Written by Megan Lee, Registered Dietician, August 2024
This dish is a great example of how plant-based foods can be combined to create a meal that provides a ‘complete’ protein profile. Unlike animal proteins, plant foods lack or have low levels of one or more of the nine ‘essential amino acids’ that make up a ‘complete’ protein. The essential amino acids are leucine, isoleucine, valine, histidine, lysine, methionine, threonine, phenylalanine and tryptophan. By pairing whole grains with legumes, or with nuts/seeds, you can obtain the necessary amounts of all nine essential amino acids, resulting in a ‘complete’ protein. This isn’t necessary to combine these within the same meal, and can rather be included over the day to get all the essential amino acids, BUT, it may help in fullness and satiety to pair these together if there isn’t a complete (animal) source of protein in that meal.
Ingredients (serves 2-4)
● ¾ cup brown rice, uncooked
● 400g green vegetables (broccoli, green beans, courgettes, peas)
● 1 tin chickpeas
● ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
● 4 tbsp basil pesto
● ¼ - ½ a lemon
Instructions
1. Cook the rice according to package instructions.
2. Chop the vegetables into bite sized pieces, and steam the vegetables until they are
tender with a slight bite.
3. Drain and rinse the chickpeas.
4. In a large bowl, combine the cooked rice, steamed vegetables and rinsed chickpeas.
5. Add the pesto and pumpkin seeds, and a good squeeze of lemon juice.
6. Mix and enjoy!
Alterations for variety:
● Switch out the brown rice for quinoa, bulgur wheat, barley, wholewheat couscous or
buckwheat.
● Use butter beans, red kidney beans, edamame beans or lentils in place of the
chickpeas.
● Add sunflower seeds, linseeds, chopped walnuts or flaked almonds alongside or instead
of the pumpkin seeds.
For personalised guidance on finding a more positive relationship with food, exercise, and your body, book a consultation here: https://www.gabimeltzerdietician.com/book-online.
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