We're embarking on week three of our vegan transition. So far I'm loving it, but there has been some resistance on the team. No breaks yet, but definitely complaints. As seen above I've been incorporating a lot of soy meat products to make the transition easier.
Max doesn't seem to notice the difference. Sometimes he likes tempeh or tofu, sometimes he refuses them. Then again he did the same with chicken so there's not much difference there. The mister is happy with the meals I make, but when out and about he is starting to feel the restrictions closing in. Going without meat has been easy. It's the dairy he's feeling. He'd taken up the task of eliminating the leftover dairy in our kitchen, but now that honeymoon is rapidly coming to an end.
As someone who's not used to reading labels, and as someone who comes from a very cheese and butter heavy tradition he feels frustrated by the whole thing. As some one who comes from a very brown rice and vegetables tradition I can't relate but I can imagine. If research began to show that avocados and almonds cause cancer and should be eliminated from the diet, I would be frustrated too and I would probably cry.
Anyway, I'm rambling. This post is actually about complete proteins. Complete proteins are proteins that contain all nine of the amino acids that our bodies are not capable of producing, but need to survive. Single-food plant-based complete proteins (such as quinoa or soy) are rare. So a varied vegan diet depends a lot on combining protein sources within your meals to provide all nine essential amino acids.
The tacos above were fairly quick and passed the family test (aka Everyone ate them/No one complained) and they contain not one but two complete proteins! I originally selected Ezekiel tortillas because they are made from sprouted grains, which makes the nutrients in the grains is more easily absorbed by the body. But upon reading the marketing spiel on the back I found out that the combination of 6 grains they contain, make up a complete protein. Nice!
These tacos also contain Gimme Lean which is a soy-based answer to ground beef and sausage. Like most soy products it's a little sweet, but aside from that the taste and consistency make it a great substitute for the meat lovers out there.
Ingredients: Ezekiel sprouted tortillas, homemade refried black beans, roasted summer squash and grape tomatoes, sauteed Gimme Lean, romaine hearts.
Great source of: complete protein, iron, folate, B6, B2, B1, Omega-3, tons of minerals
