There has been an increasing push for Americans to consume less meat and get more fruits and vegetables in their diet. This has been a difficult concept for many people to grasp because the plates our culture have always been set up like this:
Meat has been the centerpiece complemented by a side of starch and maybe some fruit and vegetables. If you take away the meat, many will argue that it’s not a complete meal. So how do “meatless Mondays” work without the meat? Does it mean we’ll be missing out on protein and end up eating more carbs?
Contrary to popular belief, you can get protein from food sources other than meat. Did you know that vegetables contain protein? Even if you omit meat from your meal, it’s not that hard to consume all of your protein needs in one day. Typically the average person needs about 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. If you weigh 160 pounds, you need about 58 grams of protein to meet your needs. Check out the protein content in the foods listed below and how quickly the grams add up (56 grams total).
- 1 cup of milk: 8 grams of protein
- 3-ounce piece of meat: 21 grams of protein
- 1 cup of beans: 16 grams of protein
- 8-ounces of yogurt: 11 grams of protein
Complete proteins
An easy way to get protein in the diet is by consuming complete proteins. Complete proteins contain all of the essential amino acids the body cannot make on its own. They do not need to be consumed with anything else but themselves to provide a sufficient source of protein. They come from foods such as eggs, milk, cheese, and animal meat like fish, poultry, pork, beef, lamb… if you decide to skip those items, you can combine complimentary proteins to meet your needs. What are complementary proteins, you ask?
Incomplete protein + Incomplete protein = Complementary protein
Another way to meet your protein needs without consuming meat is by making dishes with complementary proteins. Complementary proteins come from foods that, when consumed together, make a complete protein that provides all of the essential amino acids our body needs. Studies have shown that complementary proteins don’t even need to be eaten at the same meal, so if you eat beans for lunch and rice with dinner, you’ve got yourself a complete protein. Now you can save some cash from the ever-increasing prices on meat and still be able to get adequate protein in your diet! You might not realize this, but we often eat incomplete proteins paired up in every day dishes.
Examples of complementary proteins
Beans and tortillas or rice
Peanut butter sandwich
Macaroni and cheese
Tofu with rice
Hummus with pita bread
Chickpeas and rice
What dishes do you make that use complementary proteins?
Good tip! I’ve always tried to increase my protein intake when I’m training, but I rapidly get tired of that much meat and protein shakes. I expect that my non-meat attempts at eating more protein were not balancing the incomplete proteins.
Meat can get expensive too! I did find a good deal of $1.79/lb for local chicken breast but they don’t have it as a weekly deal anymore
Lentils ftw! I am always amazed at how much meat our society consumes and how people think they need to eat the super-gigantic chicken breast to make sure they have their protein. Sometimes it’s enough for a week!
It’s true- most americans get 1.5-2x the protein they even need. I can take that giant chicken breast and use it in 4 different dishes!
Hey Jessica, I have often heard that for people who are working out, the daily protein requirement is between 1 and 1 1/2 grams per pound. If I use the lower number, that means that I need around 240g of protein per day! So about 60% of my diet will be protein using that as a guide.
What do you think of those guidelines?
~Khaleef
Great question! My friend who is a dietitian wrote a post for me not too long ago addressing protein needs. Typically protein should make up 10-35% of the diet, so if you shoot somewhere between my friends’ recommendations and that percentage I think you’ll be ok. http://www.budgetforhealth.com/how-much-protein-do-you-need/