Jul 28, 2013
Fill in the Gaps
Get your protein on! Proteins help you recover from your hard and crazy work out sessions. They are made up of amino acids, in total we have 20 amino acids that work together to makes all types of protein. Some amino acids cannot be produced in our body, so we have to look for outside sources to get our full intake of protein. Out of 20 amino acids, eleven amino acids CAN be produced in the body known as nonessential amino acids, and nine CANNOT be produced, called essential acids.
complete proteins contain all of the nine essential amino acids and includes animal based foods like meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk, yogurt, and cheese. And for those of you who are vegetarian or vegan, you can get your protein fix from grains like quinoa or amaranth, along with soybeans. The only downside to non-animal foods is that they would give you less a lower quality protein than animal foods.
incomplete proteins have low amounts or significantly lacks certain essential amino acid and must be supplemented with other proteins. Incomplete proteins include nuts and seeds, legumes, grains and vegetables. Join forces with other incomplete amino acids to make a complete amino acid profile, this is called complementary proteins. You don’t need to always eat them together, as long as they are eaten throughout the day you are fine! Here are a few tasty examples:
-rice and beans
-spinach salad with almonds
-hummus and whole grain pitas
- yogurt with nuts
-tofu with brown rice
Vegetarians have a harder time getting enough protein in their diet because plant-based sources only have some of the 20 amino acids required to make a complete protein. It’s important to know how to get your complete protein without stuffing your face with carbs. QUINOA is an awesome super food that is filled with protein, it can be used as an alternative for rice or simply eaten alone.
Eat your protein kids! About 10%- 35% of your daily calories should be coming from protein. Women should get 46+ grams of protein a day, while men need 56+ a day. Here’s a few examples of protein so you know how to measure your protein intake.
- 1 cup of cooked quinoa (185 g) has 8 grams of protein
- 1 grilled steak (308 g) has 77 grams of protein
- 1 egg has 6 grams of protein
- 1 cup of almonds has about 20 grams of protein
