If you were to take a tour of my family’s kitchen growing up, you would see a variety of soy products: soy milk, soy chunks, tofu, etc. Mind you, my family was not vegetarian; our diet was probably most similar to the flexatarian diet.I recently had a conversation with my mother about the soy products we use. We both agreed that we should only consume non-GMO soy products but we weren’t too sure why. After my talk with her, I did a little research (not much…just a little).
There is an ongoing debate about the risks and benefits of consuming soy products. Some studies have labelled soy as a cancer-causing food, while there is a large body of evidence showing that soy can reduce the recurrence of breast cancer. Not to mention soy plays a significant role in the Asian diet but Asian women have a significantly lower breast cancer rate.
While digging for more answers I came across this NutritionFacts.org post. I love this website because its content is backed by research. What I learned from Michael Greger’s post is that although producers of GMO soybeans maintain that GMO soybeans are equivalent to non-GMO soybeans, the problem with GMO soybeans may have to do with the pesticides. GMO soybeans are engineered to be resistant to herbicide, which allows farmers to directly spray glyphosate (herbicide) onto the soybean plants. There now have been studies that investigated the impact of glyphosate on estrogen receptors. Take a look at this video to learn more.
Based on what I have learned so far, consuming non-GMO soy products is safe since they are not contaminated with herbicides. In all my recipes like this veggie tofu scramble, I use non-GMO soy products. This tofu scramble contains 12g of protein and only 125 calories per serving.
Prep time: 10 minutes . Cook time: 10 minutes . Yield: Serves 4
1 Package (14 oz) Firm Tofu, drained
2 Cups Fresh Spinach, coarsely chopped
1/2 Cup Onions, chopped
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 Bell Pepper, diced
2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
1 Tbsp Curry Powder
1 Tsp Olive Oil
Dash of red pepper flakes
Salt & Pepper to taste
- In a large skillet heat oil over medium heat. Saute garlic, onions and bell peppers until fragrant and onions are translucent; stir occasionally.
- Add tofu to vegetables by crumbling it using your fingers. Add spinach. Cook for about 2-3 minutes until tofu is hot and spinach is wilted.
- Add curry powder, nutritional yeast, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper; stir until all ingredients are evenly distributed.
- Serve warm.
Nutrition per serving (1 Muffin): 125 Cals; 7g Carb; 5g Fat; 12g Protein; 3g Dietary Fiber
Nutrition calculated using the MyFitnessPal Recipe Importer
