Protein is one of the three key macronutrients that our body uses as a major source of energy. A source of protein should be included in all meals but it can challenging to know if you are eating enough and how to include them. Our workshop, “ Am I Getting Enough Protein: Cooking Demo”, hosted by Executive Sous Chef Darren Clay and Residence Dietitian Gloria Sun, along with her Nutrition Education Team went over some helpful tips on how to include protein into your diet, specifically plant-based proteins. Whether you are trying to include more plant-based alternatives, find new ways to mix up your protein sources or looking for general nutrition and cooking tips, this blog post is for you!
But to start us off, what is protein and how much do we need?
Protein is made up of amino acids, which are the building blocks of the human body. It plays an extremely important role in the body’s repair, muscle growth, immunity and overall function and movement. Proteins consist of two types: animal proteins found in meat, fish, dairy products or plant proteins such as legumes, nuts, tofu, etc. Ensuring adequate protein intake will allow your body to produce all of its enzymes, hormones and tissues needed for overall health!
When using the Canada’s Food Guide plate model, a quarter of your plate should be represented by protein foods. This recommendation should aim to be reached at all three meals of the day followed by some optional protein rich snacks throughout the day. Eating in this way, pairing protein together with whole grains and fruits and veggies, ensures you are getting a balance of nutrients. More details on how much protein you should consume can be found here.
Who is Executive Sous Chef Darren?
Previously Chef Darren was a professional culinary instructor in Vancouver. Since then, he has been the Executive Sous Chef of UBC Residence Dining. If you are interested in learning more about Chef Darren take a look at his Q&A here.
What was the workshop about?
The workshop was hosted at Vij’s Kitchen located in the Food, Nutrition and Health building. The workshop started with general tips and advice given by Chef Darren as well as cooking and recipe demos: black bean brownies and walnut pesto. The power of plant-based proteins and their health and environmental benefits were explained by Residence Dietitian, Gloria Sun. Students were divided into groups and each group had access to one of the equipped cooking stations where the students were guided in preparing simple recipes that showcased plant-based proteins: edamame hummus and dukkah. At the end, the students shared the food together and gift bags filled with cooking tools and plant-based goodies were raffled off. Keep on reading to learn more about the specific tips and recipes shared!
Useful tips from Chef Darren
Here are a few tips shared by Chef Darren to help make cooking easier as well as ensuring your kitchen contains essential tools and staple foods.
- It’s important to have a good sharp knife stored in your kitchen. It’s makes food preparation much more efficient and enjoyable.
- Keep stable foods in your pantry. For example, rice, canned and dried beans, pasta that can easily be used to put a meal together.
- Always keep a good oil or variety of oils in your kitchen. Example, olive oil can have many purposes like salad dressings or cooking. Some other staple oils are avocado and grape seed oil.
- Incorporate more plant-based proteins into your diet like tofu or legumes to help mix up your protein sources.
- It’s always best to have both canned and dried beans (like chickpeas). Canned beans are ready to use whereas dried beans need to be soaked and can take a while to cook making canned beans much more convenient. Although, dried beans are generally cheaper and more can be purchased for the same price as canned.
Benefits of plant-based proteins
Plant-based proteins provide many benefits to our health and to the environment. Compared to animal protein sources, plant-based proteins contain fibre, which isn’t found in animal protein foods. Fibre helps you feel satisfied for a longer period of time, regulates blood sugar control, decreases cholesterol levels and supports bowel movements.
When increasing your consumption of plant-based proteins like beans, lentils, chickpeas, etc., it is important to do it slowly, drink lots of water and add in daily movement to avoid constipation. Also, plant-based proteins are free from saturated fat, which is beneficial for cardiovascular health. When it comes to the environment, plant-based proteins have lower greenhouse gas emissions than animal-based foods and require less water to produce. Overall, plant-based proteins are more sustainable and can easily contribute to a more environmentally friendly diet.
Takeaway
After reading this blog, we hope you learned some useful tips or something new about plant-based proteins. Like any diet, variety is key! If you find that you don’t consume many plant-based protein foods, try increasing your variety by including some of the sources discussed in the post, or if you already eat plant-based, try discovering some new protein sources. Plant-based eating can be extremely beneficial to our overall health, the environment and can be super tasty!
The UBC Nutrition Education Team will be hosting more booths throughout the term as well as cooking demos and workshops next term. To stay up to date on our latest events please feel to follow UBC Food Services on Instagram @ubcfoodie or keep on eye out for events on our calendar.
Recipes
Edamame Hummus
Yield: 2 cups/500 mL
Ingredients:
½ cup tahini
1/3 cup lemon juice
3 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
½ cup cilantro
1 ½ cups edamame
2-4 tbsp water
To taste salt
To taste sesame seeds (garnish)
Method:
- In bowl of food processor add tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, salt & garlic
- Process for 1-2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the side of the bowl 1-2 times
- Add cilantro and process until smooth
- Add half of the edamame plus 2 Tbsp water and puree. Scrape down sides of the bowl as needed
- Add remaining edamame and puree until smooth. Add more water if it is too thick
- Season with salt, transfer to a bowl and garnish with sesame seeds and cilantro leaves
Dukkah
Yield: 1 cup/250 mL
Ingredients:
½ cup hazelnuts
¼ cup pistachios
¼ cup sesame seeds
¼ tsp fennel seeds
¾ tsp ground coriander
¾ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp salt
Method:
- Pulse in food processor until chopped but not a paste.
- In a dry pan over medium low heat toast hazelnuts until fragrant. Remove from pan and reserve.
- Repeat the same process individually for pistachios, sesame seeds, fennel, coriander & cumin.
Black Bean Brownies
Yield: 12 portions
Ingredients:
2 tbsp flax meal
6 tbsp water
1 ¾ cup black beans (rinsed)
3 tbsp coconut oil
¾ cup cocoa powder
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup brown sugar
1 ½ tsp baking powder
Method:
- Mix flax and water well and let stand for 5 minutes
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Lightly grease muffin tin.
- Add flax egg and remaining ingredients to food processor and puree for 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl until smooth.
- Divide evenly into muffin tin and top with chocolate chips or crushed nuts.
- Bake 20-26 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool 30 minutes in tin before carefully removing.
Walnut Pesto
Yield: 1 cup/250 mL
Ingredients:
2 cups basil
1 cup parsley
¼ cup grated parmesan
¼ cup walnuts (toasted)
3 cloves garlic (roughly chopped)
½ cup olive oil
To taste salt & pepper
Method:
- In food processor blend garlic and walnuts until coarsely chopped.
- Add cheese, basil & parsley and pulse until well combined but still coarse.
- With motor running drizzle olive oil until desired consistency.
- Season with salt & pepper.
