At AGM Foods the majority of our ingredients used in our Grainfields products are plant based.
Research has shown eating more plant foods is good for us and may help us live longer. One example is the Mediterranean diet which includes traditional foods from countries such as Italy and Greece. This way of eating focusses on high amounts of plant foods, moderate amounts of fish, seafood, dairy and poultry and low amounts of red meat. Studies have found diets with more plant foods like the Mediterranean diet reduce the chance of lifestyle illnesses including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer and obesity.
Researchers have also discovered that eating many different types of plant foods from whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, to fruits and vegetables increases the diversity of our gut bacteria, which is great news for our health!
Meat lovers, this doesn’t mean you have to ditch meat completely, perhaps just cut down a bit and embrace the power of plant based foods more. This is known as a ‘flexitarian’ diet, a combination of the words ‘flexible’ and ‘vegetarian’. This means you can manifest the health benefits of a plant-based diet without having to completely cut out meat and animal products.
The big thing with cutting down on animal products and eating more plant foods, especially if going vegetarian or totally vegan, is to ensure you are getting enough protein and iron.
The heme iron in red meat is more easily absorbed than the non heme plant sources. It is much the same with protein, plant proteins are not as easily absorbed or complete as those from animal sources. Some vegetarians can still obtain animal protein if they consume dairy, eggs and cheese. However vegans don’t eat any foods at all which are derived from animals.
Here are just a few of our go to plant foods for high iron and protein:
Seeds – Hemp seeds are a complete source of protein, offering 5g of protein per tablespoon. They are rich in iron and are also high in the “good” oils omega 3, 6 and 9. Other seeds which are good sources of protein and iron include chia, linseed and pumpkin.
Nuts – Nuts and nut butters especially almonds, cashews, pine nuts and macadamia nuts are high in protein and contain a good amount of non heme iron.
Legumes – Peas, beans and lentils are rich in protein and iron. Lentils are made up of over 25% protein. While soy is a good source of plant-based protein and rich in nutrients, there has been some controversy, because it contains phytate which inhibits the absorption of minerals calcium, iron and zinc. However, when the soy is fermented e.g. tempeh or miso, the fermentation breaks down the phytates and helps with absorption.
Mushrooms – Mushrooms are high in protein. Not all varieties are high in iron, with the exception of oyster mushrooms and white mushrooms which contain up to 2 times more iron than button mushrooms.
Spirulina – This is one of the richest plant food sources around for protein, iron, vitamin B12, chlorophyll, trace elements and minerals.
Dark green leafy vegetables– Even though they may not have known why, parents throughout history have told their children to eat their greens. Water cress, spinach, alfalfa grass and kale are all good sources of iron and protein.
Fruits – Who knew avocado is actually a fruit? It is high in protein at 4g protein per cup as well a good source of healthy fats. Dried apricots, grapefruit , kiwi fruit and blackberries also contain a good amount of protein. Prunes are surprisingly rich in iron, as are dates, olives, raisins and mulberries.
With a few small changes and tweaks we can make a big difference to what we eat every day. Add more fresh leafy salads to meals and replace a meat meal with a vegetarian meal one or two times a week. Instead of snacking on chips, biscuits and highly processed snack foods replace them with nuts, seeds, fruit and dried fruit.
Have you tried our Grainfields bars yet? They are high in protein, made from whole raw plant based foods and make a filling, guilt free snack. The Grainfields powders, (especially the Grainfields Organic Protein Powder) are also an easy way of adding more protein and nutrients to smoothies and other foods. Also, with Grainfields products the natural fermentation process aids digestion and makes the protein and nutrients in foods more easily absorbed.
There is no doubt that eating more plant-based foods and reducing unhealthy highly processed foods in our diet can be very beneficial for our health and longevity.
Sources: Medical news today– Top 15 Sources of Plant Based Protein, 21 Vegetarian Foods That Are Loaded With Iron– healthline .com, Plant Based Diets What’s The Fuss- nutritionaustralia.org
