Alongside the Mind Body System it’s a good idea to increase your protein intake. Not in a stressed out must reach xx amount per day, but more in a mindful easy kind of way. We’re not counting calories, we’re not measuring food, we’re just making some delicious and smart choices to add protein and enhance the jouney.
Protein complements the MB system by also enhancing satiety through further increasing the GLP-1 hormone. You just won’t feel as hungry and those pesky thoughts of food will simply disappear.
Plus when you add protein you will prevent muscle loss and keep your metabolism humming along.
A super easy way to add protein (in a plant-based way) is to include a high quality protein powder to your smoothie. I use Switch Nutrition organic sprouted plant protein. It’s made from sprouted pumpkin seed protein, watermelon seed, hemp, pea, algae protein and is sweetened with stevia. I don’t use it every day depending on what I’m eating and if I’m at the gym.
1 scoop has 30 g of protein. I add it to my daily smoothie with the MB Enhance powder for a richly satistying snack. It’s available online from Supplements Direct or your local supplement shop.
But of course real food is our priority! Here are some easy ways to add protein to your snacks & meals.
Beans
We’re going to spend a bit of time in the bean section because quite frankly they are THE longevity gift of nature. If you don’t like them or they make you bloated and farty you just need to eat them little & often to get your microbiome replenished with the right bugs to aid digestion.
As well, the probiotic ingredients of the MB Enhance powder will help (it’s got kombucha in it + probiotics), AND you can increase your intake of fermented foods (saurkraut, kimchi, miso) + if cooking beans from scatch add a little seaweed.
Let’s start with black beans.
At the bare minimum I dry toast cumin seeds until aromatic, add a partially drained can of beans, +/- tomatoes, salt & peper, chilli, drizzle of olive oil, heat, partially mash and that’s it. Pop the beans on rice, in a burrito with steamed kale or salad. For more flavour you can add La Morena salsa as in these black bean tacos.
Also super quick is the fiesta salad. I’ll let the photo do the talking. Drizzle with your favourite dressing.
Edamame beans are a great snack and addition to a pile of pan-cooked greens. For a snack or starter, pop them in boiling water straight from the freezer and boil for 5 mins. Drizzle with a smidge of sesame/olive oil and sprinkle with salt and toasted sesame seeds (black ones look great!) +/- garlic.
For an easy dish saute a bunch of broccoli (cut up smallish), beans, asparagus (if in season), peas and edamame – season with a little chilli, salt & pepper, garlic if you want. Serve on a platter with a smear of your favourite hummus underneath (I like the smoked paprika one). Makes a nice plate to take out or an easy dinner with some falafels on the side and triangles of pitas.
Cooking beans from scratch using a slow cooker is really satistying and they do taste better. The next two links show you how. I made this smokey black-eyed bean stew/soup for book club after we’d read Where the Crawdads Sing.
Other favourites Mexican Bean Soup with crispy tortillas and Borlotti Beans in Red Wine.
Chia pudding
This chia pudding gives sooo much. It’s easy to prepare the night before to take to work or have as dessert or to snack on throughout the day. I sometimes mix 2 scoops of the MB Enhance powder with it adding a little more water to mix it in.
Chickpeas
Chickpeas are also versatile. Roast them and add to salads like this cauliflower salad or simply any salad. Plus I love to mash with avocado + black salt + dijon mustard + nutritional yeast + lemon juice – it’s like egg salad and great on sourdough or as a side to plain steamed veggies.
They’re a good holder ingredient for these fish-cake like fritters if you’re not keen on the strong flavour of chickpea flour which I talk about below.
Chickpea flour has a whooping 20 g protein per 1 cup so it’s worth swapping out in recipes like waffles and fritters. It has a strong flavour but works well in these crispy waffles.
Flaxseed
Similar to chia in that they’re high in omega’s flaxseeds and are great to weave into your baking as an egg replacer like this delicious Rhubarb Cake. Or make your own crackers Buckwheat Crackers.
Lentils
Red, green or brown they are another of nature’s blessings. If I’m not eating beans then I’m eating these. I used to think they were fiddly to cook but seriously they’re now my fast food for a quick curry, easy red lentil soup, Turkish lentil soup, balsamic lentils, potato topped shepherds pie, salad or served plain in a salad drained straight from a can.
Nuts & seeds
Garnish salads with toasted pumpkin & sunflower seeds splashed with tamari. Crumble and roast with spicey seeds as a topping. Make cashew sour cream and walnut sauce to go on everything!
Oats
I’m essentially a porridge girl but during the summer I make this Chocolate Cranberry Granola as it’s got the added benefit of protein-rich buckwheat and flaxseed.
Number five in this dessert post is a lovely Peach Berry Crisp, which is a fancy way of saying crumble.
Peas
Peas are a stealth vegetable – high in iron and protein. Try this Pea Pesto and in the depths of winter this Smokey Split Pea Soup goes a long way.
Quinoa
Nice in a salad or added to a stew or soup, quinoa is a wholefood we ought to eat more of. See this post Two Ways with Quinoa and Late Summer Quinoa Salad and it’s always a good addition to any Buddha Bowl.
Tofu
Sear tofu in a little tamari and pop on top of a salad – it’s a good source of satisfying protein. Yes it gets a bad wrap but only because it’s not cooked well. This deconstructed sushi salad has the added bonus of a ginger tahini dressing, which is delicious. Then there’s our family favourits Spinach Ricotta Cannelloni, Tofu Saag, tofu scamble and the best no-cheese sauce ever!
That’s it for now. I’ll sure to be adding to this post as I discover more. And if you’d like to know more about the Mind Body Weight Management System, give me a shout.
