Green Options

If you are a vegan and want to build up your protein intake here is a guide to grains, beans, nuts, and veggies that will help. Remember to seek out local and organic whenever possible.

 Grains and beans are a truly remarkable way to add protein to a meat and dairy free diet. Quinoa (pictured in a field above) has nine grams of protein. Tempeh is a vegan food that has 41 grams of protein in a cup. Sometimes it is made from cultured organic soybeans, water, organic barley, organic brown rice, and organic millet, like this lightlife tempeh. Here are more grain facts:

• Quinoa (shown growing in the image above) has 9 grams of protein
• Bulgur, cooked into cup has 6
• Brown rice, cooked into a cup has 5

Sunflower seeds make great additions to salads. 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds (pictured below) has six grams of protein.

Brown rice has always been a staple in our household. From fall to spring, we cook at least one pot of brown rice per week. My kids have come to regard it is the basis of a quick and delicious meal and have since they started eating solid food and I mashed it up for them, which was a fairly long time ago, since my baby is 16 and my oldest is 24. So, as I ate my 12,526th bowl of left-over brown rice for lunch, I was inspired to consider a wee bit more on this potent grain.