Question: What should my daughter eat with hummus to make a complete protein?
My daughter is a strict vegetarian and allergic to dairy products. She eats soy protein, fresh vegetables from a salad bar and fresh fruit daily. She also eats hummus each day and wonders what she should combine with humus to make a complete protein.
Mary - About.com User
Answer: Hummus is a source of complementary proteins all by itself because it combines chickpeas and sesame seeds. In general legumes such as chickpeas, lentils and peanuts are good sources of the amino acids lysine and isoleucine, but they aren't good sources of tryptophan, methionine and cystine.
Seeds and nuts like sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pecans and walnuts are terrific sources of tryptophan, methionine and cystine. When you combine legumes with nuts or seeds, you have a great way to get complete protein.
Other protein combinations for vegetarians include:
- Grains plus legumes. Try black beans and rice.
- Nuts and seeds plus legumes. Lentil soup with a serving of almonds on the side.
- Corn plus legumes. Try pinto beans in a corn tortilla.
