I often see a lot of misconception surrounding vegetarianism from many people in the real food community and vice-versa. In my opinion the paleo/WAPF/traditional foods movements and vegetarians have a lot in common (see my article Not All Vegetarians Are Created Equal). So, I wanted to create this two part series on what a real food vegetarian eats. I’m starting off with a list of 5 “Vegetarian Foods” That I Never Eat and why. I’ve also created a list of 5 Real Food Vegetarian Protein Sources so you can get an idea of the kind of food that a real food vegetarian eats!
Most of the items on my list of ‘Vegetarian Foods I Never Eat’ are highly processed foods. The “Real Food” movement is most commonly defined by the avoidance of processed foods. Of course, considering the fact that processed food is so prevalent in the American diet, the lines between natural and processed have been blurred. Many packaged food products have the word “natural” written right on it, further confusing average consumers who may not have the time to analyze these products and all the ingredients in them.
In this day and age it’s hard to completely avoid processed food and I can’t say that I’m perfect, but I do try my hardest to avoid it at all cost. In my opinion, processed food is packaged food (even if it says natural on it!). If you don’t know how it was made or can’t make it yourself at home, that’s a pretty good indicator that it’s not natural. However, I think the 80/20 rule is good way to live, meaning that you eat healthy 80% of the time and every once in a while (20% of the time) you go out with friends and get a pizza or ice cream or whatever. Trying to be perfect all the time can cause major stress which is also unhealthy!
This list is not intended as a list of foods that YOU should never eat. It is however a list of foods that I myself do not eat and would encourage anyone to exercise caution before consuming. I often get emails from readers asking me what I eat, so I want to start with what I don’t eat. I will share a few foods that are commonly regarded as health foods and are widely considered to be “vegetarian food” that I try to avoid. Whether or not YOU should eat these foods is up to you. Make your own informed decision. Look at all the relevant information out there and decide what is best for you.
1. Tofu
Soy, which is what tofu is made of, has been shown to have many troubling effects on health. Just to name a few: soy is high in phytates (phytic acid) and trypsin inhibitors which makes it hard to digest and even blocks absorption of certain vitamins, minerals and proteins.
To break down this anti-nutrient (phytic acid) in grains and legumes, it helps to sprout or soak them. However, this is not enough for soy. It needs to be fermented to effectively reduce phytic acid. Although Asian cultures have thrived despite consuming soy for centuries, they have traditionally only eaten fermented soy (like soy sauce, tempeh, natto and miso) in very small quantities. When I say traditional, I mean before the industrial revolution came about which allowed food to be created in factories and become highly processed. Of course, today in Asia most people consume as much soy as Americans do, but they also eat a lot of other unhealthy processed foods like us too.
94% of soy is Genetically Modified (GMO). Since soy is one of the most vastly grown cash-crops in the US, it’s not surprising that it’s in everything. The over-processing of soy can create a dangerous product. Soy lecithin, soybean oil, mono- and di-glycerides and MSG (monosodium glutamate) are all common derivatives of soy.
Soy also contains phytoestrogens which can disrupt normal hormone function. I experienced this hormonal disruption first-hand and have heard testimonials from others with similar stories. Years ago when I used to eat a lot of soy I always had a very irregular menstrual cycle. A woman’s period should come roughly every thirty days, but I could never count on mine coming at the same time each month. Sometimes it would be every other month sometimes it wouldn’t come for three months, I never knew. I even went to an endocrinologist after a while to see if they could get to the bottom of it, but the doctor wasn’t able to explain it and told me that it didn’t really matter unless I was trying to conceive. When I started reading up on the issues with soy I decided to stop eating it. It’s been a few years since I’ve regularly eaten soy and my menstruation has been completely regular ever since.
I rarely eat soy products and if I do, I make sure it is organic or non-GMO and fermented. I definitely don’t depend on it as a primary source of protein.
Sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mercola/soy-health_b_1822466.html
http://www.smallfootprintfamily.com/2009/11/19/soy-is-not-a-health-food/
http://www.foodrenegade.com/dangers-of-soy/
http://www.wholesoystory.com/
2. Veggie Burgers
Although they are commonly thought of as a health food, I would not consider them as such. Most store bought veggie burgers have tons of industrially processed chemicals, additives, MSG, GMOs and unhealthy oils. However, making homemade veggie burgers can be a great alternative! I often make my own with ingredients like sprouted lentils, vegetables, sprouted or soaked rice, quinoa and pasture raised eggs.
To show you an example of how processed store-bought veggie burgers actually are, I’ve written the ingredients for a morningstar burger below. It’s a veritable cocktail of industrially processed oils, GMOs and MSG!
Food companies routinely mislead consumers by hiding MSG in packaged foods that would otherwise appear to be free of MSG. It is not only listed on ingredients labels as monosodium glutamate anymore, it’s also hidden in many foods listing yeast extract, anything “hydrolyzed”, textured protein and more (from Beautiful Babies).
Morning Star Burger:
GMOs are Highlighted in Orange
MSGs are Highlighted in Yellow
*Many ingredients are both MSG and GMO, but I just labeled one or the other.
TEXTURED VEGETABLE PROTEIN (SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, WHEAT GLUTEN, WATER FOR HYDRATION) [GMO], CORN OIL [GMO], EGG WHITES, CALCIUM CASEINATE [MSG], CONTAINS TWO PERCENT OR LESS OF MODIFIED TAPIOCA STARCH [GMO], ONION POWDER, MIXED TRIGLYCERIDES [GMO], CANOLA OIL [GMO], HYDROLYZED VEGETABLE PROTEIN [MSG] (CORN GLUTEN, WHEAT GLUTEN, SOY PROTEIN), DEXTROSE [GMO], SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE [GMO] , NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS [MSG], SALT, YEAST EXTRACT [MSG], SUGAR [GMO], CARAMEL COLOR [GMO], WHEY [MSG], METHYLCELLULOSE [GMO], SPICE [MSG], GARLIC POWDER, MALTODEXTRIN [GMO], DISODIUM INOSINATE, DISODIUM GUANYLATE [MSG], SOY SAUCE (WATER, SOYBEANS, SALT, ETHYL ALCOHOL, WHEAT) [GMO], AUTOLYZED YEAST EXTRACT [MSG], ASCORBIC ACID [GMO], THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B1), NIACINAMIDE, SESAME SEED OIL, SOY LECITHIN [GMO], IRON (FERROUS SULFATE), THIAMIN MONONITRATE (VITAMIN B1), PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), VITAMIN B12.
Shocking right?! What you have left is egg whites, onion powder, salt, garlic powder and a bunch of synthetic vitamins… Yum!
Recommended Alternatives:
- Homemade veggie burgers (See my recipe for lentil burgers!)
- Get all 5 healthy veggie burger recipes and more in my ebook Gluten-Free Vegetarian!
3. Soy Milk
Like I said above in regards to tofu, I avoid soy because of the health related concerns I have with it, because it is highly processed and because 94% is GMO unless labeled otherwise. Apart from that, soy milk also has additives and sweeteners that make it far from healthy.
Soy milk is rarely just soy beans and water. It often contains sugar, “natural flavor” (which usually contains MSG), and carageenan which has been shown to contribute to gastrointestinal problems and colon cancer in clinical trials (Carageenan Study).
Many years ago when I used to consume a lot of soy, I bought soy milk powder at a health food store so I could make my own. It didn’t have any sugar or other additives, so I thought it would be a healthy money saver. I added the water to the
powder and took a sip…I spat it out immediately! It was disgusting! This is why almost all soy milk has added sugar because I don’t think that most people would drink it without some kind of sweetener!
Recommended Alternatives:
- Whole raw grass-fed milk
- Coconut milk (I like this BPA-free, Additive-free brand)
- Homemade almond milk
4. Vegan Butter Substitutes or Earth Balance
Most of these butter substitutes are full of canola and soybean oil. Canola and soy are both commonly GMOs unless stated otherwise, but I avoid them even if they are GMO free.
Although canola oil is vastly regarded as a healthy oil, many (including myself) agree that it is far from healthy and marketed as a healthy oil by big food companies hoping to make a profit on cheap oils. Read more about canola oil here.
I would consider pure olive oil or coconut oil to be a much better alternative for vegans (Find high quality olive oil and coconut oil here). Both soybean oil and canola oil are high in polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs) and the industrial processing of these oils creates free radicals which can cause all kinds of health problems and has been linked to cancer.
There’s so much back story on canola oil and soybean oil that to go into it completely could merit a whole separate post. So, if you want to learn more about it I’ll refer you to these posts:
http://butterbeliever.com/what-is-pufa/
http://www.westonaprice.org/know-your-fats/skinny-on-fats/#modern
Recommended Alternatives:
- High quality olive oil
- Coconut oil
- Ghee (the lactose is remove so it is often suitable for people with dairy allergies)
5. TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein)
Textured vegetable protein. It’s meant to sound very nice isn’t it? Like it’s made all naturally from vegetables, but it’s basically more soy! TVP is used in a lot of fake meat products like veggie burgers, soy sausage, tofurkey, etc.
Here’s what wikipedia says about how it’s made:
“The defatted thermoplastic proteins are heated to 150-200°c, which denatures them into a fibrous, insoluble, porous network that can soak up as much as three times its weight in liquids. Many TVP producers use hexane to separate soy fat from soy protein, and trace amounts of the solvent are left after manufacturing.”
Doesn’t sound so natural anymore does it? It sounds like a science experiment rather than food. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not have any trace of hexane in my food. The process of creating TVP also creates free glutamic acids which is MSG. MSG has been linked to brain damage, nervous disorders and hormone problems (from beautiful babies).
What I do eat?
Check out my post 5 real food vegetarian protein sources!
For real food vegetarian recipe ideas, check out my NEW ebook Gluten-Free Vegetarian! Click here for more info!
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Information and statements regarding health claims on this blog have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
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This is so funny. Not your article. I just found out that the reason your blog is called “healy”… is because your last name is Healy. I always thought that you meant “heal”-y. Look how well that worked out!
so in a recipe calling for earth balance, can i sub coconut oil or olive oil in n equal amount?
It depends on the recipe, but generally, yes. Just watch out because if you use coconut oil in a recipe it may have a slightly coconut flavor, so use it in a recipe that you wouldn’t mind having that flavor. You can also get refined coconut oil which has a less coconutty flavor.
I eat none of these except for the occasional tofu. When I do eat tofu, I make sure it’s non GMO verified. Homemade veggie burgers are so yummy and way better than store bought anyway.
Thanks for sharing….. I have drastically reduce my soy intake ….. especially with my three growing girls. I plan on eliminating it completely. I myself and my children have allergies to eggs and dairy. As I try to hash out our diet we do eat fish twice a week. Do you see yourself making a vegan cookbook? What are your personal thoughts on a vegan lifestyle?
GREAT article!! As a personal health coach, I’m in a constant battle with people trying to educate them on the health risks of eating soy, even organic soy. Real food is the only way to go! 🙂
Thanks Jessie! 🙂
what about tempeh and seitan?…are thy not bette choices for protein?
Looking forward to your newsletter.
Thanks so much for sharing this great post, Hannah! I’d love to know your thoughts on something….my youngest was recently diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder, and we had to take him, and subsequently the whole family (for my sanity), off gluten and casein. The gluten part has proved to be AMAZING for us all, but the casein part is challenging in a lot of ways. What butter products do you recommend as replacements for those of us that are dairy free if not Earth Balance? Coconut oil doesn’t exactly spread on my kids (homemade, GF) waffles or bread! I was also really excited about shifting my family to raw milk, and then we got this SPD diagnosis. Just as I’m shifiting my family increasingly to a traditional diet, and I get this curve ball! Any recommendations? Thanks! 🙂
Ghee is a great option. It is clarified butter meaning the milk solids are removed, so as far as I know it doesn’t contain casein—>http://amzn.to/1b3vhHG Other than that you could try coconut butter or olive oil 🙂
I had no idea Ghee was casein free! Sweet, thanks! I just looked it up and that same brand has a Coconut Ghee and a Cultured Ghee…lots of options to try! Thanks again. 🙂
I’d like to ask you about Earth Balance. I use the soy free kind and it is sold under the label you commonly see at Whole Foods as Non GMO project verified. Isn’t that GMO free? Just curious because I adore earth balance! Maybe they made a recent change?
I recently moved back from Japan and while they eat a lot of tofu, they eat many, many fermented foods. You made a lot of valid points that I saw during my time there and study of food.
If the label says non-GMO then, yes it is non-GMO. However, if you read the part in the article about vegan butter substitutes, I say that I wouldn’t consider oils like canola, soybean or grapeseed to be healthy even if they are non-GMO because the industrial processing of those oils create rancidity and very high levels of polyunsaturated fats. You can also click on the links below that section which have more in depth articles about those oils. Butter, ghee, coconut oil or olive oil are much better options.
Does ghee have dairy? I am a non-dairy person. Would you say that there isn’t a brand of grapeseed that is cleaner than others or do you think its the process, period?
Ghee does contain dairy. I have an allergy and have been told that it is not safe to eat. Ghee is just clarified butter. I eat a real food diet, but continue to use earth balance and grapeseed oil because there are not many dairy free alternatives to replace those things with that are affordable or don’t change the flavor drastically.