Plant Protein: Myths and Facts

Hi friends,

Welcome to The Confident Cook, your guide to mastering the building blocks of plant-based cooking. I've just stared these newsletters as a fun way for me to share more of my knowledge with you and answer some of your most asked questions about cooking vegetables.

Lot's of you already know that I am a restaurant trained chef (I used to work at Bubala, London's fave veggie spot) but few of you know that I also have a Holistic Health Coach Certification. This isn't a full nutrition degree, but the knowledge I've gained really helps shape the foundations of my recipe writing.

Protein! More Protein!

Protein gets brought up in almost every conversation about plant-based eating, which is understandable when we are bombarded with so much contrasting information.

Whether you are fully plant-based or trying to eat more plant-based meals, you might have concerns about getting enough protein.

Let's go through a few of the concerns I hear most often:

Myth 1: You can’t get enough protein from plants

Fact: You can, and it’s easier than you think.

The idea that plants don’t provide “enough” protein is one of the most persistent myths.
Yes, animal products tend to have more protein per gram (more on this below), but when you look at your whole day — breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks — it adds up quickly from whole plant foods.

Beans, lentils, tofu, tempeh, nuts (even your peanut butter on toast), seeds, soy milk, and certain grains like quinoa or buckwheat all contain protein. If you eat a variety of these across your day, you’ll meet your needs without having to track every gram or download another app.

Some examples:

Tempeh Cooked (19g per 100g)
Extra Firm Tofu (16g per 100g)
Lentils (9g per 100g cooked)
Chickpeas (8g per 100g cooked)
Quinoa (4g per 100g cooked)
Hemp seeds (3g per tablespoon)

It’s not about one single “perfect” protein source, focus on a variety of foods throughout the day.

Myth 2: You need to combine proteins at every meal

Fact: Your body is a very clever storage container

It's all about amino acids:​
Protein is made up of smaller building blocks called amino acids.
Nine of these are considered essential, meaning your body can’t make them on its own and you must get them from food.
Eating a variety of plant proteins over the course of the day naturally gives you all nine, without having to combine them in a single meal.

We have something called an “amino acid pool” which is where your body stores amino acids from different meals and combines them over time. So as long as you eat a variety of plant foods during the day, you’ll naturally get the full set you need.

That means you can have peanut butter on toast for breakfast, lentil soup for lunch, and a beany chilli for dinner, and your body will put the puzzle pieces together perfectly.

Some examples of combinations that make a complete amino acids profiles:

• Beans and rice — or any legume and rice mix
• Hummus with wholegrain pita — chickpeas plus wheat
• Peanut butter on wholegrain toast — peanuts plus wheat
• Lentil with almonds - almonds make a great topping for lentil salads, soups or dahls

Complete amino acids (foods that contain all 9 essential amino acids):

• Quinoa
• Tofu, Tempeh, Edamame
• Hemp and chia seeds
• Buckwheat (eaten more like a grain but is actually a seed)

Myth 3: Plant protein isn’t as “good” as animal protein

Fact: Plant proteins often come with extra benefits compared to animal proteins.

Yes, plant proteins can be slightly lower in certain amino acids like lysine or methionine*, but as we covered above, variety across your day solves this one.
And unlike many animal proteins, plant-based sources are usually packaged with fibre, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats.

So when you eat a cup of lentils, you’re getting protein plus iron, magnesium, potassium, and a big dose of fibre. That fibre helps with digestion, blood sugar balance, and keeping you fuller for longer.

Soy foods like tofu and tempeh have also been shown to have protective effects for heart health and bone density. Nuts and seeds bring healthy fats that help you absorb fat-soluble vitamins from other foods in the meal.

Protein is important, but it’s only one part of the bigger picture of nourishment. On a side note, 90% of Brits are deficient in fibre but we seem getting enough protein, even though we worry about it the most.

*Plant- based sources:

• Lysine: Legumes like lentils, chickpeas, and kidney beans are excellent sources of lysine. Soy products, such as tofu and tempeh, are also rich in lysine.
• Leucine: Soybeans, lentils, pumpkin seeds, and hemp seeds are good sources of leucine.
• Methionine: Hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, Brazil nits, cashews, buckwheat, edamame, tofu

Myth 4: Soy messes with your hormones

Fact: Soy does not contain oestrogen (human hormones) but phytoestrogen (plent hormones). And I think you're probably a human.

Soy contains isoflavones, which are phytoestrogens, plant compounds with a very mild oestrogen-like structure.
They are not the same as the oestrogen your body produces, and they don’t act in the same way. In fact, research shows they can have a balancing effect on hormone activity.

For women, moderate soy intake has been linked to reduced hot flashes in menopause and may support bone health. (Study here)
For men, soy does not reduce testosterone or harm fertility (Study here).
For most people, one to two servings of whole soy foods a day is perfectly safe and can be beneficial.

One serving is about:
100g cooked edamame
100g tofu or tempeh
250ml soy milk

How much protein do you actually need?

For most adults, around 0.8 to 1g (more if you are trying to become a bodybuilder) of protein per kilogram of body weight is enough.
If you’re very active, older, or recovering from illness, you may need more.
The easiest approach is to focus on variety, lots of whole foods, and make sure there’s some source of protein in each meal.

Here is an example of how I get enough protein throughout my day:

Breakfast

• 1 cup oats (cooked or overnight) with 1 tbsp chia seeds (2g) with 250ml soy milk (8.5g)
• 1 tbsp hemp seeds sprinkled on top (3g)

Lunch

• Salad with 1 cup cooked lentils (18g) and 3 tbsp hummus (3.5g)
• Slice of wholegrain bread (4g)

Snack

• 2 tbsp peanut butter on apple slices, with a banana or on a rice cracker (8g)

Dinner

• 100g tofu and vegetable stir fry with soba noodles (14g)

Total = 62g protein

High-protein add-ons I always keep on hand

These are small, nutrient-dense ingredients I sprinkle on meals for an instant protein boost.

• Super seed mix (pumpkin, sunflower, hemp, chia) — around 3g protein per tablespoon (here's my go-to recipe)​
• Hemp seeds — 3g protein per tablespoon (great for sprinkling on salads, loaded toasts or oats)
• Pumpkin seeds — 2.5g protein per tablespoon
• Sunflower seeds — 2g protein per tablespoon
• Nutritional yeast — 2g protein per tablespoon (plus a cheesy, umami flavour)

Protein is one of the core building blocks I'll be teaching about in my online cooking course, The Plant-Based Blueprint. (Still working on this so watch this space!)

Let me know below if you're interested in helping me shape this course for you as I create it:

Hope that was helpful, feel free to email me back with any feedback, thoughts or protein related Q's.

Lots of love,
Christina xx