Asian flavour in a bowl tonight. Daniel’s had soy braised beef on green tea soba noodles, and mine was tofu patty instead for vegetarian and gluten free. I haven’t had red meat for a long time and white meat sometimes, though I feel totally fine since I’m trying to have more legumes, nuts and tofu.
One of the problem nutrients in some vegetarian diets is Protein. Well.. the other nutrients include iron, vitamin B12, zinc, calcium and omega-3 fatty acids. Protein is vital to many physical functions such as growth and maintenance, digestion (all enzymes are made of protein), production of some hormones, immunity, fluid& electrolyte balance, pH balance and energy. Protein requirements are 56g a day for adult men and 46g a day for adult women.
If you don’t consume animal protein, you need to make sure you have 2-3 serving of lysine foods a day. Examples are…
1/2 cup of cooked lentils, peas, edamame, tofu, tempeh, garbanzo, kidney, pinto
1/4 cup of peanuts or pistachio
3oz of soy meat
1 cup of soy milk or cooked quinoa
Tofu is one of my favorite ingredients. I eat about 3 times a week. Tofu has been found to be a great source of calcium and vitamin E. Consuming tofu regularly helps to lower bad cholesterol, alleviates symptoms related to menopause, and lowers the risk of cancer, osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease. Isoflavones found in products even scavenge free radicals preventing premature aging. So you should eat more tofu! 🙂
You can use tofu as a meat substitute in cooking – steamed, stir-fried, pan-fried, grilled, etc. If you find it a bit blend, obviously add your favorite spices and sauce to it. I personally like it by itself with some vegetables. As to my previous post, you can even use tofu for desserts like cakes and pudding.
