Vegan protein

[kokopelli]

Hemp seeds are 25%-35% complete protein, like soya beans, but they don't have the trypsin inhibitors and oligosaccharides which impair digestion like soy. Their protein is in a particularly digestible and useful form, 65% is edestin. They also have perfectly-balanced omega fatty acids.

Here's an article about the nutrtional value of hemp seeds:

http://www.hempoilcan.com/nutri.html

it's very interesting, I think! :)

[kokopelli]

Here's what it says about edestin on that website:

'Approximately 65% of the protein in hemp seeds is made up of the globulin protein Edestin and is found only in hemp seed. Edestin aids digestion, is relatively phosphorus-free and considered the backbone of the cell's DNA. The other one third of hemp seed protein is Albumin, another high quality globulin protein similar to that found in egg whites.'

I'm not sure whether it's true that edestin is only found in hempseeds though, because in the Online Medical Dictionary, it says it's also found in castor oil beans and other seeds.

http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?query=edestin&action=Search+OMD

[feline01]

kokopelli,

I gather you really, really like hemp seeds. Only thing I've ever made with them is hemp seed, chocolate chip cookies. Any possibility of you posting some recipes for hemp-seed based items in the recipe thread?

[phillip888]

I use hemp seed oil on steamed veg and potatoes and salad, it's pretty easy to use because it tastes good.

[kokopelli]

kokopelli,

I gather you really, really like hemp seeds. Only thing I've ever made with them is hemp seed, chocolate chip cookies. Any possibility of you posting some recipes for hemp-seed based items in the recipe thread?

Feline, I like the sound of your choc chip cookies :)

I've got a book called H.E.M.P. (Healthy Eating Made Possible) by Paul Benhaim, published by Fusion Press, which has lots of hemp recipes.

But so far I haven't been able to get the hulled hemp seeds he recommends, which would be good, because the hard cases on whole hemp seeds are not very digestible. I'm trying out a method of hulling the seeds today, by sprouting them first, then blending a little with water, until the hulls come off and float to the top.

I have heard, though, that in the US, customs won't allow any hempseeds into the country that haven't been irradiated to sterilise them and make them infertile, so they can't sprout and grow. I'm not sure whether that's true, but it doesn't sound very good, another example of rampant US Govt hemp paranoia.

[Kim[ba]]

Well, if they *do* sprout let me know :eek:

[kokopelli]

I'm not in the US, so no problems with sterilised hemp seeds. :)

People are actually allowed to grow hemp in Europe for fibre and seeds (the low THC varieties), like they are in Canada and Australia, in fact farmers are encouraged to grow it with subsidies.

But the sprouting first experiment didn't work...I sprouted them for a couple of days, just till the seed cases opened and the little root started to poke out, but the cases didn't rise to the top when I blended them. So I just carried on blending, then filtered the milk through a straining cloth. I'll put my hemp milk bhang recipe and some other recipes in the recipe section when I've got more time. :)

[phillip888]

Maybe blanching would work. If you used a metal strainer you could dip them in boiling water for a few seconds, then dump them in cold water, then rinse them. It works for some seeds...

[kokopelli]

I'll try it and see.

phillip888, I know you are a raw food person, does that mean you don't have hot drinks, like tea, at all?

Would you still consider the seeds as 'raw' after they'd been blanched?

I've been making hemp milk with the seeds in different stages of sproutedness, and unsprouted seeds seem to retain more oil than sprouted seeds, but they're much harder to blend in my food processor.

I use the milk to make hemp milk bhang, a vegan version of the spiced Indian drink, and I heat the milk to just below boiling to infuse the spices. I hope this won't damage the protein or oil content.

[phillip888]

I'm not a 100% raw, and tend to not worry too much about most things, but seeds often contain nutrients that are heavily denatured by cooking or processing. As far as I know hemp is not as sensitive to heat as others(although there is always a denaturing issue with cooking).

Blanching is the best alternative to hand shelling on some nuts and seeds, it exposes them to heat for a very short time (2-7 seconds), and is well, a fair compromise. It's not completely raw, but not cooked enough to do much either, in fact the reasoon it works is because it expands only the outer bit by limiting heat exposure to the innner bit, making it easier to remove.

So you know the hull is edible, maybe you could just soak them and grind them in to a meal? Or did you try that already?

[kokopelli]

I use whole hemp seeds to make 'hemp salt', like sesame salt (gomasio). I toast them for a little while, then grind them in a pestle and mortar and use it to sprinkle on salad, baked potato, etc. But the hulls do tend to be a little bit sharp sometimes, even when they're ground up. When I make the hemp milk, I strain it through a fine cloth, so all the hull stuff gets filtered out.

But I've seen photos of Chinese people eating toasted hemp seeds as a snack, and photos of different varieties of hemp seeds, and some of them are very much larger than the types that are currently available in Europe.

Apparently there's a valley in China where the people are particularly healthy and long-lived, where hemp seed soup is their staple food.

It'd be nice to get hold of some Chinese seeds, but the plants they produce have too high THC content to be legal for growing in Europe. All the seeds we get here are grown in Europe from plants with less than 0.3% THC, the Chinese plants have at least 2%

[kokopelli]

I tried the blanching method, but it wasn't very successful.
The hulls came off some of the seeds, but not most of them.

It's ok, though, I can still blend them up and strain them to make hemp milk :)

[phillip888]

Well that sucks. If some of them worked though, maybe the timing is off, or you need to soak them in water beforehand.

Hemp milk and hemp seed soup sounds nice. Where is this in china?

[kokopelli]

Hemp milk bhang is very nice, I think it's probably almost perfect food, combining the nutritional and therapeutic elements of hemp flowers and seeds, and it would be excellent for anyone suffering from cancer, AIDS, MS, neurodegeneration, arthritis, etc. I'm still trying to perfect the recipe, I get curdling sometimes, and I'm not sure if it's due to too much heat, or acidity in some of the ingredients. When I get it right, I'll post it.

My partner found an article about so-called 'Happy Valley' or 'Long-Life Valley' in China, but I'm not sure where it was now. I'll see if I can find it again. :)

[kokopelli]

Just found the article here:

http://www.nutiva.com/about/media/2002_04_22.php

shame about the snake wine!

But here's some more interesting stuff, 'Traditional Uses of Culinary Hemp Seed':

http://www.thehia.org/faqs/faq2.htm

It mentions that hulling hemp seeds has recently become possible due to machines that have been developed, and that in previous times, hemp was seen as a less desirable food because it was hard to get rid of the hard, dark hulls, which made ground hemp seed meal and butter gritty. But it doesn't say how the hulling machine works. :(

[regan]

hi guys.
ive been a vegetarian for most of my life and decided to become a vegan a few months ago. ive been relying mostly on soya for protein but it doesnt really agree with me, it gives me stomach cramps. im just worried about where to get protein from now. does anyone know of a good substitute?
cheers :)

[Sassafras]

Hi regan. The human body needs about 9 grams of protein for every 20 pounds of body weight (1 gram of protein for every kilogram of body weight) to maintain health and muscle. I therefore get most of my protein through beans and legumes, tofu, and soymilk. These provide me with more than enough protein, so long as I eat enough of them throughout the day. Even foods like pasta and vegetables contain protein.

You can also find some vegan bodybuilding powders if you're trying to add muscle. Check out Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness (http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/) for more on these.

[regan]

thanks, but if i cut out soya, tofu etc do u think ill be able to get enough protein from elsewhere? its just that soya seems to be much higher in protein than other 'vegan friendly' food.

[Sassafras]

Some high protein nuts like almonds and peanuts can help make up your protein defecit and I strongly suggest eating as many servings of lentils, white beans, garbanzo beans, and/or long grain rice as you can as these are protein-rich vegan foods.

Figure out your body's protein needs based on the information I gave above and then adjust your diet accordingly. You can certainly cut out tofu and soya and still get all the protein you need, you'll just need to supplement your diet with foods like those I've listed above.

[regan]

ok, great. thanks for ur help!

[John]

Check out this thread on soymilk: carageenan (http://veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1862)

[Glen]

1: Wheat, bread, pasta, oats, grain

2: Beans! Harricot, black eye, red kidney, cannelinni, pinto, butterbeans. Beans are full of protein, especially if you get a variety.

2: Green lentils, red lentils and other pulses

Basically mix group one with either of the other two (or both) to create a complete protein source. At least thats what I remember of the top of my head! I don't really eat tofu that often, and the formula above works great for me! :)

[DianeVegan]

We have a bread company in the U.S. that makes bread from sprouts. It comes in many flavors and tastes like any other whole grain bread except that each slice contains 3-4 grams of "complete" protein. We try to use this bread on days when we aren't eating a lot of other protein. You will find that you have to be a little more conscious of what you eat as a vegan (this is a good thing!) and look at new ways to add protien to your diet.

Good luck!

[Glen]

What Glen says is the best way to get your daily requirements.

*bows. Thank you very much!

[veganator]

The American's recommended daily allowance for protein is 0.8g / kg of body weight.

Many vegan nutrtionists recommend upping that by 15% if you don't compliment your proteins, which for vegan comes down to combining legumes ( beans, peas, peanuts ) with whole grains or seeds.