sources of protein

• protein can be obtained from both animal and plant sources
• animal sources are often referred to as high biological value (HBV)
• plant sources are often referred to as low biological value (LBV)
• animal sources include: lean meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy products
• plant sources include: seeds, nuts, beans, legumes, soy products, grains, mycroprotein
• a vegan could use protein complementation where a mixture of LBV proteins are combined to provide all the essential amino acids we need
• soya beans and quinoa are plant-based HBV protein foods
• an example of protein complementation is hummus and pitta as combining the 2 foods provides all the essential amino acids we need
• soya beans are one of the few plant-based HBV protein sources, they can be eaten whole (but must be cooked to remove toxicity) in salads, used to make soya milk and processed to make other protein alternatives like tofu and TVP
• mycroprotein is made from a mushroom like fungus and egg white (although there are now vegan alternatives that use potato starch instead) it is often used where you would normally use chicken and is available as chunks (eg stir fries), mince (eg for chilli con carne) or fillets (eg to serve in sauces)
• TVP (textured vegetable protein) is also made from soya beans - specifically soya flour. the soya flour is used to make a dough which when baked has a meat -like texture and can be made into sausages, burgers and ready meals
• tofu is made by curdling soya milk. it can have different textures depending on how much water it contains: it can be soft (for use in desserts and dips) , firm (for use in stir fries) and extra firm