Living Vegan For Dummies - Alexandra Jamieson [37]
Keep in mind that 99 percent of soybeans produced in the United States are genetically modified. These manufactured organisms don’t appear naturally in the world, and little to no testing has been performed to discover the possible health side effects these foods can cause. The only way to ensure you’re eating truly healthy soy products is to only buy organic soy.
The key to healthy vegan eating is to keep consuming a diet of mostly unprocessed, whole foods to maintain high nutrient-per-calorie levels.
Isolated soy proteins: Whole foods or manufactured protein?
Isolated soy protein isn’t something you can make at home. It’s made in industrial factories where mashed soybeans are mixed with alternating alkaline and acid washes to remove the fiber and separate the usable parts. The resulting curds are then spray-dried at high temperatures to create a powder that’s high in protein. Then the powder can be processed again with more high-temperature, high-pressure extrusions to make textured vegetable protein, or TVP. You wouldn’t call this a whole food.
Chapter 6
Transforming Food into Health-Supportive Meals
In This Chapter
Paying attention to food quality instead of quantity
Choosing healthy, nutrient-dense foods from the key food groups
Whether you’re converting to veganism straight from the standard American diet heavy with meat, dairy, and refined processed foods, or you’ve been a vegetarian for years, you can bolster your health-sustaining vegan diet with a little knowledge and planning. You don’t need to keep a food log or start making charts of percentages and proportions to ensure that your diet is truly whole and nutritious. Transforming your diet to include healthy ingredients and simple methods of preparation ensures that you won’t feel limited or deprived!
My love of food started in my mother’s garden when I was just a wee lass. I was given free range to gobble up ripe raspberries and pick all the sweet peas I could eat, so healthy food is ingrained in my brain as joyous and natural. Nothing tastes better than food from your own garden, freshly picked and perfectly ripe. This kind of energy can be re-created through every season in any region of the world.
Nourishing your body with vegan food is a great start — but focusing on health-supportive recipes and ingredients can affect every aspect of your mind, body, and mood. If you want real health, great energy, and long-lasting stamina, choose foods wisely. In this chapter, I show you how natural, plant-based foods do more than just stop the rumbling in your tummy. I explain how the quality of your food is even more important than the quantity, and I help you begin to get in touch with your body’s cravings and deepest needs.
Focusing on Quality over Quantity
When clients ask me about serving sizes and portion control, I usually give them an answer that makes them look at me like I’m crazy. I don’t recommend servings and portions.
Those numbers, weights, and percentages get in the way of truly balanced eating, because every person has a unique body and lifestyle as well as a specific schedule. Quantity and quality are important subjects to consider while moving forward into a vegan lifestyle.
The proportions of your portions
Every vegan’s body and metabolism are different. Some people feel better eating three regular meals a day, while others do better with five or six smaller, more frequent meals. If you sit in a chair all day, you may digest food slower and feel fine with three regular meals. If you have a more physical job, you can benefit from more frequent, smaller meals that will replenish your blood sugar and help you avoid an overly-full