What food combinations make complete proteins? (2024)

What food combinations make complete proteins?

Combinations include: Nuts or seeds with whole grains (peanut butter on whole wheat toast) Whole grains with beans (beans and rice; hummus and pita bread; bean-based chili and crackers; refried beans and tortillas) Beans with nuts or seeds (salad with chickpeas and sunflower seeds)

Combining incomplete proteins

For example, brown rice has several of the essential amino acids, but not all nine. Beans, lentils and chickpeas have essential amino acids that brown rice lacks. Simply pairing rice and beans will give you a vegan-friendly meal with complete proteins.

Amaranth, quinoa, hemp seed, and chia are also complete proteins, so adding any of these foods, along with combining your other protein sources, will help you get all your essential amino acids met every day. Get nutrition tips and advice to make healthy eating easier.

Although sweet potatoes add some protein to your diet, plant-based protein foods are incomplete. This means that they do not provide all of the more than 20 essential amino acids your body needs on a daily basis.

Any one of the following plant foods can be added to make a pasta dish a complete protein: Legumes (with the exception of soy) such as peas, and beans, including those that are dried, processed or baked. Vegetables, even if they are frozen. Nuts and seeds like walnuts, cashews and sunflower seeds.

By combining complementary proteins -- grains, like rice or bread, and plant-based protein sources, like peanuts, peanut butter or beans – you create a complete protein. For instance, you might decide to grab whole grain toast and jam at breakfast, but then have a handful of peanuts as a mid-morning snack.

Animal proteins are the most easily absorbed and used by your body. Foods that contain all nine essential amino acids are called complete proteins. These foods include beef, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, soy, quinoa and buckwheat.

However, oats on their own aren't a 'complete' protein. Our bodies need nine essential amino acids to build protein – they're called 'essential' because our bodies can't make them so we must consume them via food. 'Complete' proteins contain adequate amounts of all nine.

Although peanut butter is not a complete protein — meaning it does not contain all of the essential amino acids the body needs — it does count toward a person's daily protein intake.

What can I eat with peanut butter to make a complete protein?

Spread peanut butter on whole-grain bread. Sprinkle crushed peanuts on a spinach salad. Make a simple stir-fry with peanuts and broccoli, and eat it over brown rice. Make a vegetarian pad Thai with brown rice noodles, veggies and crushed peanuts.

Surprisingly, potatoes offer a complete protein if you eat enough, over 10 per day. But you would ultimately encounter deficiencies in vitamins A, B₁₂ and E, and calcium and selenium if you keep to just potatoes.

“While we've always known nuts contain protein, we now know roasted pistachios with all nine amino acids in these amounts are a complete protein,” said Nigel Mitchell, BSC, MSC, RD, author of The Plant Based Cyclist and nutritionist for multiple pro and British national sports teams.

Contains All Essential Amino Acids

The casein in Greek yogurt is a complete protein because it contains all nine essential amino acids: methionine, lysine, isoleucine, histidine, valine, tryptophan, threonine, phenylalanine and leucine.

Combining incomplete proteins to form a complete protein

Whole grains with beans (beans and rice; hummus and pita bread; bean-based chili and crackers; refried beans and tortillas) Beans with nuts or seeds (salad with chickpeas and sunflower seeds)

So, having scoured the full list of applicants, we have crowned kale as the number 1 healthiest food out there. Kale has the widest range of benefits, with the fewest drawbacks when stacked up against its competitors.

"The only food that provides all the nutrients that humans need is human milk," Hattner said. "Mother's milk is a complete food. We may add some solid foods to an infant's diet in the first year of life to provide more iron and other nutrients, but there is a little bit of everything in human milk."

Excess protein consumed is usually stored as fat, while the surplus of amino acids is excreted. This can lead to weight gain over time, especially if you consume too many calories while trying to increase your protein intake.

Chickpeas are a good source of protein.

Like most other plant protein sources, chickpeas are not a complete protein and do not contain all nine essential amino acids. Chickpeas are rich in some essential amino acids, including lysine and arginine, but lack the sulfur-containing amino acids, methionine and cystine.

Is hummus a complete protein?

A delicious Middle Eastern classic, pita and hummus are another combination that provides all nine essential amino acids. Similarly to rice, the wheat used to make pita is too low in lysine to be considered a complete protein source. However, chickpeas — the main ingredient in hummus — are rich in lysine ( 28 , 29 ).

Walnuts are an excellent source of protein, containing 4 grams of protein per ounce (Self Nutrition Data, n.d.). Although walnuts are not a complete protein, they contain many of the essential amino acids your body requires.

The body can pool proteins from various foods consumed throughout the day, to form complete proteins, when needed. However, you might still find some nutritionists insisting that you combine different proteins in a single meal. This is primarily done to ensure that you consume enough protein in a day.

Animal proteins are the most easily absorbed and used by your body. Foods that contain all nine essential amino acids are called complete proteins. These foods include beef, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, soy, quinoa and buckwheat.

Avoid combining different types of protein. Consume dairy products only on an empty stomach, especially milk.

By mixing proteins from different sources, you can safely harness the benefits from each individual protein source, exercise physiologist Jim Stoppani says in "Simply Shredded."