SUMMER SQUASH VEGGIE LASAGNA
WITH SLICED PEAR
While eating my summer squash with home made veggie spaghetti sauce, it occurred to me last night, that the reason the "Where do you get your protein?" question keeps coming up boils down to the fact that the average person has no understanding of protein! Fortunately for you, I took a lot of Biochemistry in college and I'm here to help.
The general misconception is that only animal sources will give you enough protein. News Flash! Ever ask a cow, horse, elephant or hippo about their diet? They don't eat any meat. Where do they get their protein? When you eat protein from an animal source, your body breaks it down the same way it does the protein from a plant source. Your muscles, tendons, hair, skin, connective tissues and organs do not look like a cow, chicken, fish or pig's because the protein is broken down by your body's digestive system and then re-assembled by your cells to form human protein! In other words:
YOU MAKE YOUR OWN PROTEIN!
The ONLY thing you really need to take as a supplement if you eat no meat is Vitamin B12. Animals tend to eat dirt with their food and Vitamin B12 from Cyanobacteria is in the dirt. The soil is so depleted now that the animals have supplements in there feed. Hopefully, you wash your veggies so you need to take a B12 supplement.
The building blocks of protein are called Amino Acids. Plants and bacteria take carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen and trace elements from the air, water and soil to build Amino Acids. No animal can do that. There are 9 essential amino acids, meaning that your body needs them in your diet to make protein. Plants provide exactly the same amino acids as animals, but without the saturated fat. This means that any combination of vegetables and fruits that you already eat such as lettuce, carrots, celery, peppers, tomatoes, nuts, beans, lentils, peas, potatoes, seeds, grains, apples, pears, grapes, spices and citrus fruits will give you exactly the same building blocks for your human protein that you would get from animals. The plants just don't give you the saturated fat that clogs up most people's arteries leading to heart disease, stroke, circulation issues and erectile dysfunction. Plants are full of fiber which keeps you regular and helps reduce your chances of getting colon cancer. You can eat all the plants that you want all day long, never feel hungry and still lose weight! I also minimize oil intake. Occasionally I stir-cook some veggies in veggie soup stock, but don't fry anything.
So now you know where I get my protein. I'm down 110 lbs. since 1-1-2014 and am not looking back!
