PROTEIN, CARBS, MINERALS & ANTI-OXIDANTS
Why do some people say we should not eat tofu?
When out shopping for tofu in a local food market, I overheard someone saying that soya was bad. When I inquired why, they said it had something to do with estrogen. That was the second time I heard the same thing in a few weeks.
I did not think this was correct. I knew that it was eaten for centuries and that in regions were tofu was consumed, people were healthier and lived longer.
What is Tofu?Tofu is a soya bean curd made from coagulated or curdled soya milk. That simple. You can even make it yourself at home. It just happens to be a staple food of most of Southeast and East Asia, so we are talking billions of people … soya is an important food.
It normally has very little taste, I guess we could say, it is bland. It needs the sauces and the marinades to give it flavour. But it does have texture, from very silky and smooth to firm and chewy especially when fried.
But what all this about estrogen? Words which sound the same can sometimes be mistakenly interchanged. I think this is where the negative view of soy products has arisen.
Estrogens are female hormones which regulates reproductive organs. Too much estrogen is known to have negative consequences with regards to early menarche, excessive menstruation pain, menopausal mood and hot flashes and even in breast cancers.Excessive estrogen comes from animal food; dairy…and others.
Phyto-estrogens are plant products which are ‘hormone like’, seems to act like estrogen. These substances actually have beneficial effects on the female reproductive system and are known to help block the negative effects of excess estrogen.They are also shown to have positive effects on the male reproductive organs and prostate.Important phyto-estroges are Isoflavonoids.
Soyabeans and soy products are very good sources of isoflavonoids
What are isoflavonoids?
Did you know?Soya is also full of protein, in fact Tofu has 43% of calories from protein as well as carbohydrates, minerals and important vitamins… Eat Tofu!
How do you eat Tofu?
I recommend slicing the block into cubes, marinating them in Tamari soya sauce with grated fresh ginger and plenty of minced garlic. Then fry it in a drop of oil until a little crispy.
You can serve it with stir fried vegetables as in the picture below. If you have a little cooked brown rice, toss it in at the end and warm it all together. A complete meal in a pan!
Some like to add a few chopped fresh chillis to give it a little kick … I like that sort of thing.
You can find tofu recipes in Hungry Soul, my latest cookbook, see www.HungrySoulPlantPower.com website.
Why not try this recipe – Vegan BBQ Shish Kabob … click here
