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From:	Kim (71-211-199-65.hlrn.qwest.net)
Subject:	Re: soy
Date:	January 9, 2008 at 1:46 pm PST

In Reply to: soy posted by Kim on January 8, 2008 at 4:33 pm:

Hi Kim (great name, by the way!)

There's a lot of information out there about the pros and cons of soy. As a vegan (now raw) for over 20 years, I've defintely heard about it too!

The good news is that there are lots of protein/calcium alternatives to soy available in the raw vegan diet. One of the most powerful, and overlooked, is dark leafy greens, such as kale, collards and spinach. Most of us are not taught that dark leafy greens contain the highest levels of protein of any foods on the planet, except for algaes. These same greens are also quite high in calcium, so you get a double bonus there.

Simple salads are an easy way to bring more greens into our diets, and while for many, greens such as kale have too strong a taste to just chow down, at least at first, they can be shredded finely and added in bits at a time.

Green smoothies are another great way to incorporate these nutritional treasure houses. Here's a simple example for 1 qt of smoothie:

1 kale leaf
1 small handful of spinach
1 apple
1 banana
2 cups of water

Blend it all up and yum! If the greens taste too strong for you, add an extra apple or banana, or some pineapple.

Nuts and seeds are also fairly high in protein, though not as high as greens, and some contain quite high amounts of calcium as well, such as almonds and sesame seeds. Nut or seed milks are delicious and satisfying and an easy way to get more bio-available calcium in.

There's a huge amount of information out there available, but one source I've found that puts a lot of it all together is Frederic Patenaude's Raw Starter Kit, you can check it out at http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/starterkit.html.

In terms of transitioning from soy, I'd recommend trying out some nut or seed pates, as they will give a similar feeling of substance. Here's a very simple one I like a lot:

SUNFLOWER LEMON DILL PATE

Equipment needed: Food processor.

Ingredients (makes about 1 pint):

1 1/2 C sunflower seeds, soaked
2-3 cloves garlic, to taste
1/2 C parsley, chopped or broken up
juice of 1 lemon
2 T dry dill
2 T olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

Process all till smooth.

Notes:
* Put the garlic in the food processor first for maximum blending effect.
* You can use unsoaked sunflower seeds for this, but you will need to add
about 1/4 C of water, a little at a time, to reach a smooth consistency.

Hope this helps, and enjoy!

Cheers,
Kim

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