Incomplete vs. Complete Proteins
Animal Protein Versus Vegetable Protein
In general, animal proteins (meat, fish, poultry, milk, cheese, and eggs) are considered good sources of complete proteins. Complete proteins contain ample amounts of all essential amino acids.
Food for Thought
Gelatin is the only animal protein that is not considered a complete protein.
On the other hand, vegetable proteins (grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and other vegetables) are incomplete proteins because they are missing, or do not have enough of, one or more of the essential amino acids. That's not such a big deal. You already know that grains and legumes are rich in complex carbohydrate and fiber. Now you learn that they can be an excellent source of protein as well; it just takes a little bit of work and know-how. By combining foods from two or more of the following columns—voilà—you create a self-made complete protein. You see, the foods in one column may be missing amino acids that are present in the foods listed in another column. When eaten in combination at the same meal (or separately throughout the day), your body receives all nine essential amino acids.
You can combine the following vegetable proteins to make complete proteins.
Sources of Complementary Proteins
Grains Legumes Nuts/Seeds
Barley Beans Sesame seeds
Bulgur Lentils Sunflower seeds
Cornmeal Dried
peas Walnuts
Oats Peanuts Cashews
Buckwheat Chickpeas Pumpkin seeds
Rice Soy products Other nuts
Pasta
Rye
Wheat
Combinations to Create Complete Proteins
Combine Grains and Legumes Combine Grains and Nuts/Seeds Combine Legumes and Nuts/Seeds
Peanut butter on whole-wheat bread Whole-wheat bun with sesame seeds Humus (chickpeas and sesame paste)
Rice and beans Breadsticks rolled with sesame seeds Trail mix (peanuts and sunflower seeds)
Bean soup and a roll Rice cakes with peanut butter
Salad with chickpeas and cornbread
Tofu-vegetable stir-fry over rice or pasta
Vegetarian chili with bread
Also, by adding small amounts of animal protein (meat, eggs, milk, or cheese) to any of the groups, you create a complete protein. Here are some examples:
Casserole with a small amount of meat
Salad with beans and a hard cooked egg
Yogurt with granola
Bean and cheese burrito
Macaroni and cheese
Oatmeal with milk
so to break this down on an easy level.. there are basically 2 different proteins.. complete and incomplete proteins.. the complete ones have all the amino acids necessary to make it complete.. the incomplete have less and are lacking some.. you can easily find foods and their protein value on the net.. if you give me a list of foods to look up I can help..
