Knowledge Base > Eric Wynkoop - Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Eric Wynkoop - Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

This event was on Tuesday, May 13, 2025 at 11:00 am Pacific, 2:00 pm Eastern

Join Chef Eric Wynkoop in his virtual office as he welcomes all of your questions. This event was created for you and we encourage you to Ask Anything – from cooking techniques to co… Read More.

Recorded

Question:

Any thoughts on getting enough protein when nuts and seeds are to be avoided?

— Pam Mitchell

Answer:

So the first thing that comes to mind for me, and this is certainly a pattern that I see globally as I've studied, um, you know, different eating patterns, uh, uh, and that is to focus on, uh, beans and legumes. That, that category of, of food products, it's a tremendous variation around the world. And, you know, in that category of foods, you're gonna find that, uh, there's gonna be a relatively high density of the amino acids that the body uses to build protein. And, you know, keep in mind that most of these beans, uh, you know, these legumes, um, are not complete proteins, you know, on a singular basis. But as soon as you start to combine that with other ingredients in your, in your meal, then that, that complementation takes place. The body is intelligent and, uh, it takes care of the rest. But, um, if we step back, uh, and, and look at, at cooking and eating, um, from a, a, a broader perspective, this is also why, uh, it's desirable to eat a variety of foods so that we can enjoy the variety of amino acids of compositions that come into our body. So our, our body has all of the, uh, the material, um, to build the protein, you know, as needed. And, um, also keep in mind that, you know, as we eat, uh, plant-based, that all of your foods offer amino acids that contribute to protein synthesis in the body. Um, all of these foods, whether they're celery or carrots or legumes, you know, have these amino acids in, in varying quantities. And, uh, again, this is where, um, it's nice to eat a variety of foods. Um, so the body, uh, and its intelligent way can build the protein that we need. Um, but, uh, it's also nice to, uh, then, uh, focus on this, uh, bean and legume category of ingredients, um, to enjoy the, the, the densely packed amino acids, uh, in these ingredients. And, and this is also why around the world, when we look at, uh, traditional diet patterns, they do include a focus on legumes, you know, beans and legumes, and very commonly at each meal, so morning, noon, and night, uh, in order to, uh, give the body, you know, the best chance, um, at, um, you know, building the protein from the amino acids that you're bringing in through the diet. Okay? Now, beyond this very simple explanation, you know, you might consider reaching out to a nutritionist, uh, or, you know, a dietician and getting some direction, you know, some advice from somebody that, um, uh, you know, has a, a, uh, some depth to, uh, you know, their studies and their experience in this, uh, this, this realm.
Eric Wynkoop

Eric Wynkoop

Director of Culinary Instruction

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