The below article was issued for the South African Poultry Association (SAPA) by Protactic Strategic Communications
How do I get enough protein in my diet? If you’re a vegetarian, you can definitely relate to this question!
There are many good sources of protein for the vegetarian, like beans and lentils, but did you know that the egg – one of few animal products that many vegetarians allow in their diet – delivers substantially more nutritional benefit than plant-based protein sources?
One whole egg offers up to 7g of protein which equates to about 13% of the average women’s daily protein needs. But there is an added benefit: eggs are a “complete protein”, meaning that the high-quality protein in an egg contains all of the nine amino acids we need. Amino acids are essential building blocks for protein, called essential because our bodies cannot make them on their own. Interestingly, foods that contain some, but not all the essential amino acids, are called incomplete proteins, and these include nuts, seeds, beans and some grains.
Eggs are also a source of key nutrients that may otherwise be low in the vegetarian diet, like vitamin B12. This is because animal foods like meat, chicken and fish are the only sources of vitamin B12. One large egg provides 44 % of our daily B12 needs.
Given that one in five people in the world are vegetarian, with the numbers expected to rise as plant-based eating becomes more popular, the egg is more important than ever as a dietary essential.
This is why vegetarians have a whole lot to benefit from when eating eggs.
Whether you choose to be vegetarian some of the time or all of the time, make sure you go with eggs as part of a healthy and balanced vegetarian diet.
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Egg Salad with Zucchini & Wild Rocket
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 30ml olive oil
- 350g zucchini/baby marrow, sliced
- 30g wild rocket
- 6-8 eggs (boiled to your preference)
- 2 spring onions, sliced
Salad dressing:
- 100ml olive oil
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
- ½ teaspoon dried chilli flakes
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
- Slice the zucchinis in quarters lengthways. To char the zucchini, use a large skillet, sauté in olive oil over medium to high heat, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
- In a flat salad dish or platter, layer the wild rocket leaves, zucchinis, halved boiled eggs and sliced spring onion.
For the dressing:
- In a glass jar add olive oil, juice of 1 lemon, garlic, dried chilli flakes, salt and pepper to taste.
Shake and dress the fresh salad just before serving.
