Six high-carb foods surprisingly high in protein | Canada Voices

We’re advised to include a good source of protein at every meal. Doing so helps to keep you feeling satisfied and energized longer after eating.

Plus, studies indicate that distributing your daily protein intake across your meals – instead of consuming most of it at dinner – is more effective for maintaining muscle strength as you age.

It’s not only meat, fish and eggs, though, that contribute to your daily protein intake.

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Surprisingly, many healthy carbohydrate-rich foods add decent amounts of vital protein to meals.

Don’t get me wrong. These foods can’t replace high-quality protein-rich foods.

They do, however, help you meet your daily protein requirement, providing essential amino acids and other health-promoting nutrients.

Here are six of them to add to your regular menu.

Lentils

This member of the pulse family provides a hefty 18 g of plant protein per one cup cooked. And almost half the carbohydrate in lentils is fibre, providing 15 g per cup.

One cup of nutrient-packed lentils also contains 358 mcg of folate (adults need 400 mcg daily), 71 mg of magnesium, 7 mg of iron and 731 mg of blood-pressure-regulating potassium.

They’re also a good source of choline, a B-like vitamin involved in memory and muscle function.

Enjoy lentil soup or lentil dahl. Toss lentils into salads, frittatas, whole grain pilafs, stews and marinara sauces or add them to turkey tacos.

Try lentil pasta as an alternative to pasta made from wheat.

Quinoa

While technically a seed, quinoa is considered a whole grain from a culinary perspective.

Per one cup cooked, this nutritious gluten-free grain supplies 8 g of complete protein, meaning it contains all nine essential amino acids the body can’t make on its own.

That’s in addition to 5 g of fibre, 77 mg of folate, 4 mg of iron and a notable 118 mg of blood-sugar-regulating magnesium. (Women need 320 mg of magnesium per day; men require 420 mg.)

Use quinoa for whole grain bowls, to make tabbouleh, as a base for a stir-fry or to prepare as a breakfast porridge.

Or simply cook quinoa in vegetable or chicken stock and serve as a side dish instead of white rice, which, compared to quinoa, has half as much protein and is significantly lower in vitamins and minerals.

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Farro

Also known as emmer, this nutty-tasting, slightly chewy ancient wheat serves up an impressive 12 g of protein per one cup cooked. For perspective, two large eggs provide 12.6 g of protein.

What’s more, one cup of cooked farro offers 10 g of filling fibre, 4 mg of iron and decent amount of potassium.

Toss cooked farro into pilafs, green salads, grain bowls, soups, stews and chili. Or stuff farro into burritos or bell peppers.

For individuals with a wheat sensitivity, farro may be easier to digest than modern wheat.

Green peas

One cup of these nutrient-packed legumes delivers 8.5 g of protein along with 9 g of fibre, 100 mcg of folate (adults need 400 mcg daily) and 4.1 mg of brain-friendly lutein.

Green peas are also a good source of potassium, magnesium, iron, bone-building vitamin K and choline.

Stir frozen green peas into a pasta sauces, stir-fries and soups. Sauté them with garlic and other chopped vegetables for a side dish. Add thawed green peas to leafy green and whole grain salads.

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Whole-wheat pasta

Made from the entire grain including the nutrient-rich germ and bran, one cup of cooked whole-wheat pasta supplies 7 g of protein

While refined (white) pasta has an equivalent protein content, whole-wheat pasta provides more minerals and twice as much fibre.

One cup of cooked whole-wheat pasta contains 4.5 g of fibre, 63 mg of magnesium, 2 mg of iron and 42 mcg of immune-supportive selenium (nearly a full day’s worth).

Nutty-tasting whole grain pasta works well with pesto sauce and robust tomato sauces such as Bolognese or my favourite, puttanesca.

Buckwheat

Like quinoa, this seed is classified as a whole grain. One cup of the cooked gluten-free grain delivers 6 g of complete protein along with 4.5 g of fibre.

Buckwheat is also an excellent source of magnesium, offering 85 mg per one cup cooked, copper and manganese, a mineral needed for normal nerve and brain function.

Buckwheat also contains high levels of resistant starch, a prebiotic carbohydrate that nourishes beneficial gut bacteria.

Buckwheat is available raw or toasted. Use buckwheat to make pancakes, muffins, overnight oats, hot breakfast cereal and risotto.

Toss cooked buckwheat into salads, curries and soups. Use buckwheat as a filling for stuffed peppers.

Leslie Beck, a Toronto-based private practice dietitian, is director of food and nutrition at Medcan.