Sunday, November 14, 2010

Alternatives to Soy/ Thanksgiving Menu

Although I love soy products, there are mixed messages everywhere about whether or not they are healthy. I remember reading a Facebook post that one of my vegetarian friends wrote about eating meat being equivalent to smoking cigarettes. Although I believe that meat is harmful for the environment, human health and the wellbeing of animals themselves, equating consumption to meat to smoking cigarettes is going a bit far on the emotional appeal. That's like saying that governments should ban all religion and make atheism a state religion. Although the article that my friend pulled up did not say that meat should be banned or anything, but if you have people saying things like "God wants you to eat meat" and "if I don't eat meat, then I'll get sick" and people who have diabetes who depend on the consumption of meat, then factory farms, and the SAD is not going away anytime soon. It would be nice to live in a community that shares the same beliefs that I do and the same values and goals in life. Realistically, it's impossible unless you build a commune and ban meat consumption and mainstream religion from your community.

On this post my friend made, there were some strong fact-based comments coming from both sides. Her friend said that plants have hormones. Plants indeed have them. My mother used to take a soybased hormone that was generic just before she started menapause. However, there is a huge difference between natural hormone and artificial hormones. my mom took Estroven for a little while and it worked. She did not want to continue to put hormones in her body to manage the symptoms on menopause. Most animals in factory farms are given symthetic hormones to speed up their growth rate and to produce more meat and in the case of mammals, milk. Because soy is one of those plants that have hormones called phytoestrogen, starting in December, I'm going to try out a soy-free diet. There are other legumes that can give off the same texture in meats and there are other types of milks I can drink such as almond, rice and hemp. I love vegan butter, but I can always use olive oil. In cakes, I can use coconut oil or avocado. Also, there are other cultures that do not consume soy products such as some cultures in India, but most Indians consume dairy products and not egg products.

I hope to try this out for a month, or atleast for the duration of Winter semester at my school. When school is over for the semester and I have a few days off before Winter semester, I want to  try this recipe, using a different variation and making a few changes. It looks like a bean burger that will taste satisfying. Most bean burger recipes I came across do not look appetizing and the people making them tend to use bread crumbs to make them stick. I think cornstarch or rice flour will work just fine. The recipe seems perfect for those who cannot have wheat.

Thanksgiving Menu

For Thanksgiving, I'm going to see my mom and I'm staying until the end of the break. She wants me to make a dinner menu of vegan foods that I can make. My original idea was to make vegan versions of traditional American foods, but I remember last year I went to a cosmpolitan style Christmas party and had so much fun. I think I'm going to go with making American versions of dishes that can be found all over the world. I might have a few Mexican dishes, Indian and dishes from other countries. If Albertson's sold vital wheat gluten, then we can even use it for the enchiladas or make "chicken" tikka masala. There are so many things I can make this Thanksgiving. I think that all that matters is that I get to go home and see my family. I am definately moving back home when I graduate. Maybe I'll even live in another city that can foster both my lifestyle and my creativity. Hopefully, it's the end of 2012 that I graduate. Maybe if I see the academic counselor I get to graduate faster.