If you’re wanting to cut meat from your diet or reduce your consumption of it, for health reasons or environmental ones, you might have wondered if you can then turn to your garden for some of your daily protein intake.
Your garden can supply a surprisingly diverse array of protein sources. Consider this list:
- Vegetables: Leafy greens are great protein sources. Kale has hogged the nutrition limelight lately, but don’t discount its relatives (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts) or that old Popeye-popularized standby, spinach. As for starchy vegetables, a baked potato contains a whopping average of 5 grams of protein. Also fairly high in protein are sweet potatatos, beets (and their greens), and squash. Asparagus may take the prize simply because it’s a perennial plant.
- Nuts: They grow on bushes or trees and contain protein along with brain-healthy fatty acids. If you are starting with young saplings, the initial investment is small; however, the wait for that annual or biennial bounty is measured in years.
- Seeds: Annual protein-rich seeds include sunflower seeds, corn, popcorn, and pumpkin seeds. For perennial seeds, grow pine nuts (the relatively large seeds from the cones of a Korean pine tree or a native American pinyon pine).
- Weeds: One of the best protein sources is lamb’s quarters (Chenopodium album). Whip up a tasty frittata or green custard.
- Honey from your own bees: Though its protein contribution to your daily diet will be small, honey can be swapped for less nutritious sweeteners that contain only empty calories. If you are keeping bees, check out these self-serve hives.
- Locusts, ants, and other insects: Being entomophagous is fairly taboo throughout the US, though it’s routine in many other cultures. It might be tough to find enough insects in a pesticide-prone neighborhood or where you want to rely on them for pollination, bird food, and balancing the populations of other insects. On the other hand, eating insects could be an effective part of your integrated pest management strategy. Read about the top ten tastiest insects here, and how/whether to cook them.
- Dairy products from your own goats: Goats make affectionate pets and may browse on your weeds/lawn for much of the year, in addition to giving you fresh and nutritious milk. Check your city or neighborhood zoning laws first. Read one urban farmer’s guide to raising & milking goats.
- Eggs from your own chickens: Many urban areas have relaxed zoning laws to allow keeping hens. Clever design (a chicken moat, for instance) is needed to ensure that your birds can coexist with your garden.
- Mushrooms: The easiest way to ensure your mushrooms are edible is to grow them from purchased spores, available from a source such as FungiPerfecti.
- Beans, peas, and other legumes: Important staples — particularly for vegetarians — these are mainly annual plants. Some have short growing seasons, allowing staggered planting to lengthen the harvest period. Some (lentils, peanuts) require little or no processing to store long-term.
- Fruits: Guava contain more protein than most fruits and can be grown indoors if you garden north of Zone 8. More winter-hardy fruits for protein include mulberries, blackberries, and apricots.
Look up the protein content of various foods at the USDA National Nutrient Database.