Q&A

 Not to criticize your meals, because they do sound delicious... but I am not sure how adding a rice dessert to a meal with baked beans makes a "complete protein"? There's a lot of carbohydrates and sugar in that meal, but I don't think the "complete protein" theory applies here... although, the meal sounds amazing and I would eat it in a second, protein or not! :)  Anonymous

Good question! I'd love to address you personally but since you didn't leave your name and chose to remain anonymous that's impossible.  However you know who you are...

My posted menu:  Baked Beans, Coleslaw, Corn Muffins,  Orange Wedges, Rice Pudding

I looked this up to be sure of straight facts, because I've always 'known' it and can't remember where I learned it.   I believe my knowledge came from reading a magazine article back in the early 80s when the U.S. was in another recession.  Or it might even have come from an older cookbook or WWII era magazine when meats were rationed.  Nevertheless  rice, beans, and/or corn do indeed form a complete protein when combined in a meal.  You can click on those words to lead you to a link that confirms.



In our poorer days we often used the method of combining beans and corn or beans and rice (or even all three now and then) to stretch our dollars and feed our family of 7 a balanced diet when meat/money was in shorter supply.  WIC programs now offer beans and rice on their vouchers, as well as peanut butter and cheese, all good sources for protein alternatives. You'll also find this combination in use in many underprivileged countries where fresh meat is not always an option.

Other foods may also be combined.  I found this article interesting for vegetarian/meatless meals.

Reading back over the menu itself I can see where one might think it full of sugar.  In the South we do not sweeten our cornbread nor coleslaw.  The beans would have sweetening from molasses or brown sugar but not much is required, nor does the rice pudding have a ton of sugar. I use a recipe that calls for a low sugar amount and  I'll be making only 2 servings!  My recipe calls for lemon zest, but were I to add raisins I'd have need of even less sugar since raisins are naturally sweet.

The meal may well be heavy on carbs, but heavy on fiber as well, which offsets the carb counts somewhat.  With the beans, cabbage, cornbread, orange and rice we will be getting almost all of our daily requirement of fiber in this single meal.  Just one serving of each food would net us almost 24 grams of fiber.  Had  I leftover brown rice instead of white rice,  the fiber content would be right at the recommended daily allowance for fiber. So this meal would be a very filling one and satisfying on several counts.

We certainly would not be having a cereal based breakfast this day. I'd be far more inclined to serve bacon and eggs and keep toast to a single slice.  Supper too might well end being a big salad or a bowl of tomato soup rather than relying heavily upon carbs.

I do try to balance meals throughout the day and the week so that we get a good variety of vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbs and fibers.  I'm not a nutritionist but I apply the knowledge I've gained over years of reading and making menus.

And thank you for the compliment! I think our meals will be tasty this week, too.