What I Ate Series
In this series I talk about foods that I have eaten in my transition from a standard American diet to a vegan diet. I try to show my cooking method for creating balanced meals easily. Check out the previous what I ate posts for ideas on veganizing your meals. But today I will focus on one particular food: soy.
In this post I’m going to focus on my first experiences with a couple of soy products: tempeh and tofu. But first I wanted to address a few misconceptions, and then talk a little about my personal history with soy.
Soy Myths Debunked
Newsflash! You do NOT have to eat soy to be vegan. I’ve heard so many people say, I’d love to be vegan, but I don’t want to eat soy. Ok, great! There’s no law that says you have to eat it. Soy is not the only source of protein on a vegan diet. There are many beans, legumes, and whole grains that are high in protein. In fact all plants have all essential amino acids in varying amounts. Eat a variety of whole plant foods including whole grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables, and you can get your required protein. So if you have no desire to eat soy, skip this post. But I’d encourage you to reconsider.
Soy has many health benefits. For too long it has been vilified based on outdated and debunked studies that were done on rats decades ago. These have been disproven in human trials. And certain civilizations have thrived on soy. Research abounds now, here is just one example of a paper reviewing the benefits of soy. It is a great source of protein, iron, and calcium, it can balance hormones, it is linked to lower rates of certain diseases and cancers, and it can be used in so many ways.
Plus if you’re worried about GMO soy, simply look for non-GMO or organic labels. It is true that a majority of the soy grown in the world is GMO. However at least 75% of all soy grown in the world is fed to animals. Plus GMO soy is in many packaged products. So if you’re eating animals or processed food, you are probably eating GMO soy. Therefore, the best way to avoid GMO soy is to eat a whole food vegan diet.
My History With Soy
Allergy or Sensitivity?
For the longest time, I thought I was allergic to soy. I’ve always had really bad seasonal allergies, so bad that I also had asthma symptoms. As a kid I was using all kinds of inhalers until we finally figured out my symptoms were simply from my allergies. After that, for a total of about 13 years I was taking allergy shots or sublingual allergy drop immunotherapy.
These involved allergy scratch tests, where they place different allergens on your skin and measure the response. Most of these are seasonal things like weeds, trees, grasses, but they also tested me for dog and cat dander, as well as milk and soy. Based on these tests I was told I was allergic to soy. And later I had blood tests that also indicated I was allergic to soy.
So for years, I avoided soy, which is hard to do if you’re eating processed foods, since soy is often hidden there. Fast-forward to a year or two ago, I started really looking into allergies, and found that there are a lot of unknowns about why we actually have allergies and that they can be caused in different ways. Sometimes, they may not always be true allergies, but rather a sensitivity caused by something else.
Importance of Gut Health
In the latter case, it may be possible to reintroduce certain foods and not have a reaction. As I dug into this more, I found information about “leaky gut” possibly being a culprit. This means the gut lining is compromised. A healthy gut lining is very discerning and only allows nutrients to pass through the lining into the body, and keeps larger food particles, pathogens, etc out (technically the gut is “outside” the body).
However when the gut lining is compromised, it loses the ability to keep everything where it belongs, so larger food particles that would otherwise be harmless, pass into the body. The body goes into overdrive and chronic inflammation ensues. If the gut can be healed, often people are able to slowly reintroduce some foods with no ill effects anymore.
There is plenty of anecdotal evidence for the reversal of allergies through diet. And also lots of data linking vegan and plant-based diets to lower incidences of allergies and asthma. It is well known that animal protein causes inflammation in the gut, but a vegan diet calms inflammation and strengthens the gut barrier. I recommend Dr. Will Bulsiewicz’s book Fiber Fueled for a deep dive into the science behind how this works. Through working on healing my gut, which could be another post entirely, it appears that I have begun reversing my own allergies and asthma.
Reversal of Allergies and Sensitivities
My seasonal allergy symptoms have been drastically reduced over the last several months, and my asthma symptoms are non-existent. I started noticing improvement in these when I cut out dairy nearly 3 years ago, but once I went fully plant-based it was pretty much gone, and rather quickly. Up until about a year and a half ago, I was still using sublingual allergy drops as well as over the counter antihistamines daily.
After being dairy free for a couple years, I was able to stop the sublingual immunotherapy. So for the fall season last year I was still using antihistamines daily, but no drops or shots. Around this time I also started cutting down on meat consumption. By April of this year 2021, I was fully vegan. And while I still have an occasional day where I sneeze now and then, I am no longer using the antihistamines!
Once my seasonal allergies seemed to be disappearing, I decided I wanted to test out my soy allergy theory. So I tried eating small amounts and slowly ate larger servings with zero ill effects. Since then I’ve regularly been eating soy products multiple times a week and still no negative effects. So with that said, let’s get into the foods I tried!
Tempeh
First I tried tempeh. If you’re not familiar, tempeh is generally described as a fermented soybean “cake.” I feel like there could be a better word than cake, I’d say it’s really more like a patty or brick or something. But anyway. Since it is fermented it has a slightly tangy flavor, but otherwise it pretty much picks up the flavor of whatever you put on it, so it is very versatile.
Attempt #1
For my first attempt, I cut the tempeh into cubes and marinated it in a mixture of balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder. Then I water sautéed it with fresh onions, garlic, and mushrooms, and wilted in some kale. It was pretty good for a first attempt!
If I make this again, I’d probably cut the tempeh into smaller cubes. These were about 1 inch cubes, but I think smaller would have soaked up the flavor a little better and had a better crispier texture. I’ve heard that you can boil the block of tempeh before marinating and preparing to get rid of the tangy flavor and allow it to absorb other flavors better. But that’s more work than I like to do in the kitchen, and I kind of like the tang. All-in-all, it was a successful first attempt at cooking with tempeh.
Attempt #2
My second attempt was to make a tempeh “bacon.” And I really hate to use that term, because it really is nothing like actual bacon. I think when vegan food is called by animal-based food names, it just leads meat eaters to be even more resistant to trying vegan food because it sort of sets them up for failure, thinking they’ll be getting one thing when it really is not the same. But I digress. Back to my second tempeh attempt.
So for this one I simply thinly sliced the tempeh and coated it with some Braggs aminos (you could use soy sauce or tamari), garlic and onion powder, and apple cider vinegar. Baked this in the oven until crispy and it was really good! Again, it was nothing like bacon, so don’t expect bacon if you try it, but I liked it a lot. It would be good with a bit of liquid smoke as well, but I have not tried this yet.
Tofu
Next I tried tofu. You’re probably more familiar with tofu than tempeh. But it is another minimally processed soy product. Tofu is a tiny bit more processed that tempeh (tempeh is made of the whole intact soybeans that are fermented, whereas tofu still uses the whole bean, but is processed so that it has a totally different texture). There are many different kinds of tofu that can be used in numerous different ways: silken, soft, medium, firm, extra firm, and some in between. For the tofu scramble I used firm. But you could use extra firm or even medium.
Attempt #1
This first attempt I cooked with my mom and we modeled it after Simnett Nutrition’s tofu scramble video. I was surprised at how much it really did kind of look and taste like eggs! So so good! I ate this with some sorghum, and it was also great leftover. I tried it reheated and also cold and both were delicious. Wrap it in a tortilla and you’ve got a mean breakfast burrito! Tofu scramble is my dad’s new favorite meal. He liked scrambled eggs, but I think he might like tofu scramble even better!
Attempt #2
My second tofu attempt was BBQ tofu. I just used a store bought BBQ sauce, let that marinate for like 30 minutes and baked it. It was definitely not what I expected, but I was pleasantly surprised. I’m really not even sure what I expected. I didn’t put a lot of BBQ sauce on it, so it wasn’t overly tangy and saucy, but for some reason to me, it actually tasted a little like a cheese stick! Granted I haven’t eaten cheese in 3 years, so who knows if it really tastes anything like that, but that is what popped into my head the minute I bit into it.
In any case it was fun to try and I’ll definitely be making it again! For most people the texture of tofu is their issue with it. And if you can’t get over that, you may not like this no matter how you flavor it. But I loved it. Soft and creamy on the inside and a little bit crispy on the outside. I used this for multiple meals. It’s easy to batch cook since you are just baking it in the oven.
Conclusion
I am so glad I gave soy a second chance and I can’t wait to try even more tofu and tempeh recipes. Soy is also used to make many processed meat replacements, so if you’re interested in a vegan diet but are not sure you can give up meat, give some of those products a try. I prefer mostly whole and minimally processed foods, but the processed meat replacements can be a great transitional food for those who would like to reduce their contribution to animal cruelty and minimize their impact on the planet without sacrificing the flavor and texture of meat. And if you’re feeling adventurous, give tofu and tempeh a try and let me know what you think!
