Protein – The Essential Building Block of Lean Muscle
There’s little denying the importance of protein on a weight loss or lean muscle building diet. Regardless of your fitness goal, protein can have a big impact on your results.
That said, you don’t need to go all-meat to boost your protein intake, and in fact, there’s a lot of research out there suggesting that too much animal-based protein can have some negative side effects on your health.
The trick? Mix it up a bit, and make sure you’re getting a variety of protein sources. This will ensure more diverse nutritional support for energy and muscle building. Plus, if you’re vegetarian or vegan, you need some other options.
The protein in the following 6 veggies may not contain the same number of essential amino acids as animal-based protein, but they still go a long way to support lean muscle and a fast metabolism. Plus they come with a ton of other vitamins and minerals to support a healthy fit body. At the very least, consider including more of these in your everyday diet.
6 Protein-Packed Veggies for a Healthy Lifestyle
Spinach
Spinach always tops my list of veggies for a number of reasons. But in addition to the obvious (high fiber content, good source of calcium, antioxidants), spinach is also really high in protein. In just half a cup of spinach, you get three grams of protein, which is pretty good when you consider how easily this stuff can be blended into a smoothie. I like to go with the organic fresh stuff myself.
