The tutor discusses complementary proteins, a topic that has long fascinated many.

If protein is complete, it provides all 20 amino acids required for proper body function. From my reading, animal protein is automatically complete; by contrast, no single plant source is.

The englightened vegetarian can accomplish complete protein by eating complementary sources during the same meal. For example, bread and peanut butter are complementary; eaten together, they form complete protein during digestion. Typically, a seed or nut eaten with a grain will accomplish complete protein. The same is true eating a legume (bean or pea) with a grain.

There are many other combinations of plant foods that accomplish complete protein: broccoli with rice, peas with peanuts, legume with spinach, to name a few. The key point to remember is that the complementary foods must be eaten simultaneously.

When alone, the tutor eats meals with complementary proteins. Rice and kidney beans, beans and toast, and bread with peanut butter are some of my common meals for lunch or supper when my family is away. I’m not a vegetarian, but fresh meat is messy to prepare and can spoil dangerously. My wife, being an avid cook, makes the meat meals.

From my point of view, complementary proteins make the lazy person’s meat.

HTH:)

Source:

Mader, Sylvia S. Inquiry into Life, 11th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2006.

Jack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane, Campbell River, BC.