It’s not just about the quantity of protein. What really matters is the quality of protein and how your body breaks down protein into amino acids. Your immunity uses amino acids. Your muscles use amino acids to build. So you could be taking scoops and scoops of whey protein every single day and seeing absolutely no results. In fact you’ll see that you’re putting on more body flap. Now what’s important is the quality of protein and the three vegetarian sources of protein that I want to discuss are simple, they’re inexpensive and available everywhere.
Green Peas
They are rich in protein and rich in quality amino acids. All you need to do is buy them fresh. You can steam them, you can boil them, you can make a soup out of them, and you can add them to all your vegetables. It is a rich source of protein.
Black Beans
We all used to eating rajmas which are kidney beans or chickpeas which are also fabulously high sources of protein. But today I want you to look for black beans. Wash them really well. Soak them for at least 14 to 16 hours and then pressure-cook them. You can make them into vegetables. You can make them into fillings for sandwiches. They are fantastic sources of antioxidants. Anything that’s got that deep darkish purple colour is rich in antioxidants and black beans have a fantastic quality of amino acids.
Raw Unsalted Pumpkin Seeds
Have a tablespoon a day. Depending on your workout you can have two tablespoons a day. Mix them up with other fantastic sources of proteins like almonds, cashew nut, walnuts. Unsalted, remember unsalted is the key because we don’t want that extra salt that causes water retention or increases our blood pressure.
You can make a whole mix of these nuts and these seeds together. Throw in some black sesame seeds which are also rich in fibre, iron, manganese and protein. Make this mix; take a handful in a day. Anything that comes from nature is designed keeping all of these things in mind. So these are the top sources of protein. Get it into your diet and plan for it.
