So-yum... ! Tasty soy based options

As a lover of all things red meat, it was a little shocking to find out that it takes anywhere from 24-72 hours to digest red meat; depending on a variety of factors including one's metabolism, health, current medications, food accompaniments, etc. No wonder athletes' eat carb-heavy meals prior to any major game. The sheer energy that goes into digesting that succulent T-Bone steak must be pretty significant!

Having read up on this while weaning my daughter, I decided to minimize the amount of red meat in her diet, and focused on finding tasty protein alternatives. That is how I stumbled on soy(a) mince. Perhaps the first question that comes to mind for most, is "what is soya?". Soya comes from the seed of the soya plant. Each pod of the soya plant can contain 1 to 4 circular soya beans similar to peas but generally larger in size. Soya beans are one of the best sources of protein in the whole plant-kingdom.

To the touch, soya mince feels and looks almost like a cereal of some sort. When cooked right, with enough seasoning, soy(a) offers all the nutrition that red meat does. It is important to note that the actual soy beans can be very tough on the digestive systems of our little ones, so soy(a) mince is a much gentler (and faster to cook) alternative.

Here's a soy(a) based recipe that is great for the whole family. (try keeping it a secret until AFTER diner and see if anyone, especially the guys in the household actually notice the difference! I assure you, there are some who haven't figured it out quite yet! :) )

Vegetarian Louisiana Dirty Rice
Ingredients

1/4kg of soy(a) mince
2 cups of rice
4 cups of water or vegetable broth
1 cup of shallots (spring onions) finely chopped
1 cup of parsley (you can substitute this with cilantro/dhania)
1 cup of chopped celery
1 cup of red onion
1/2 a cup of green/bell pepper
2 tbsp. of tomato paste
salt and pepper to taste
3 tbsp. of sunflower/olive/canola oil (*heart healthy cooking oils)

Brown the soy(a) mince
Add the shallots, celery, red onion, and green/bell pepper
Add the seasoning and tomato paste, and cover to cook for for 5-7 minutes
Add the parsley/cilantro, water or vegetable broth, and the rice
Add the washed rice and cover
Simmer for about 25 minutes or until the water/broth has dried out
Lower the heat and uncover for about 5 minutes

Dirty rice can be served with "Kachumbari" or Salsa Verde, or your choice of leafy green veggies!


*To turn this into a meat-lover's special, simply substitute the soy(a) for regular ground beef and add 4 chicken livers for added taste! As a heart healthy option, use lean beef for your mince, such as top rump steak.