Protein
Are you getting enough? What if you could have both protein and fibre in one dish? Well, you can, amino acids, the building blocks for proteins are found in lots of plant-based sources - nuts, seeds, whole grains and pulses. So if you are not eating meat, you don't need to worry.
Complete Proteins
Dan Buettner of Blue Zones’ Research fame found that two thirds of the calories in the people living in the blue zones came from whole grains, vegetables, tubers, nuts and all important beans. In Okinawa, it’s mostly rice, in Costa Rica mostly corn, in the Mediterranean it’s mostly wheat, but there’s always a grain and a bean. Although neither are complete proteins, put them together and you get a complete protein profile, with the added bonus of being very high in fibre.
Plant-based Proteins
are Gut & Planet-friendly
Planet-friendly
These plant-based proteins are also planet-friendly:
- It takes 11 kilos of grain to produce one kilo of meat. This grain may be treated with pesticides that concentrate in the flesh that may also be treated with hormones and contains saturated fat. Meat can be a small part of a healthy diet but it should be sourced with care and we now know just how much protein we can get from plant sources.
- According to Bold Beans, beans produce 200x less CO2 emissions per 100g of protein.
Live to a 100
Dan Buettner has written a book with recipes to help us all live to a 100. Called 'The Blue Zones Kitchen', it has 100 recipes for a longer life and, it is no surprise that many that focus on whole-food, plant-based eating.
Our recipes