3 Kinds Of Vegan Protein Sources
Legumes are a primary source of protein in a vegan diet. Many legumes are also called beans, but not all are. Legumes also include peas and lentils.
For some people, this is a reason to hesitate to adopt a vegan diet because legumes have a reputation for being hard to prepare and for taking a long time to cook from scratch. But vegetarian diets go way back in some cultures, so there already exist quick, convenient vegan protein options.
Here are just a few solid staples for getting enough protein in a vegan diet without an excess of hassle. We will answer questions like what are chickpeas? and what can you do with tofu?
Lentils
Because lentils cook relatively quickly compared to other legumes, they are a staple of many vegetarian diets. This is true of both traditional ethnic diets from a variety of cultures and of the modern vegetarian and vegan diet trends.
Lentils are popular in flavorful Middle Eastern dishes, such as mjeddrah and tabbouleh. Mjeddrah is supposedly the dish for which a Biblical character sold their birthright.
Lentils also do very well as cold leftovers. Mjeddrah can be served up in toasted pita bread or taco shells the next day as a convenient vegan sandwich.
Tofu
Tofu is simply bean curds made from soybeans. In some sense, you could say it is the original vegan cheese. It is typically sold in small, white blocks and has a creamy texture.
Because soybeans are higher in protein than average for legumes, they are popular in areas where rice is a staple. Thus, tofu is a staple of many Asian diets. If you aren’t sure what to do with it, you can google up Asian vegan dishes for inspiration.
Tofu can be fried up in a pan in minutes with some spices and veggies or added to a corn bread recipe to enhance the flavor and up the protein of the dish. Though most people cook it, some people even like to eat it cold straight out of the box with no additional preparation.
Since it is bean curd, it’s fine to consume it that way. It’s readily digestible and not a health hazard.
Chickpeas
You may be wondering what are chickpeas? This is a common point of confusion because they are a legume that is known by various names, including garbanzo bean.
They are used in a wide variety of vegetarian staples, including hummus and flour for falafel. Like lentils, they also make a fine basis for a vegan sandwich when stuffed into a pita pocket or taco shell.
Hummus is a convenient staple of vegan diets readily available in many grocery stores. It is a bean spread that is readily used as a vegetarian source of protein. You could think of it as being not too different from peanut butter.
Rest assured, you can go vegan without being chained to a stove.
… Read the rest
