Protein is essential to human health. Our bodies need proteins because muscles, fingernails, hair and so on are made up of mostly protein. The proteins that make muscles and our finger nails are different because not all proteins are alike. Different combinations of any number of 20 amino acids may constitute a protein and 20 amino acids serve to form different proteins.
These amino acids are a key part of our diet because while half of the amino acids can be manufactured by the human body, and the other 10 cannot. These “essential amino acids” can easily be provided by a balanced vegan diet.
Most people are worried that they are not getting enough protein in their diet because they have a myth that protein only comes from meat and animal sources like chicken, eggs etc,. But don’t worry there are some sources for vegetarians where they can get enough amounts of proteins from below listed items:
The great source of protein is a whole grains or quinoa(the queen of whole grains). Unlike many vegetarian protein sources, quinoa contains all of the essential amino acids, making it a “complete protein”. We can get 18 grams of protein from just one cup of cooked quinoa as well as nine grams of fiber. Whole grain bread, brown rice, barley are all healthy protein-rich foods.
All beans, lentils, and peas are an excellent sources of protein. Soy is a kind of bean because soy and its derivatives are such a popular source of protein for vegetarians. One cup of canned kidney beans contains about 13.4 grams of protein.
Soy products such as tofu and soy milk, edamame, soy ice cream, soy yogurt, soy nuts or soy cheese, TVP, temp-eh are also protein-rich foods. A half-cup of tofu contains 10 grams, and soy milk contains 7 grams of protein per cup.
Nuts, such as peanuts, cashews, almonds and walnuts all contain proteins, as do seeds such as sesame seeds and sunflower seeds. Two tablespoons of peanut butter contains about 8 grams of protein.
Protein powders or protein shakes such as hemp protein powder which has a high content of protein suitable for the people who wants to build their muscles. It is available in various brands.
Mushrooms, green veggies are also contains high amounts of protein.