Protein Building Blocks

A friend of our family came to dinner one time when the kids were small and proceeded to build a magnificent parking structure with the large sized lego blocks he found strewn on the floor.  For some reason, a picture of him with this masterpiece on his lap and a huge smile on his face is forever burned in my memory. 

He could have built any number of things from those same blocks, just like the amino acids we digest from protein can be rebuilt into many different kinds of body tissue. You may recognize the names of three, popular essential amino acids, meaning the ones we must get from our food: Tryptophan ( in turkey), Arginine and Lysine.  People with wounds need extra daily grams of protein so that the amino acids in that protein can be rebuilt into extra tissue needed for damage repair.  Athletes are considered a part of that group too because their intense physical activity results in a greater need for muscle repair.

Most Americans consume plenty of protein, but animal protein sources like meat and cheese are also laden with saturated fat.  Saturated fat from healthy animals does perform vital bodily functions, but an excess of it will contribute easily to the storage of extra bodily fat…and that is not healthy.  Researchers at the Harvard School of Nutrition have just completed a study which shows that reducing saturated fat in the diet will also reduce the incidence of coronary heart disease by almost 20%. (1)  So we want the amino acid building blocks from protein, but we also want to control our intake of saturated fat.  Solution?  Quinoa! (keen-wa)

Unlike other sources of plant protein, quinoa provides all of the essential amino acids in the same way that animal sources do.  Even better, it is blessed with some super nutritional benefits that animal products lack!

- Fiber in abundance
- Great source of the mineral manganese (for reducing swollen blood vessels which cause migrane headaches). (2)
- No saturated fat or cholesterol
- 3-7 times CHEAPER than meat products

And it matches red meat in:

- iron content

Of course, beef gives twice as much protein ounce for ounce, and you can’t bar-b-q quinoa in the back yard. But you have to admit that it has a lot to offer as a compliment to beef, or even as a vegetarian night alternative. 

You won’t believe how easily quinoa can fit into your diet when you try the Hearty Meatballs, Chicken Asparagus, and Chocolate Mint Quinoa Tart from the menu this week!  (I added up all the quinoa I needed for the week and cooked it at one time to save lots of time.)

So let’s build a better body with “Mother Grain” quinoa and the teeny, tiny building blocks it provides,

Molly
Test Cook and Research Specialist for Orange Tree Lane

Molly

(1)  http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/2010-releases/saturated-fat-polyunsaturated-fat-cut-heart-disease-risk.html

(2)  http://worldshealthiestfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=142#healthbenefits

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