One of the most common questions asked of a raw foodist is "where do you get your protein?"  Although the only person who's ever asked me that is my mother, I figured I'd post some protein information for other newbies to the raw food lifestyle so you can tell your own mothers (and other relatives, friends and acquaintances) that yes, you can get complete proteins without eating meats or dairy.  I got this from a nutrition guide at the university bookstore. This is one of those guides they provide to people majoring in nutrition or food science. I would encourage people to pick up this kind of information as well, just as a reference guide. 

Complete proteins are considered high quality for humans because they contain all of the essential amino acids.  They are easily digestible. Foods in this list include

Now, for those of us who eschew meat and dairy, where should we look?  Plant proteins are considered complementary proteins because not only can we not get all of our essential amino acids from one plant, we'd have to eat a lot more plants per serving than meat or dairy to get the same amount of protein.  However, by combining complimentary proteins, you can create a meal containing all of the essential amino acids- a complete protein meal.

Here are foods belonging to the complimentary protein category:

You basically combine foods from this list that "compliment" one another to form complete proteins.  You therefore don't have to have a complementary protein along with meat or dairy.  My nutrition guide says you can combine:

The guide says that the protein requirements (Recommended Daily Allowance) in grams is only .8 g of protein per kg body weight per day for people aged 19 and up.  (I hate it when measurements are done using the metric system!)  I invite someone to do the math if you are willing.  There are also charts on the internet that you can use to calculate daily grams of protein per day.

I never really thought about how I can combine plant proteins. All I remembered was that old adage about beans and rice making a complete protein. I never would have considered vegetables plus nuts, for example, as fulfilling a complete protein requirement.  I'll be sending this post to my mother posthaste!

I hope this information was helpful to others.

-Allison