Cooking with Texturized Soy Protien

With new studies coming out saying women that eat a diet low in meat with lots of fruit decrease their risk for breast cancer and colon cancer. The reason most people give for eating lots of meat is "were I supposed to get my protein?" Or they just don't like soy or they think it's the same as tofu. I can understand that it's an acquired taste when you didn't grow up on it like I did. Another big problem is the price, mainly with the pre-made stuff. If they brought their prices down more people might think more about buying some.

If you use TSP (Texturized Soy Protein) as I do it is more cost effective if you buy bulk, get your local health food store to order it. I like the Now brand, I have been using it for two years. I guess they are all the same but I like this brand. If you go to Now's website (use link), you can see all the other good stuff they make. The reason I am writing this is to give you all some tips if you are thinking about working soy into your diet. If you do not feel like using TSP, there is Morningstar (visit the website). They make a line of soy foods, which should be in the frozen section. Grillers original and prime (I don't like the prime), sausage links, bacon, chick patties, corn dogs, hot dogs, and more. I've tried a lot of soy food and this is the brand I recommend. The only exception is Loma Linda Big Frank's hot dogs.

Start with the grillers, or sausage. And have an open mind. It's not meat so it won't be the exact same. Crumble some up and put it in rice or with potatoes, like you would with meat. The trick to get other people to eat it is not telling them that it's soy. Most people cannot tell. I think it taste better the meat, I eat both.
After you have tried some other pre-made soy food, you might feel you are ready to try and make something on your own using TSP. The MOST IMPORTANT step when using TSP is the soaking. If you use just water you will get a blain taste, to fix that use at least a half of can of chicken broth or veggie broth. More if you prefer. Taco seasoning (put a can of tomato sauce too), onion soup mix, stir-fry mix's, almost anything works great, And Liquid Smoke can't forget the smoke. It's almost like cooking meat, except you don't have to worry about under cooking it and getting sick. Remember that it puffs up when it is soaking. 2 cups (dry) should be enough. Adding more later isn't a problem. When you decide what's in your soak, put everything in a big enough microwave safe bowl. I use a big soup mug. Make sure soy chunks are cover in liquid, add water as needed. Cover, Heat in microwave for 2:00 minutes, then let sit while you do something else. It doesn't need to be long. Check to see if it needs some water; add if needed, heat again for 2:00 minutes. At this point, I usually put it through my Magic Bullet to make the chunks smaller, so if you don't have something to chop the chunks up try the granules at least the first few times you cook with TSP. Pour the excess soaking water back in with it. If you're going to mix it with sautéed onions, green peppers, tomato's or what ever you don't have to worry about how much liquid is left, just dump it in and let it cook off ( it will add flavor). Throw in some cooked rice; add some side dishes and you have dinner.