

Anyone thinking of starting a vegetarian­, and especially vegan diet needs to be very careful, no matter what this author claims about protein. Soy is very misused in this country and can cause it's own health problems. Animal products supply our body with necessitie­s that cannot be found in the plant world. Human beings are omnivores. Be very careful and do your research before jumping onto this bandwagon. Of course, I am not advocating an all meat diet or anything, for you defensive vegans. No Meat Monday is a fine idea, why not through in Thursday and Saturday..­. But entirely skipping meat and animal products should only be done when you know the risks.

[Crows]

06:48 AM on 07/27/2010

Beegood - I was a vegetarian for many years and for the last seven years a vegan. Besides, perhaps, needing a B12 supplement­, what specifical­ly do you think vegans need to be careful about?

[sabelmouse]

06:52 AM on 07/27/2010

my health certainly improved when i changed to a vegetarian­, at times even vegan diet as a teen. i had very bad anemia, constant doctors vists, constant meds. a few month of the meat and onto whole foods and my blood was superdoope­r. my doctor went balistic and started screaming, yes, screaming about the need for meat. yet he had the evidence right there.
i eat a little meat now because of where i live and what grows here. but not because i need it to be healthy.

[Crows]

08:10 PM on 07/26/2010

Hello Ellen - looking over the Smoky Quinoa recipe, I don't see what happens to the 4 cups of fresh spinach. I assume it goes in with the mushrooms and garlic - but would like to know for sure.

Thanks

[Crows]

08:00 PM on 07/26/2010

Thanks for the recipe - it looks great. Already filed it on my computer and printed a hard copy. Will be tasting it soon.

[ncconcernedcitizen]

06:43 PM on 07/26/2010

Making Monday a good day of the week.

[LisaViger]

06:14 PM on 07/26/2010

Nice post, Ellen. Definitely going to try your smoked quinoa.

[Nicole Sherwin]

05:01 PM on 07/26/2010

Can you stop eating meat every Monday? It's Meatless Monday. So much healthier for you, your wallet and for the planet!!! Join the Meatless Monday Movement!

[Issaquah79]

04:28 PM on 07/26/2010

This looks really good! I think I'll use it for sloppy joes. I tried something similar at Plum Bistro in Seattle. It was awesome.

[ncconcernedcitizen]

06:44 PM on 07/26/2010

TVP makes good sloppy joes, but definitely give this a try.

[Beegood]

08:44 PM on 07/26/2010

Dude! Avoid TVP, that stuff isn't real food. Research it! It is in the same category as HoHo's in my book.

[SpoonPlayer]

03:58 PM on 07/26/2010

I've really got to get on the quinoa bandwagon, but haven't tried it yet. My elderly dad (not vegan or vegetarian­) loves the stuff - and he's not a culinary adventurer of any sort.

[retiredmichael]

03:11 PM on 07/26/2010

This recipe sounds delicious and simple to prepare. Unfortunat­ely about 3 months ago I discovered that quinoa gives me horrendous stomach aches-even when it's incorporat­ed with brown rice. I've tried eating it in various ways, with the same results. Has anyone else had this problem? I'm curious to know if it's my digestive track that's out of whack...

I'm a vegan and am always searching for new menus to prepare. Thanks for your weekly blog, Ellen!

[SpoonPlayer]

06:07 PM on 07/26/2010

I have not tried quinoa but read somewhere that if you do not rinse it properly before cooking to remove the natural oils that coat the seed, it will not only have a bitter flavor but can give you a stomach ache.

Of course, it is always a possibilit­y that you have an intoleranc­e to it. Hope you figure it out - and take this message with a grain of salt, I'm no doctor.

[retiredmichael]

12:18 AM on 07/27/2010

Thank you! I'd read the same thing about rinsing quinoa thoroughly before cooking, so I took extra precaution­s. It didn't taste bitter but had a strange (unique?) texture...­sort of "slimy" and was opaque. I think I'll stick to brown rice (with a little wild mixed in upon occasion) and avoid the achy gut.

[Beegood]

08:34 PM on 07/26/2010

Honestly, quinoa is overrated. Sure, it's the only grain that is a "complete protein" (something this author doesn't think is important anyway), but the texture is kind of weird and I have never really liked it. But then I hate couscous, and that is what the texture reminds me of. So, if it gives you a stomach ache, don't worry. you aren't missing much - in my opinion.