Vegan day 12: Quinoa, black bean and kale salad topped with sunflower seeds

I guess I can say that QUINOA is my favorite grain! 
A close second would be the rice family– black, wild and brown! I can’t tell you how disappointing it is to eat out in a restaurant and they don’t even carry brown rice– if my hormones are unbalanced that day I’ll walk right out.. lol. Seriously though, I even went to a brunch spot this year that didn’t have whole wheat bread. GET WITH THE PROGRAM RESTAURANT PEOPLE– it’s 2012!!!!!! We are close to entering a diabetes epidemic where within 10 years there may be a 1 in 3 ratio of people with diabetes. This is all unnecessary! Obesity AND diabetes AND heart disease can be managed and preventable through lifestyle change including diet, nutrition and exercise. 


Ok– so now onto the protein hot topic! How much do you really need?? People like to argue on this but it’s generally less than you think. 


Eating protein and “saturated fat protein” at that, will eventually catch up with your heart, liver and kidneys.  


Excessive protein  (especially meat) 

• Produces toxic quantities of uric acid and other waste products that over work the liver and kidneys in the process of elimination
• It creates an “acidic” environment which is the foundation for disease creation in the body. 
• Excess protein also leads to brittle bones because minerals are taken from them to balance your acidity and break down the uric acid.                   

According to US figures, you should have .8 grams of protein per KILOGRAM of body weight. Better yet, because the US is hardly the nutritional standard to follow, you can use the World Health Organization (WHO) standard: .45 grams of protein for every kilogram. 

For me, for example, my goal is 45g. I like to work out 4x times a week now that I lost weight so I tend to eat more protein for muscle building. hehe Ok I’m trying to develop muscle. It’s coming along just fine thank u! Minerals too are just as important as protein for muscle building. 

For vegetarians and especially vegans, we have to be smart about PROTEIN to make sure that WE GET ENOUGH! Yes I said it– it’s true. If you are a junk food vegan you may be missing the mark. Vegans have to do what is called PROTEIN COMBINING. Great sources of protein include soy, tofu, tempeh, seitan, grains, beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, sprouts and greens. I guess protein shakes count too! lol

PROTEIN COMBINING means combining grains and legumes for example or grains and nuts/ seeds or legumes and nuts/ seeds. I guess you can combine all three groups if you like. Listen to your stomach. Ideally most food groups are more easily digested and assimilated when eaten alone or with vegetables. New research has found that protein combining doesn’t have to be completed in one meal — it can be throughout the day. The goal of protein combining for vegetarian sources of proteins is to get all the necessary amino acids. Necessary amino acids include:

Phenylalanine

Valine

Tryptophan

Threonine

Isoleucine

Methionine

Histidine

Argine

Lysine

Leucine

* Lysine and tryptophan are said to be two of the more difficult amines to get on a plant based diet. 

BACK TO QUINOA (qeen-wah)

Quinoa is one of the higher protein grains.

Approximately 1/4 uncooked grain= 1 cup cooked

I used Bob’s Red Mill Whole Grain Quinoa:

170 calories, 7g protein, 3g dietary fiber

Quinoa has about 10% of the daily IRON requirements

& good levels of manganese, magnesium, tryptophan, copper and phosphorus

*According to The World’s Healthiest Foods by George Mateljan

Quinoa, black bean and kale salad topped with sunflower seeds

Quinoa 2 cups

Water 3 cups

Black beans 1 cup canned “EDEN”

Kale 1 cup

Sunflower seeds 1/2 cup

Extra virgin olive oil or pumpkin seed oil or flaxseed oil

Salt, pepper, spices of choice

Chopped garlic

I cooked the quinoa first with spices- it cooks fast so watch it and add water if you need to. Add the beans in after 5 minutes. When the quinoa looks fluffy it’s just about done (15 minutes). Mix in kale last 2 minutes. Top with sunflower seeds and your oil of choice. 

Disclaimer: The information given here is for eductional purposes only. You should not use this to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified health care provider.

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