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Easier on the planet’s water and land resources—and often easier on your digestive tract than animal proteins—plant foods offer ample essential amino acids to build muscle and maintain optimal health. From quinoa to lentils to chia, you’ll find these protein-rich plant foods ground into powders, added to breads and bars, and bringing substance to soups and other packaged vegan and vegetarian foods. Eating them fresh and whole is even better, of course, because you’ll also benefit from these foods’ abundant phytonutrients and antioxidants, in addition to essential amino acids, our bodies’ building blocks.
5 TOP MAINS
- Tempeh (7 ounces = 20 grams)
- Lentils (1 cup cooked = 18 grams)
- Chickpeas (1 cup cooked = 14.5 grams)
- Tofu (3 ounces = 9 grams)
- Quinoa (1 cup cooked = 9 grams)
5 TOP ADD-ONS
- Hemp seeds (3 tablespoons = 10 grams)
- Peanuts (¼ cup = 9.5 grams)
- Almonds (¼ cup = 8 grams)
- Sunflower seeds (¼ cup raw = 7 grams)
- Chia seeds (2 tablespoons = 6 grams)
Do you need to combine them?
These proteins are not all “complete” (except soy and quinoa)—most plants lack one or more of the essential amino acids; but plant-based nutrition has come a long way since its early days of combining bland, brown foods in the same meal. Now we know that vegetables like spinach pack a protein punch too; and as long as you have a variety of protein-rich foods in your diet, you don’t need to carefully plan proteins at every meal.
Can plant proteins meet your needs?
For kids, total protein (in grams) should be about 0.4 times bodyweight in pounds. For adults, it should be about 0.36 times bodyweight in pounds. So, if you’re a 130-pound 40-something, you’d want to aim for about 47 grams of protein. Thus if you add 2 tablespoons of chia (6 grams) and ¼ cup of almonds (8 grams) to one cup of cooked oatmeal (which also has 6 grams), at 20 total grams you’re nearly halfway there.
Coconut water, the subtly sweet and electrolyte-filled beverage touted as nature’s energy drink, recently exploded in popularity. And it opened the floodgates: On today’s store shelves, you’ll find even more unusual specialty waters that deliver hydrating alternatives to sugary fruit juices and sodas.
In addition to fewer calories, these new “waters” offer perks such as vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, electrolytes, and, notably, sustainable ingredients sourced from North America rather than Southeast Asia, where coconuts are typically harvested before they’re shipped to the United States. Check out these natural quenchers—sometimes enhanced with yummy ingredients—for unique taste and health benefits.
Alkaline Water
What it is: Alkaline water is infused with trace minerals like calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium to elevate its pH to 9.5 (neutral is 7).
Why we love it: Most American diets contain too many acid-producing animal products and insufficient alkaline-promoting fruits and vegetables. Some believe drinking alkaline water counteracts this imbalance to improve bone and muscle health.
The facts: One study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that older adults who followed an alkaline diet for three years maintained more muscle mass than the control participants.
Try: Essentia Alkaline Water
Almond Water
What it is: Not to be confused with almond milk, which comes from ground almonds, almond water is made with boiled sliced almonds, water, cane sugar, and almond extract.
Why we love it: It’s delicious! Almond water differs from other plant-based drinks because it doesn’t claim to be uniquely functional. It’s simply a refreshing, slightly sweet sipper to enjoy alone or with meals.
The facts: The first nationally available almond water uses a traditional French recipe from the founder’s grandmother.
Try: Victoria's Kitchen Almond Water Original
Artichoke Water
What it is: A whole artichoke—including the heart, stem, leaves, and flower—is extracted into a bottle using a proprietary method to retain nutrients.
Why we love it: Sometimes balanced with lemon and fresh mint and packing just 40 calories per 8 ounces, artichoke water delivers liver-supporting phytonutrients like silymarin.
The facts: Artichokes are typically harvested close to manufacturing facilities in California, so they boast a low carbon footprint.
Try: Arty Artichoke Water
Cactus Water
What it is: Juice and extract from the prickly pear cactus is blended with water and other natural ingredients such as lemon and stevia.
Why we love it: Popular in Latin America, prickly pear is rich in antioxidants and carotenoids, magnesium, and vitamin C.
The facts: Southwestern folk medicine uses prickly pear cactus fruit and juice to treat maladies from diabetes to hangovers.
Try: Caliwater Cactus Water
Coconut Water
What it is: Slightly bittersweet coconut water comes from the clear liquid found in young green coconuts.
Why we love it: Touted as nature’s ultimate hydrator, coconut water contains high levels of electrolytes like potassium, magnesium, and calcium.
The facts: In remote areas of the world, doctors have successfully used coconut water intravenously to rehydrate patients in emergencies.
Try: Harmless Harvest 100% Raw Coconut Water Dark Cacao
Maple Water
What it is: Though traditionally processed into maple syrup, maple water is the unrefined tree sap that naturally travels through maple tree trunks in the spring thaw.
Why we love it: Slightly sweet and mild flavored, this refreshing beverage contains dozens of phytonutrients, including some unique to tree waters.
The facts: Drinking maple water conserves American forests by providing landowners a way to monetize their forests without cutting trees down.
Try: Vertical Water 100% Pure Maple Water
Melon Water
What it is: The best melon waters contain one cold-pressed ingredient: watermelon.
Why we love it: This energizing beverage is rich in anti-inflammatory antioxidants, potassium, and citrulline, a muscle-supporting amino acid—making it a fantastic sports drink.
The facts: Some melon waters incorporate the watermelon rind, which contains even higher concentrations of citrulline.
Try: WtrMln Wtr Cold Pressed Juiced Watermelon
Cashew: the next coconut water?
Usually left on the ground to rot, bright-red and yellow cashew apples are the stems left over after cashew nuts are plucked for harvest; they’re tangy, sweet, and packed with vitamin C. Now, a few large companies are putting this previously ignored resource to good use. PepsiCo India recently teamed up with the Clinton Foundation (yes, those Clintons) to collect cashew apples from a local network of small-scale farmers in India, turning the crop into a mixed-fruit drink (sold in India) and replacing more expensive ingredients like apple, pineapple, and banana. The dozen or so growers told The New York Times that this season’s cashew apple sales raised their families’ incomes by as much as 20 percent.
Sprouts are an amazing little nutrient dense, powerhouse superfood. Sprouts are shoots from a plant seed. They come in many different varieties and lucky for us a whole bunch of these are edible! Green, red leaf, alfalfa, radish, broccoli, and clover are a few different varieties of sprouts, but did you know that you can also sprout chickpeas, quinoa, lentils and even almonds?
There are many reasons why sprouting is a good idea: it is extremely economical, you can ensure that you are getting extremely fresh, organic, local food into your diet daily and you can do it from home all winter long. I don’t think there is one good reason not to sprout. Here are the top 10 reasons to eat sprouts daily.
1. Enzymes
It has been estimated that there can be up to 100 times more enzymes in sprouts than in uncooked fruits and vegetables. Enzymes are types of proteins that act as catalysts for all of your bodily functions. Enzymes extract more vitamins, minerals, amino acids and fatty acids from the foods that you eat and ensures your body has the nutritional building blocks to ensure every process works as effectively as possible.
2. More Fiber
Fiber is an extremely important factor in any diet, did you know it actually binds to fats and toxins within our bodies and helps us eliminate them? It also ensures that any fat our bodies break down is moved through the body before it has a chance to reabsorb through the walls of the intestines.
3. Higher Vitamin Content
The vitamin content from certain seeds, grains, beans and nuts actually increases by up to 20 times the original value after only a few days of sprouting. Mung beansprouts, for example, increase in vitamin B1 by up to 285 percent, vitamin B2 by up to 515 percent and niacin by up to 256 percent.
4. Your Body Can Easily Utilize Sprouts
During the sprouting process, minerals bind to the proteins in the seeds, nuts or grains making them more useable in the body. This is true especially for more alkalizing minerals such as calcium and magnesium, they help us balance our body chemistry for potential weight loss and better health.
5. Sprouts Have The Highest Concentration Of Phytonutrients Of Any Food
That is a pretty bold statement, but according to this study from the Journal of Applied Science it is true. Phytonutrients play an active role in the amendment of disease.
6. Research Shows Sprouts May Prevent Cancer
There have been numerous studies done to show that the consumption of sprouts can actually prevent various forms of cancer. One study in particular that was led by scientists from John Hopkins, found that a highly concentrated source of sulforaphane, a compound they identified in 1992 that helps mobilize the body’s natural cancer-fighting resources and reduces the risk of developing cancer. Broccoli sprouts, contain unusually high levels of glucoraphanin, the naturally-occurring precursor of sulforaphane.
7. Sprouts Can Help Alkalize Your Body
Sprouts themselves are quite alkaline, eating them can directly help maintain the acid alkaline balance within the body, which ultimately leads to good health overall. Nobel Prize winner Otto Heinrich Warburgh stated:
“Cancer cannot exist in an alkaline oxygen rich environment.”
8. Energizing
The energy contained in the little seed, nut, bean, or grain is ignited through the soaking and sprouting process.
9. Extremely Economical
Sprouting is extremely cheap! Sure you can buy little plastic containers at the store for around $2-$4 for conventional and $3-$5 for organic. Or you could save your money, save the environment, save the trip to the store and sprout your own for just pennies a batch!
10. Sprouts Are Extremely Easy To Grow Yourself Anytime Of The Year
Sprouts are grown indoors, most varieties need only water, and many don’t even need sunlight. All you need is a jar, a piece of mesh or old pantyhose, water and sprout seeds!
Bonus: Sprouts are extremely tasty! I like to eat them sprinkled in salads, on sandwiches, and on flatbread type crackers with Vegenaise and tomato slices. Mmm mm good!
How To Sprout Your Own Sprouts
What You Need:
- A thoroughly cleaned mason jar
- A piece of fine mesh or a piece from an old pair of pantyhose big enough to cover the top of the jar (cheesecloth doesn’t work very well for this because sometimes the seeds get caught in the material.)
- Sprouting seeds
- Water
Instructions:
- Put between 2 and 4 Tablespoons of any kind of sprout seeds you choose. I really like Mumm’s brand seeds. They are organic and they also have a variety of many yummy sprout combinations. My favorite is the “sandwich booster” blend. Sometimes I add a little “crunchy bean mix” and sprout these together. Its very simple.
- Cover the seeds with filtered water, let seeds soak for 8 hours or over night.
- Cover the top of the jar with the mesh or pantyhose and secure with either the ring only for the top of the jar or a tightly wrapped elastic band. Drain the water.
- Pour some more water over the seeds, then swirl the jar around to rinse them, then discard the water.
- Put the jar in a bowl or container so that it can sit downwards at about a 45-degree angle, so the water can drain out.
- Place the jar in a dark area, or in a cupboard. Rinse the sprouts and replace them in the downward position twice daily.
- Your sprouts should be ready in about 3-5 days, enjoy!
You can also buy nifty little sprouting devices in the form of jars or trays, but this isn’t really necessary. The method above has worked very well for me over the years. Happy sprouting!
