Vegan without soy?

[soon2bveg]

Hello! My husband and I have been working toward a vegetarian diet for the last 4 years, falling off the wagon during pregnancy and other stressful times. I just finished reading Compassionate Souls by JoAnn Farb and want to recommit to being a vegan family this time.

I think one of the reasons we've found it difficult is that we're not too fond of soy products. And, even my daughter, who really liked soymilk and tofu at a young age, seems to get more diaper rashes when we consume soy foods and doesn't seem to have a taste for it any longer. (Although, today she discovered rice milk and loves it.)

My question is, what are the best resources, cookbook or info book wise for creating a diet with enough nutrients without using too much soy. Or do I just have to slog through all the veggie cookbooks and try to replace the soy. What are good soy substitutes?

Thanks in advance for your comments. I'm really enjoying this site!
-Carla

[CarlaJ]

WOO HOO another Carla :D

How exciting!

About your soy question, I really don't use much soy. Instead of thinking as soy as the main part of your meal use beans, rice, or pasta. Use other sauces for flavoring besides soy butter or veganaise. Try using Goddess Dressing (I use to flavor a LOT), olive oil, garlic, and hot spices if you like them.

There are so many excellent vegan recipes that are fast and easy that do not use soy. Check out the recipes on this site, they're generally quick and easy for you moms.
Is TVP soy?

- Carla

[sophie]

Hi
I don't know about a recipe book, but just wanted to say that we don't eat much soy at all. My son (age 6) was brought up on soy milk as a staple drink after weaning, and when my daughter (nearly 4) weaned we did the same, but it really didn't agree with her, it caused rashes and made her grumpy, and it turned out she was soy intolerant, so she had almond milk instead, and now has rice milk. My son has always had "itchy" skin, quite dry, and recently we took him off soy too and he is no longer itchy! It must have been causing a mild reaction in him too. My partner and I go through 1 carton of vitasoy a week, and that's practically the only soy we have regularly. Sometimes I use soy yogurt in cooking, and very occasionally the kids will have soy icecream, it doesn't affect them in small doses like this. If we are going to a BBQ we will have soy sausages also. And we are very healthy! We eat a LOT of other types of beans and legumes. So I 100% believe, if you have a good balanced diet, that it is easy to be a healthy vegan with little or no soy. Good luck, and congratulations on your decision!

[Ginarama]

I have been scaling back on my soy during pregnancy. We (husband & I) have a soymilk maker (which I really recommentd), and have been using brown rice in it lately instead. Plus, the leftover cooked rice makes great sushisu for sushi rolls (fishless, of course).

We're making sure there is something to eat with beans every day, and also eat lots of nuts. We found that lentils and wild rice make great burgers.

Since soy is also a great source of calcium, I do eat a soy yogurt nearly every day, and enjoy tofu, tempeh, and other organic soy foods often, just not every day,

We try to steer clear of GMO soy, but since we both tolerate it well, we don't limit it a lot. If the baby turns out intolerant, we'll adjust then. The best thing for avoiding food allergies in later life is to breastfeed as long as possible.

Mostly, we find that our bodies let us know what we need, and we try not to get too hung up on one particular food in any direction.

Gina

[VOW]

First, an answer: yes, TVP is soy.

Since becoming Vegan, I discovered another protein source other than soy. And I'm amazed that it isn't as well known!

I'm talking about Seitan. It's also called "the Wheat Meat." It consists of the protein in wheat, and used to be made from flour in a time-consuming process whereupon the flour dough is kneaded underwater, to wash away the starch and leave behind the protein. This protein is the stretchy stuff in bread dough, which expands and traps the carbon dioxide gas given off by the yeast, thereby causing the bread to rise.

If you bake your own bread, you may know of it already. It's called gluten, or dough enhancer. You can add it to any bread recipe (especially those of low-gluten grains) to help it rise and create a less-dense end product.

To make "Wheat Meat," you mix the gluten 1:1 with water, and knead the dough until it is well blended and very stretchy. Any number of seasonings or flavorings can be added to this dough. Then you divide the dough into pieces, or you simply take the mass of dough and bind it in cheesecloth. The pieces or the bulk dough is then gently simmered in boiling water (which also can be seasoned) for an hour to an hour and a half.

The pieces, or slices from the bulk product can be marinated and grilled, baked, breaded and fried, minced and heated in sauce, or chunks can be threaded onto skewers with veggies and fruit and BBQed for Vegan shish-kebabs.

The gluten powder I buy in bulk quantities costs $1.69 a pound. One pound of gluten will make three pounds of Seitan.

Can you say, "Cheap"???!!!??


~VOW

[veganchica]

When I went from Vegetarian to vegan 2 years ago I really started eating a lot of soy. I gave up soy in August of last year because of some information I found that it might not be as good for you as you think. I still do not know if the information was credible or not but decided to see how my body reacted.
It was very difficult for me to give it up because I LOVE soy milk & all of the alternatives to dairy. Now I do not eat anything containing soy. I never realized how mant products, especially vegan, contain soy.
After 9 months without soy I see a significant difference in my health. I went from having awful periods to not having a single cramp. I do not want to eat soy ever again.
I stopped eating all of the meat & dairy soy alternatives (which are processed anyways) and replaced with a lot of sprouts, beans, raw nuts, and B12 supplements.
I go to my doctor (who's a vegetarian) every 3 months to check all of my levels through blood tests. I am not lacking in protein at all.
Do some research on sprouts. I never knew they contained so much living protein.

[HoneyNBen]

I've read a few times here about the possibility of soy not being good for you...Would anyone like to share more info about this please? I'd really appreciate it! :)
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[veganchica]

I'd like to discuss that as well. I'm looking for the info that I had found before. I just don't know the source. I'm afraid to eat soy but I miss it so much.
Does anyone else have any info?

[Erin Pavlina]

http://www.foodrevolution.org/what_about_soy.htm

http://www.veganoutreach.org/health/soysafe.html

http://www.vegsource.com/articles/soy_update.htm

[vegma]

Erin, thank you for posting those links! I too have been wondering about the sudden influx of negativity regarding soy. After reading all three of the articles, I feel very comfortable continuing to use soy the way we use it now....and the Robbins article reinforced my belief that we need to take care to purchase only organic soy products. It sounds like the people bashing soy have a very definite agenda that is NOT backed up by scientific research!

[Erin Pavlina]

Couldn't have said it better myself!

[Christa]

RE vegan cookbooks that do not include a lot of soy, I particularly like "The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen" by Donna Klein. My husband & I both come from Italian families, so I am partial to mediterranean food, but it has some really yummy recipies & I haven't seen any with soy. Some of my favorites are the Ratatouille with White Beans (pg. 172) & the Orzo Pilaf with Peas, Pearl Onions, and Roasted Red Peppers (pg. 113).

[HoneyNBen]

You know, I really wonder about people sometimes. Soy is the most genetically screwed with thing out there..( at least it was the last time I checked, and it's been a few months.)...of course something isn't going to be good for you if it's been genetically altered. You know, I really wish they'd put tons of junk out about meat and dairy. I'm so tired of 'the industry' trying to show me the teeny, tinny speck I've got in my eye when they've got this big freakin' plank sticking through their skull.

My mother in law pointed all of those same type of articles out to me a few months ago...I said sure that's probally true. But it wasn't gmo free or organic. When you leave nature alone and don't alter her she really quite friendly to humans...But screw with her and she's a rabid dog. She still didn't get it. It always amazes me how she'll question everything I do and yet nothing of herself.

Through venting now! :)
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