#soyless

I met someone recently who was allergic to soy and feared that going vegan would be extremely difficult, if not impossible. It got me wondering: can you be vegan without soy?

The Vegan Perv-Nerds Present: The Vegan Perv-Nerds investigating being a soy-less vegan in "Vegan Perv-Nerds Investigate Being a Soy-Less Vegan!"

To begin, it must be mentioned that soy is a very common part of your average vegan's diet. It's a nutritionally complete protein, cheap, can take on the flavour of nearly anything, and is incredibly versatile (e.g. tofu, tempeh, milk and milk derivatives such as ice cream, textured soy protein "meat" substitutes). However, it's far from essential, and wanting to be anything but average is a commendable goal.

There is a lot of misinformation out there about soy, particularly around the anti-soy scare lobby. It's a common allergen, and should not be fed to very young children (that's a great way to create an allergy later in life) and it's certainly not a suitable breast milk substitute in any way, shape or form.

Most humans evolved in areas where soy isn't native so it's evident that we can survive without it. It just requires a little bit of creativity, which happens to be something we're very good at as a species. So here comes the science bit - nutrition. What alternatives are there for staying alive and staying healthy?

Protein: The omni's favourite question, "so, where do you get your protein?"1. Protein is present in most foods and as with any diet the more varied your sources, the better. Beans are a perfect source and the best veggieburgers I've had, in my experience, have been spicy beanburgers. Houmous! EAT MORE HOUMOUS, YOU BASTARD! The humble chickpea is a brilliant base for a curry, makes a cracking burger, houmous (of course), and they can be dried and thrown at children. The uses are endless(ish). Nuts too serve as an excellent source of protein and light ordinance.

This lady speaketh the truthiness on the matter:

Milk: Soy is by far the most easily-found milk and unfortunately in many places the only alternative to cow-pus. However, if you have access to a decent supermarket or health food shop, you should be in luck. Alternatives include rice milk (a bit thin and sweet for my tastes, but certainly not bad), almond milk, coconut-based (Kara is a personal favourite2), Hemp milk (a brilliant alternative to soy for complete nutrition including omega-6 and 3), and if you're drinking Earl Grey, there's always no milk, which is the correct way (just like Captain Picard innit).

You can even make your own, almond being a good one from what I've read. I've yet to do it because I am a bit lazy.

Meat Substitutes: This applies most strongly to new vegans, but when transitioning to the vegan diet, the thing most people miss is the flavour and texture of meat, a product of habit and nostalgia, so they seek it in substitutes, the most common base ingredient of which is soy. From my own experience, after a short while that longing goes away and you start eating a wider range of things - meals stop being the traditional main meat-like thing and two or three sides, and become more varied and interesting. However, we all like something to chew on. My personal favourite is seitan, a product made primarily from wheat gluten3 which can be prepared in a number of ways - baked, boiled, fried, steamed, probably others but I've gone blank, and they lead to a wonderful variety of textures. If you make your own (either with vital wheat gluten powder4 or for the hardcore, refine your own gluten from wheat), you can flavour it however you wish. I made a wonderfully chewy and spicy baked seitan roast for my Christmas dinner last year and it was delicious. And it made me very windy, which is always hilarious. Seitan's problem is with marketing - it's almost always sold as a "meat substitute" and I think that's its main problem. The word "substitute" usually implies "not as good as the real thing" and that's simply not true. It's different, has been part of Far Eastern diets for thousands of years and no animals have to die for it. Everybody wins.

Like with all good diets5, it's all about variety. There are simply too many different sources of food out there to require a dependence on soy.

P.S. Apparently, "soy lecithin" is usually okay due to the very small amounts of soy allergens contained therein, but do NOT take my word for it if you're AT ALL unsure. Pleae consult a doctor if you have ANY concerns.

Please read in a condescending tone and be sure to dismiss any answers, no matter how valid, because you're so certain you're right, dammit. ↩︎

Yes, I will gladly accept sponsorship. ↩︎

Sorry coeliacs, you're out of luck here. ↩︎

You might have to mail-order this as it's rare in shops. Try our friends at V Cross (both online and in-store), or Flourbin. It's probably available in lots of places, but you'll have to ask Uncle Google for more info. ↩︎