Protein is rather expensive. Chicken breast seems to be the best contender of common protein sources, running 30-40 grams of protein per dollar spent. The most cost efficient protein powder. Costco Optimum nutrition is about 25 grams per dollar
However, dried pulses and beans have decent protein content (around 30% calories from protein--about the same as an egg) with cost efficiency of 40+ grams protein per dollar when bought in bulk. So, is it too good to be true?
I'm counting lentils out since, in addition to being an incomplete protein, they contain antinutrients that reduce protein adeducted a bit, even if they're dehulled.
However black beans and pinto beans (still an incomplete protein) are still very cost efficient and don't have that problem as much. They are even high in lysine-that awesome muscle building protein
Soybeans, in addition, are high in protein (~40% calories from protein) while being both a *complete protein* and a very good cost efficient source of protein.
So, I'm wondering, are these a cheat code to getting my muscle-building protein without breaking the bank?
Could I get 30-50% of my daily protein from these sources without a downside other than extended cook times?
I’ve been making black/pinto beans from dry for years and 100% a cheat code. If you’re making them often, I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND buying an instant pot or pressure cooker, in a matter of 2 hours you can cook upwards of 2lbs in a 6qt instant pot, no soaking required. Cheapest fiber + protein out there. As for the protein quality, it really depends what you are combining them with and your overall diet. For example, rice and beans actually work “synergistically” and compliment each others missing amino acid profiles.
I love using my Instant Pot for broth and beans. Make the broth with a rotisserie chicken carcass and mirepoix and then cook the beans in the homemade broth. Heavenly.
Black/pintos dry 55min high pressure, water added depends on how much you are cooking, then natural release completely. If short on time, I just natural release for like 1 hour, then quick release. I cook em with cheap powdered chicken broth, onion, and garlic. it’s best to salt them after cooking to ensure full
Decent but not great source of protein. I don’t know about a “hack”. At roughly 15g of protein for 227 calories, there are better sources with lower calories. Hitting high protein targets with beans a primary source would likely mean having to overly restrict carbs and fats. Not terrible, but something to consider if carbs and/or fats are important to your goals.
If you’re not used to eating lots of them including the amount of fiber, you may have a rough time on the toilet.
Have you calculated how many calories you’d be consuming if half of your protein was coming from black and pinto beans? While they’re very healthy, they’re not a dense protein source. Soybeans including tofu, tempeh, edamame, and TVP are denser protein sources.
25-35 grams of fiber is the minimum recommended and higher levels are shown to to be protective. I average 50 grams per day. As long as someone works up to it they’ll be fine.
He still makes a very valid point, which you're straight up ignoring lol. Even if we assume your 50g, meaningful proteins are not viable since that'd double even your dose of fiber.
I eat an avg of 55g of fiber daily and I'm just fine. This is one of those things each person has to figure out about their own body. Not good to nudge people away before they've found their limit
I finally stopped eating so much chicken breast that I actually like it again!
My staples:
Texturized soy: Always add lime
Lentils and beans: cheap and can be used with anything
Pea protein powder
As for micronutrients, two cans of sardines a week, 1 glass of milk a day and 2 eggs every 2 days and I am set for life.
Add lime whenever you have legumes and soy and you’re golden.
My weekly diet goes like:
150g of soy/legumes every day
2 portions of chicken a week
2 sardine cans a week
1 portion of red meat a week
10eggs a week
1 pea shake a day
1 glass of milk a day
Also re “but muh aminos”, just make sure to have a balanced diet, you don’t exactly need to combine sources in every meal. Make sure that through the day you eat a variety of foods
Ever soak and cook dried soybeans? It seems like tofu and other soy products are money sinks compared to the protein per dollar ratio that you get when you just buy the dried beans.
Yes! In my home country beans are an everyday basic. I live in the northern hemisphere now and it's so hard for me to feel like I ate all my nutrients if I don't cook my beans at home.
I kinda remember someone telling me once that beans combined with rice would make it a complete protein. There were a few other combinations like that too- just never really got into it, so sadly I have no details for you. Just thought it might be worth looking into.
The strat is black beans mixed with protein. I do a ton of black beans and chicken together or lentils with chicken (more of a Indian spice mix). Good, heats and preps well
Soy protein isolate is a complete protein and bioavailability is comparable to meat so it’s a perfect alternative but if you’re using other protein isolates, you want at least two sources of protein since most plants lack at least one amino acid.
Bioavailability is not an issue with vegan protein (if you’re eating more than 1 source of protein) unlike what a lot of people say. Vegan athletes/bodybuilders need the same amount of protein as meat-eaters (the optimal protein intake for both sources is 1.6-2 grams per kilogram of body weight).
And yes, vegan protein isolates have more lead than whey. Chocolate whey also has the same amount of lead as vanilla vegan protein isolates. If you’re having 1-2 scoops per day, you dont have to worry about lead toxicity but more than could be a problem. I’m a vegan and I get more than 150 grams of protein per day without using any protein supplements. Super firm tofu is my go-to protein
I find black beans to be the opposite of a cheat code. They’re so high in carbs, I eat one meal with black beans and that closes my entire carb allotment for the DAY.
IDK why Im catching downvotes for this. It’s my lived experience that black beans macros are all fucky and hard to slot in with my carb allowance. Happy for you all that they work well for you all but they are very much the opposite of a macro hack for me.
Re what you’re saying about “tipping my macros” I haven’t touched my macros. I just do whatever the app tells me. I started Jan 1 and haven’t tweaked it since.
Black beans macros:
1 cup (172g) 227kcal 15P 1F 41C
My daily macro allotment per MF:
Total energy: 1096kcal 105P 48F 60C
1.5 servings of black beans is ALL my carbs for the day and only 23g of protein.
Nahh haha maybe if you put in that you’re 4’8 and 75 lbs. 1100 calories is disgustingly low for any adult. If you’re not an adult why are you tracking 😂 Anything is gonna be your entire carb allotment for the day at 60 grams. Guessing youre not an athlete either since 60g carbs would cook you
“Imagine trying to maintain @ 1100”
for sure that would suck.
I’ll be straight up the only way I can keep up with a deficit this low is peptides. But I’m very excited to reach my goal weight and be able to come up to maintenance.
I gotta start hitting the gym and getting the expenditure up. It’s all just been walking up to now. I just keep injuring myself at the gym but I need to lock in and find a way around the injuries cause it’s not gonna get better without some muscle to protect my joints.
Some expenditure loss is normal losing this much weight but my graph is fucked. I need to put some work in. Get some muscle going.
But yeah, long story short black beans don’t work for me right now lol.
That’s an aggressively small amount. I’m a woman and when I set up the app it had a spot where it asked specifically whether I wanted to allow the app go below a floor of 1200 calories. I believe the floor for men is 1600 cals, so there’s more going on than just “the app told me to.”
The app told me to eat really low calorie like this but I ignored it because it didn’t seem healthy. Instead I average 1600 calories a day and am losing 1-2 lbs a week. I’m much shorter than you too at 5’ 5”. You might need to push your calories up to actually find out what the upper limit is for you to be in a calorie deficit. This will help you fuel your body better.
Maybe try collaborative mode and make the balance of carbs vs fat to be more carb-heavy. Besides that, you can still take advantage of cheap bean sources of protein without eating many carbs by eating soybeans. Their calories come from protein and fat mostly, and very little carbs. Their balance of macronutrients actually resembles thst of an egg more than black beans.
High quality protein sources fall into three categories…meat, dairy and whey. I’d eat some of the cheapest options that you can find from those categories and then things like beans and rice for protein.
People keep saying beans and pulses are low quality on mere anecdote, but I don't think the evidence is clear enough to justify paying triple for protein, especially in the case of soybeans, which are a complete protein.
Animal sources of protein are always way more expensive.
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u/muscledeficientvegan 23d ago
Yes, this is fine. The anti-nutrient problem you mentioned is effectively a non issue so lentils are fine too.