If you want to lower your cholesterol, reduce your risk of heart disease, improve the look of your skin, lower your blood pressure, or strengthen your bones; then you may want to learn to love tofu too! I have been eating plant based food for about 6 years, yet I have snubbed my nose at tofu time and time again. Why? Because I just didn’t like the texture. Can you relate?Recently, I have discovered ALL of the incredible health benefits of soy and why we should have 3 servings a day and I knew I had to become friends with tofu. Fortunately the texture issue is easy to resolve, but let’s go through the “why” and then we’ll get to the “how”.
What is tofu and why is it so healthy? According to Healthline.com, “Tofu is a food made of condensed soy milk that is pressed into solid white blocks in a process quite similar to cheese making.” The health benefits of soy run deep and part of the reason is that it is a rare plant based “complete protein” containing all nine essential amino acids.
I am focused specifically on tofu since it is a Zero-BITE food on the Better Balance plan. As a side note, so is edamame which is a great healthy snack! This takes me to the 3 servings a day. There is soy protein in my morning plant protein shake (Garden of Life Raw Organic Meal Replacement), and then if I have tofu for lunch and edamame as a snack I’ve met my requirements.You see there were studies done on the benefit of soy which my mentor, Dr. Michael Greger goes into the details of at www.nutritionfacts.org. Bottom line, they found that with consumption of over 5 servings of soy the health benefits we’ll be discussing below leveled out, and 0-2 servings a day showed no benefits whatsoever. This brings us to our sweet spot of 3 servings.
So, now you understand why soy is so important! If you’re on the Better Balance plan then you’ll definitely want to take advantage of this Zero-BITE food!If you have issue (like me) with the texture of tofu, then simply sauté it stove top (with some delicious Zero-BITE veggies) until it browns a bit… then it will be much firmer and a bit crisp. One more tip; look for an organic, Non-GMO brand of tofu!Bon Appetit! Happy Tracking!
September 23, 2024