Tag Archives: protein

5 Benefits of Protein + How to Make it Complete

03/22/2016 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Protein helps fuel and build us as we grow, then maintains our bodies throughout adulthood. Many of us only think of protein as something for the big, bodybuilder types, but it’s something we all need.

protein, complete protein, amino acids, healthy, food

Yes, protein powder is good as a supplement, but whole food sources should be our main source of this vital macronutrient. A few of the benefits provided by the macronutrient protein are:

1) IT BUILDS, MAINTAINS AND REPAIRS CELLS: As you grow your body needs protein to construct every single cell including your bones, muscles, skin ,vital organs and your blood vessels.

2) IT IS USED TO PRODUCE IMPORTANT CHEMICALS: Antibodies are built using protein and are a key part of your immune system which helps your body fight disease. Enzymes are also constructed from protein and act as a catalyst for many important reactions in your body including digestion.

3) IT REGULATES IMPORTANT BODILY PROCESSES: Your body’s cells cannot move fluid directly, instead they produce proteins which attract water. These proteins can then be sent out to areas where fluid needs to be absorbed allowing a fluid balance to be maintained throughout the body.

4) IT HELPS YOUR BLOOD CLOT: When your skin gets cut and starts to bleed, your body responds by producing fibrin, a stringy protein that forms clots. Once the fibrin has clotted, your body then produces another protein, collagen, which forms scar tissue and permanently heals the cut.

5) IT CAN ASSIST WITH WEIGHT LOSS: First, it has a greater thermic effect than carbohydrates. This means that by eating protein you burn more calories during digestion and boost your metabolism. Secondly, studies suggest that protein can suppress your appetite by helping you feel satiated longer.

Protein is made up of 23 amino acids, 8 of which that are essential. The 8 essential amino acids are “essential” because our bodies cannot produce them alone, and therefore needs to acquire them from food sources or supplements.

The 8 essential amino acids are:

– Isoleucine
– Leucine
– Lysine
– Methionine
– Phenylalanine
– Threonine
– Tryptophan
– Valine

The other 15 non-essential amino acids we can produce on our own are:

– Alanine
– Arginine
– Asparagine
– Aspartic Acid
– Cysteine
– Glutamic Acid
– Glutamine
– Glycine
– Histidine
– Ornithine
– Proline
– Selenocysteine
– Serine
– Taurine
– Tyrosine

A complete protein includes all 23 essential and non-essential amino acids. Incomplete proteins may have a few, but not all of the essential amino acids needed by our bodies. Animal products like seafood, poultry, beef, dairy, etc. are the most abundant source of complete proteins.

Complete Protein Examples

There are many vegetarian sources such as quinoa, buckwheat, soybeans, etc. that are complete as well. Don’t think you need to avoid incomplete proteins though, they can be paired together to form a complete protein.

Incomplete Protein Examples

Follow these four principles to obtain a complete protein by pairing incomplete protein foods:

1. Combine legumes with grains – a classice example is rice and beans

2. Combine nuts or seeds with legumes or grains
3. Combine animal products with any vegetable product
4. Add a small amount of meat to a meal of vegetables

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Only eating foods that are complete proteins is expensive (especially for those constantly hungry little ones running circles around us!), so the ability to combine food to provide us with all 23 amino acids is, well, essential. A popular dish that’s healthy (usually), tasty, and budget-friendly is rice and beans. This is a staple meal in many cultures and can be made to feed a crowd with little expense.

It’s worth pointing out that incomplete protein sources do not have to be consumed at the same time. In order to reap the benefits of a complete protein, just consume different sources over the course of the day.

A helpful basis to begin combining foods for a complete protein

Try experimenting with different combos to come up with your own complete protein meal. Get your kids involved by creating columned lists of different complementary foods and have them choose what to eat for lunch or dinner. Healthy fat and carbohydrates also play an extremely important role in giving our body what it needs to thrive, but without protein, we just wouldn’t be complete. 🙂

Do you have any favorite dishes that make up a complete protein meal?

Have you ever thought about the quality of protein you’re eating before?

Food, Going Healthy

Gluten-Free No-Bake Quinoa Almond Protein Cookies

03/14/2016 R.C. Liley 5 Comments

For the record, we don’t follow a gluten-free diet in our house, but I know it’s a concern for many. That said, most gluten containing foods you find on the store-shelf typically are not the healthiest choices. So, by default, following a healthier diet usually means not having a lot of gluten, which is the case for us.

We love oats (especially with NuttZo) which are technically gluten-free, but unless they’re certified gluten-free, they could have traces of gluten due to sharing the same processing facilities with other grains. But that’s another post, I’ll spare you…..today.

Although I’m all about living a healthy lifestyle and avoiding most processed foods, I still have a sweet tooth and feed it frequently. But, I don’t succumb to relying on packaged food to feed my sweet tooth (or anything really), I know I’ll appreciate it much better by making it myself.

Michael Pollan’s quote in his book, Food Rules, pretty much sums up my feelings; “Eat All the Junk Food You Want as Long as You Cook It Yourself.” If more of us followed this simple mindset, I’m positive we’d have less health issues today. It’s something I want to instill in Avery as she grows. I’m sure after all of that time she’s spent with me in the kitchen, she’s already picked up on plenty of dad’s healthy habits.

Practicing how to taste test on the spoon.

She’s since moved on from practicing to just actually eating for her taste tests. You know, that’s like another lady I know who lives in our house.

Yep, it's good. More please? — Yep, it’s good. More please?

Lately, a healthy treat that definitely has her asking for more are these quinoa cookies.

gluten-free no-bake quinoa almond protein cookies

Quinoa has become pretty mainstream, and everywhere you look, you’ll find articles raving about it’s numerous benefits. It’s a staple in our home, and I love the versatility it offers to be made into a savory meal or sweet treat. There are not many plant foods that are a complete protein and so versatile; not to mention easy to prepare.

Since I’m always using it to make a meatless meal with black beans and salsa, I decided to change things up and use quinoa for a delicious protein packed treat.

The best part is how adaptable this recipe is to what you have on hand. Don’t have almonds? Use cashews, pistachios, or peanuts. No dried apricots? Dried raisins, dates, or figs would be just as tasty!

No-Bake Quinoa Almond Protein Cookies/Balls/Bars

Ingredients

1/2 cup dry quinoa – cooked
2 scoops (1/4 cup) protein powder – I used vanilla protein powder sweetened with stevia
10 dried apricots
1 to 1.5 ounces dry roasted almonds – I only used a handful, but more could be used
1/8th tsp salt
Sweetener to taste – I used 1 packet stevia and 6 drops liquid vanilla stevia

Directions

Process until well combined and roll into balls or press into small brownie pan to make into bars. I pressed the balls with a fork to make cookies, but they taste the same (freakin’ awesome) either way. These will firm up once left in the fridge.

Give these a try and please let me know how you liked them. Or how you didn’t like them, but I’m positive that won’t be case.

Food, Going Reviews

Naked Nutrition Protein Powders: The Power of Pure

02/09/2016 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

Disclaimer: Naked Nutrition provided their protein powders sample pack to me free of charge in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.

I’ve had the opportunity to try several high quality protein powders lately, and they have all ranked high on the approved by Going Dad list so far. Some are higher than others, but I’d feel confident giving any of them to friends and family. Oh, and I care about my friends and family, just to make that clear. 🙂

The one thing that sets Naked Nutrition apart from all of the other protein powders I’ve tried is that they are all unflavored. When you check the ingredient list for any of their powders, you will on find one thing, the protein!

See that, right there in bold? Whey Protein Concentrate, that’s it, done, nada, clean and pure. Just my kind of product.

Their whey is sourced from grass-fed cows never treated with growth hormones or antibiotics, is GMO free, has no artificial mumbo jumbo, is cold processed, and full of branched chain amino acids ready to fuel and repair muscles.

Yes, protein powder is still a processed item, but why make it any worse with all of the crap you see in so many powders on the market? Naked Nutrition cuts the crap and gives you the only thing that really matters which earns my full respect. And this is not just their whey protein, but in all of their products!

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy tasty stevia sweetened protein powders, but when I’m having a post workout protein drink, I don’t need something to sip and savor. I simply want a quality protein to get into my system quickly and will just quickly drink it down. To review the Naked Nutrition protein powders I received, this is how I mainly used them.

I sampled these by mixing each one with water in a shaker cup to truly get an accurate taste. Here are my thoughts:

Naked Nutrition Pea Protein

I’ve tried other plant-based powders in the past, but never from peas, so this I had to try first. After mixing in the shaker cup, there was still a bit of chalkiness, but it mixed better than expected. The taste was earthy, as I would expect from a plant, but not unpleasant. What I liked most is that this is protein did not give me any stomach distress which has happened with other powders in the past. I can see the pea protein going well in a green smoothie or mixed with your favorite non-dairy milk if you don’t want to simply mix with water.

Naked Nutrition Goat Protein

Another intriguing, never-tried-before protein I was eager to test. There is a slight scent of goat milk when opening the package which I take as a good sign since it is goat protein. There was only a hint of goat cheese flavor and just in water, the mix turned nice and creamy. We love our goat cheese in this house, so I wouldn’t mind a stronger goat dairy flavor, but even it’s not your favorite, don’t be scared to give this one a try. For smoothies, this would be perfect blended with strawberries to make a creamy strawberry protein shake.

Naked Nutrition Rice Protein

Like the pea protein, this one was a bit chalky, and even a little gritty. The earthy flavor is not as noticeable, but there is also no flavor or creaminess after mixing. Of all proteins, this is my least favorite and one I would not buy if I had a choice. That said, if you need a dairy-free protein source, it’s still a great option since you’d be hard-pressed to find a cleaner rice protein than Naked Nutrition’s.

Naked Nutrition Casein Protein

Casein, unlike whey, is a slow-digesting protein and therefore best consumed at night to allow it work on repairing muscle as you sleep. For that reason, I drank it at night, but still mixed with just water. I enjoyed the creaminess and imagine it being great to mix with Greek yogurt and pumpkin puree for a healthy, muscle building nighttime treat. There was no strong taste, it was actually pretty bland, so it should take on whatever flavor you add.

Naked Nutrition Whey Protein

I saved the most common one for last. As it turned out, it’s also the best in my opinion. Creamy, slightly sweet, and no sign of grittiness. I could easily drink this plain after a workout with no issue. Unlike most whey proteins, there was no associated stomach upset which is HUGE!

Of all of these, the whey was my favorite. It’s easy to mix with anything, provides plenty of quality protein, and even tastes good on its own. For a non-dairy/vegan option, the pea protein is definitely better than the rice. If you want to try them all for yourself, Naked Nutrition offers the sample pack to buy so you can find one that suits your preferences best. naked nutrition protein powder

I know these are all high in price, but also high in quality. The saying “You get what you pay for.” applies here as you are getting protein powders from the best sources and treated with care. I appreciate how much Naked Nutrition cares about their products and how passionate they are, which is something I look for in any business I give my business to. I hope you have the chance to give their products a try for yourself.

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