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Topic: Sources of Protein (Read 134 times) |
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KendraB225
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Sources of Protein
« on: Apr 14th, 2003, 5:28pm » |
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Hi,
I am not a vegetarian. I did try it once for about 6 months. But I would like to gradually decrease my meat intake. I plan to grow soybeans this year. What are some other good sources of protein?
Kendra
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shellybeesmom
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Posts: 32
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Re: Sources of Protein
« Reply #1 on: Apr 15th, 2003, 8:03am » |
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Hi there Kendra,
I'm a vegetarian, been one most of my life and even raised my kids this way. I can assure you PROTIEN is not a problem at all, it's just been a big scare tactic to keep people onto animal sources of protien. I was leafing through an old encylopedia the other day and hit "protien" so gave it a read, and this book was written in the 60's. What caught my eye was what is called biological value of a protein. It seems various sources of protien have so much total protien but it may not be the kind best used by our bodies, when it is complete and easy to utilize it has a high biological value. Amazingly vegetables have low overall protien (things like lettuce and broccoli) but their biological value is really high. Actually, they are finding that diseases like osteoporosis (sp?) is possibly caused by too much protien and so is adult onset diabetes. If you look at old well established cultures like the Indians of South and Central America, the Hunzas etc - meat sources of protein are reserved for festive occasions and normal meals are mostly meatless.
I went from meat eating to a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet which meant I ate milk product and eggs. Now we are dairy free but because we have a few hen I still add fresh eggs to our diet. But my kids are healthy, growing like weeds and since we cut out cow's milk - very few colds and runney noses. I make my own tofu and from a soy/barley mixture I can make the lovliest creams and dairy like cheese, and milk that my husband says is so satisfying he does not miss milk ( and he was the big milk drinker when we had a cow). I would be happy to share my tried and true recipes with you or anyone else. The overall diet is to focus on complex carbohydrates ( fruits, veggies and whole grains with legumes and nuts) and you will have all the protien you need. I was vegetarian through 4 pregnancies and had 4 healthy normal weight babies and never had any problems nursing them into little butterballs  !! Yet my oldest children, who are young adults, have never had to fight fat at any time in their lives and have chosen a vegetarian lifestyle as well.
Shelly
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Jordanne
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One Step at a Time...
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Re: Sources of Protein
« Reply #2 on: Apr 15th, 2003, 7:08pm » |
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I agree with ShellyBeesMom! She explained it so well. I've been a vegetarian for 12 years now (sine I was 6) and have had no problem with lack of protein.
Jordanne
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KendraB225
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I love YaBB 1G - SP1!
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Re: Sources of Protein
« Reply #3 on: Apr 17th, 2003, 11:36am » |
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I often wonder how much protein in meat is actual used by our bodies compared to the parts that are not used.
Shelly, please share any recipes & tips you have. I have 3 young children that I would like to take off of milk. I know it's not good for them. But I do feel I need to replace it with something else. I am 25 years old. I feel like I am having to start from stratch learning what to eat & what to feed my kids. I have started adding lots more fresh veggies to their diet since I started my garden last year. I was able to garden through the entire winter. So we had fresh salads, greens, & broccoli. I am trying to learn what foods are best for us to eat and how to prepare them. We live in Alabama. Here in the south everything is fried. From okra to tomatoes to lettuce. There's nothing that can't be deep fried. Having been raised that way it is very hard to change. I have found also that a lot of the information out there is just wrong. What is up with these high protein diets? Even I know that's not healthy.
I do exercise & lifts weights regularly. That is why I am concerned about protein.
I read in an old Organic Gardening magazine that it lifestock have to consume 12 lbs. of protein to make 1 lb. of meat protein. It seems like such a waste. Why are we not eating that protein directly instead of eating the meat? It sure seems that it would be easier.
Thank you for your responses. They have been so helpful. It is great to find other people who want to feed their family healthy.
Kendra
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shellybeesmom
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Posts: 32
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Re: Sources of Protein
« Reply #4 on: Apr 17th, 2003, 3:18pm » |
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Dear Kendra,
When we were into milk, I bought milk for the longest time, cheese and all that, finally we moved here to the country and we had an ideal set up for a cow. I was raised on a farm and my mom milked cows to ship cream, so I looked forward to making my own cottage cheese and butter etc. We really enjoyed keeping a milk cow, but it slowly got harder and harder to find a sure means of keeping her bred, so we could keep up the milk supply. Over the winters we would dry her up, to freshen in the spring, and during those dry times, I started experimenting with soy milk and replacements for dairy products. Thankfully I did, because we ended up with our cow not bred and one thing led to another and I figured we were doing great on soy milk, feeling better with few if any colds, so we shipped the cow and I only miss her for keeping the pasture trimmed!
It is lots of work to milk a cow and process the milk, more or less a full time job, so I figured I could easily invest time processing milk from soy beans. Now a days many homemakers are not keen on spending too much time in the kitchen, and there are excellent soy products to purchase, but I like being self-sufficient and my contribution to our surviving on our homestead is to save as much $ by doing things like gardening and making food from scratch.
Working with soybeans:
I believe soybeans should be well cooked to make them digestible. I make what I call a SOYABASE which resembles a custard. From this base I make milk, creams and cheese.
I soak 2 cups of dry soy beans overnight. They are drained and rinsed. I heat up a pot of water to a rapid boil and dump in the rinsed, soaked soy beans and bring the them back to a rapid boil. Then the beans are drained and cooled down quickly with cold water. This is called BLANCHING. From my studies, the biggest problem with making a bland tasting soy milk is to eliminate the strong beany flavor that can develop when the raw soaked bean is ground up and comes in contact with air, some enzyme is released that gives that strong beany flavor. Blanching the bean quickly deactivates this enzyme and reduces the flavor. You lose a few minerals and nutrients, but I don't think it is significant.
Now here's how I make this soyabase.
I take one cup of the blanched beans put them in the blender with 2 TBSP of raw dry brown rice, add about 2 cups cold water and whiz on high until the beans and rice form a thick cream. I try and keep the cream quite thick rather than very runny, so add just enough water to keep the blender running easily. I pour this cream into a casserole dish that can be set into another pan of hot water, as you would a delicate rice pudding. I keep blending batches of beans and rice until all the beans are processed. I bake this soya/rice base, covered (set in the pan of water) at 350F for a good hour or until it sets up and looks like a rice pudding. You can stir it once or twice when you check it. (I bake mine in a wood stove oven, so I often have to leave it in several hours as my oven isn't the greatest for getting up a great deal of heat).
This base can now be used to make soyamilk, soy sour cream, soya mayo, a cheese spread that resembles Cheez Whiz, and any cream base for soups, or recipes calling for milk etc. (PS. I also use pot barley instead of rice for variety)
Kendra, I have to run, but will get back a little later with how I make milk, cream and cheese. Your questions about meat production are excellent ones. There is a very thought provoking website I think it is something like MADCOWBOY.COM - Google search will help you here, but Howard Lyman has a very good prespective coming out of commercial beef productin and is now a spokesman for ecological and moral food production. I read his book THE MADCOWBOY and highly recommend it. Shelly
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culture_ugh
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Posts: 9
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Re: Sources of Protein
« Reply #5 on: Apr 17th, 2003, 4:58pm » |
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hey yinz
greetings from pittsburgh! i've not had time to check this board in a while . . . but this is a really good post.
i too am just figuring out what my body needs nutritionally, and i feel like shellybeesmom is probably right about pretty much everything she said.
in addition, i'd like to point out that quinoa, a really neat grain that's not that common but can be found at specialty stores like our co-op here is very high in the kind of protein that is best for humans. it's sorta like couscous, and can be used like rice with a dinner-type dish or can be made into a porridge or something like that.
good luck with everything!
andy
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KendraB225
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Re: Sources of Protein
« Reply #6 on: Apr 18th, 2003, 9:20am » |
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Hi Shelly,
I have a few questions about soybeans. First do you grow your own? If so, what kind are best for the soyabase? Also, do you use fresh or dried soybeans?
Kendra
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shellybeesmom
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Re: Sources of Protein
« Reply #7 on: Apr 18th, 2003, 8:40pm » |
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Hi Kendra,
Guess what? I was busy this morning making soya milk, so I missed you!
No, we can't grow soya beans here where I live, we're too far north. The growing season is just barely 90 days and only 50 or so with decent temperatures. I do have an elderly neighbor who used to grow a variety of soyabean, but my garden is not large enough to grow the amt. of beans I would need for a year. We can buy bulk beans from a commercial grower who lives farther south. I get 60 lb. sacks at around 30 cents/lb. Organic beans sell for more. The last time we made the trip for beans I picked up 7 sacks. I go through about 3-4 sacks in a year. I use the dry beans to make my soy products, soaking them overnight before processing. Will be getting the rest of those recipes off as soon as possible.
Shelly
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shellybeesmom
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Re: Sources of Protein
« Reply #8 on: Apr 22nd, 2003, 8:31pm » |
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Hi there Kendra,
About making milk from soya bean. One thing you might want to do, to start with, is just make a really small amount to see if it is something you want to work with. You could just soak 1/2 or 1 cup of the dry soyabeans, and cook your soyabase in the top of a double boiler, which works just as well as baking it as a pudding. I've made it both ways.
When making milk, I put between 1 - 1 1/ 2 cups of the cooked soyabase in my blender and add water to between the 4-5 cup level then whiz on high speed for about 1 minute. Now you need to strain this milk to separate out the roughage, and make a nice smooth easy to swallow milk. I hunted around and found an old pillow case that was partly cotton and polyester that didn't look like it would rip too easily. I had to experiment with a couple types of fabric, you want one that strains easily yet can handle pressure of squeezing. I cut it into peices about 2 feet square. I washed these carefully to get all traces of laundry soap out and even simmered them in boiling water to sterilize them. Once you have a straining cloth, I place that cloth in a bowl, pour in my milk mixture from the blender and gather the edges of the cloth and gently start squeezing out the milk. This is some work, but shouldn't be horribly difficult. If your fabric doesn't let the liquid pass through easily, then you have to hunt for a better straining cloth. Once you have the milk squeezed through, you should have fairly dry pulp left inside the cloth. Just lay the cloth on your counter and scrape off the pulp with a flat edged pancake turner, then I return this pulp to the blender and add 3 -4 cups of water blend it again for another minute and squeeze it out again, but don't put this liquid into the milk you are making, instead put it back into the blender and add more soyabase, as you have to process several batches of the soyabase to get enough milk to make 2 quarts or a gallon of milk. By whizzing the pulp the second time you can be confident you are getting all the milk out of the pulp. I save the pulp for other uses, or give it to my chickens as a "treat".
This may seem complicated to read or even write out, but it makes sense when you get working with it. When I process enough soya base to make 2 quarts of milk (I put my milk in those nice glass 2 quart canning jars). To flavor this amount of milk, I add 1/2 tsp salt and around 1/4 cup sugar (or a comparible sweetner like honey or fructose or whatever you use to sweeten food). Your milk should look white and be slightly creamy. Refrigerate and drink it as you do regular milk.
Now I have kids too, and while I will eat things because they are "good" for me, they sometimes don't! So if you can't get them enthusiastic about this version of the milk, I have added about 1 Tbsp roasted carob powder and a little fancy molasses to the 2 quart jar of soyamilk (I blend up the carob and molasses in a smaller amt. of milk and add it to the 2 quart jar and shake it well). It tastes very much like chocolate milk and they really love it.
I experimented with this salt/ sweetener ratio, as cow's milk has lots of salts and milk sugars and I wanted to try get a similar flavor. You need to try what suites you best, you could start with less salt and sugar to begin with and get it to where you like the taste. If it tastes really flat you may need a little more salt and watch the sweetener so you don't make a milk shake! BTW you can add bananas and other fruit to make a smoothie.
Let me know if you give this a try and how it goes over with your family. Of course don't hesitate to contact me if you run into any problems.
BTW I was watching 3ABN this morning, they had a program about alternatives for dairy products and why dairy milk is not really designed for human consumption. You may want to check if you can get this TV network in your area, I think it come via Sky Angel and many cable companies carry it. They run a great many health and cooking programs that feature vegetarian cooking programs.
Shelly
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KendraB225
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I love YaBB 1G - SP1!
Posts: 141
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Re: Sources of Protein
« Reply #9 on: Apr 26th, 2003, 4:50pm » |
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Hi Shelly,
I can't wait to try your recipe. I will let you know how it turns out. Now I just have to find some soybeans. Mine won't be ready to harvest for quite a while. I found a great deal on strawberries, bananas and grapes today. I am drying them & making fruit leathers.
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shellybeesmom
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Re: Sources of Protein
« Reply #10 on: Apr 28th, 2003, 4:17pm » |
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Kendra,
Good for you!
I had a friend come over yesterday and we spent the day working with soya beans. We had a great time and she left with soy milk, cream, cheese spead, tofu and carob pudding! We used every pot, pan, bowl and sthingy I have in the kitchen, and we had a pile of dishes, but it was worth it. She called this morning 'cause she left her recipe cards behind, and was making more milk (as she took home just a quart- so I'd have something for my family). She said everthing passed the taste test and she's really excited about getting into making these on a regular basis.
Let me know when you get those soybeans, and are ready to try your hand at making milk - I came up with even a better version of soymilk, though the soybase I posted earlier, is still standard for cream, cheese spread, sauces and puddings!
I love working at this. I'm always searching for ways to make things easier and/or better.
BTW, do you use a solar dryer? I found this website in my search for making one - which is in the works for this season's harvest, and am wondering how well it works.
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Wildside
Senior Member
One who plants a garden plants happiness and hope.
Posts: 466
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Re: Sources of Protein
« Reply #11 on: Nov 16th, 2003, 7:19pm » |
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How are soybeans grown? How is tofu made? How can I get my meat-loving husband to eat tofu and more vegetarian-style? He's taken to eating the meat-less breakfast patties, which surprised me (and almost fools the cat!) but it seems like a lot of packaging. Any way to make these from scratch? He also complains when I cook with nuts... He also complains about the amount of beans I use... He complains when I make egg dishes. He can't handle a lot of cheese as he's a bit lactose intolerant and doesn't drink milk. I can get away with taking meat out of meals, but not putting alternative sources of protein in. And he begins to really miss the meat input after a day or so. He seems to have a delicate stomach and super high metabolism so I believe him when he says he can't live without meat! Any suggestions?
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Cheers, from my backyard to yours! --Wildside
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Wildside
Senior Member
One who plants a garden plants happiness and hope.
Posts: 466
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Re: Sources of Protein
« Reply #12 on: Nov 20th, 2003, 8:54am » |
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Not a source of protein, I don't think... But in my reading last night, I learned that Portabella mushrooms have a meaty texture and taste a bit like steak. High in B vitamins and other good things. I'm not terribly familiar with them (they seem a bit expensive and exotic to me) but my husband raves about them. I wonder how difficult they are to grow?
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Cheers, from my backyard to yours! --Wildside
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