all of my favourite soy products
blah blah, where do you get your protein from blah.. Here! Here is where I get it!
I’ve never been someone who cared much about my protein intake. Years of being veggie and then vegan meant I probably sat on the lower end and it never did me any harm.
But then two years ago I started properly weight training, and after not seeing much progress for a few months, started to look at my diet. It turned out I was eating under 50g of protein a day and to gain muscle and strength I needed to be over 100g.
I found this relatively easy, I do enjoy a food challenge (oh you’d like a gluten free AND vegan cake - bring it on!) and it was incredibly motiving that almost instantly I was recovering from workouts quicker and able to lift heavier weights.
Even if you’re not looking to become hench like me (pull ups are a long way off but I can dream) protein helps to keep you full for longer. If I have a purely carb based breakfast or lunch I’m hungry again in a hour, but eating more protein keeps the hanger at bay.
Plus, and perhaps more importantly, soy is delicious and versatile. The great taste aspect isn’t really talked about enough. I think soy needs a new PR rep! There are a lot of brands doing great things and not getting the recognition they deserve. So I’m here to spread the good word.
Consuming soy has come under fire in recent years. There seem to be a few different reasons: Misinformation about the impact of soy on hormones (although Dr Idz does a great job of countering this), the excellent marketing efforts of oat milk brands (hey Oatly) and the notion that consuming any soy product contributes to deforestation.
As with anything that looks at food systems on a global level, the environment issue just isn’t that simple. Yes soy crops are a driving cause of deforestation in the Amazon, but the vast majority of those are grown for animal feed for the meat and dairy industry. A lot of the soy we consume in the UK actually comes from Europe.
If you’re concerned about genetically modified crops then one easy way to avoid them is to only purchase organic soy products, as organic certification requires no use of GMO’s (I’ll highlight below which products are organic.)
Apologies in advance as obviously this is very UK specific, but a lot of these brands are international.
This isn’t strictly about cheese, but I do use a lot of these products for making cheese and I thought it was worth sharing as I love a recommendation and thought you might too.
Here we go: (Click the title of each product for a link)
Milk
Tesco Grower’s Harvest
Why I like it: This is the soy milk we use on a daily basis. It’s unsweetened so also great for cooking, and very affordable. It’s much better than other shops cheapest option. We buy it by the case of 12.
Price: 50p for 1 litre
Organic? No
Will it cheese? Yes! Great for soy ricotta
Sojade High Protein
Why I like it: If money were no object this is the soy milk I would drink every day. It is the most delicious soy milk I’ve ever tasted (and I think I’ve tried them all.) Plus no added ingredients and it makes an impossibly creamy ricotta.
Price: £2.15 for 750ml
Organic? Yes
Will it cheese? Yes, as above.
Bonsoy
Why I like it: There’s no denying that this isn’t the cheapest option but for a treat I love Bonsoy in cereal and tea. I know how to live, right? It’s so creamy and also slightly sweetened which is nice for a change compared to the usual ones I have above. The Japanese know what they’re doing when it comes to soy.
Price: £3.20 for 1 Litre
Organic? Yes
Will it cheese? Yes, but as sweetened will have a slightly different taste.
Cooking
Clearspring Silken Tofu
Why I like it: Smooth and pleasingly wobbly. A lovely creamy soy flavour that’s not too beany (IYKYK.) I always have a few packs in the larder. Great in soups or with noodles. Can also blend into dressings for a creamy Caesar. I often eat it cold with a cucumber, spring onion, and sesame chilli oil dressing (a bit like this.) I haven’t tried it but you can also use it to make 3 ingredient chocolate mousse.
Price: £1.45 for 300g
Organic? Yes
Will it cheese? You bet - cheese recipe incoming!
Better Nature Smoked Tempeh
Why I like it: Denser than tofu so good when you want a proper bite. Good for making vegan bacon too! I find it harder to get flavour into tempeh so the smoked one is my go-to as it already tastes great. Nutritionally speaking it has 18g protein and 5.7g fibre per 100g which makes it a real powerhouse, and it keeps you full for ages.
Price: £2.50 for 220g
Organic? Yes
Will it cheese? I was ready to say no but I saw a recipe the other day for a tempeh parmesan, so yes!
Aldi Smoked/Regular Tofu
Why I like it: Organic tofu for 89p - what’s not to love? This is our go-to tofu and we buy about 6 blocks whenever we’re in Aldi. We usually eat it with rice, noodles, or crumbled into salads.
Price: 89p for 180g
Organic? Yes
Will it cheese? Yes, you can blend it to make a cream cheese or cube and marinate to make a feta style (tofu feta isn’t cheese in my book but I’m turning a blind eye.)
Taifun Tofu Rosso
Why I like it: This tomato and herb tofu tastes brilliant straight out of the packet and is a surefire way to win over even the most ardent tofu haters. A bit more premium but worth trying if you see it. It can usually be found in deli’s and health food shops.
Price: £4.75 for 200g
Organic? Yes
Will it cheese? Hmm, you could maybe blend it to make a tomato and herb spread.. but it’s probably a no on this one.
Misc
Tesco Plant Chef Yogurt Plain/Greek
Why I like it: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this is the BEST vegan yogurt out there. It has minimal ingredients, is unsweetened so can be used in savoury cooking (I always put a blob on my chilli or dahl) and it tastes the most like dairy yogurt that I have found. It has a nice set texture, not all weird and viscous and gloopy like some of the coconut ones. We get through pots of the stuff and I always buy more than we need as our local Tesco has a very sporadic supply.
Price: £1.10/£1.45 for 400g
Organic? No
Will it cheese? Absolutely. See below..
Sojade Creme Fraiche
Why I like it: Super rich and creamy. This stuff tastes so indulgent that it almost doesn’t taste vegan, if you know what I mean. It has a clean flavour that works really well with savoury or sweet dishes. I often use it with some lemon juice to make a creamy pasta sauce. But it’s also excellent spooned on top of a chocolate dessert or crumble.
Price: £2.15 for 200g
Organic? Yes
Will it cheese? I think it would be a shame to use it in anything else, so no.
So there you have it! All my faves in one place.
Have you tried any of the products I’ve mentioned? Do you have your own soy favourites to recommend? Please leave me a comment and let me know so I can try them too!
I used to love the Jord oat and vanilla milk, but it seems they have pulled it from market in recent months. Excited to try some new suggestions from your list