Looking for a tasty snack to beat those middle-of-anytime hunger pangs?
Ahoy, we have the perfect snack that will please your taste buds as well as your tummy – Soy!
Roasted Soya Beans make for an awesome munching snack that is super wholesome as well as tasty, and with a whole lot of nutrition to keep your snacking healthy.
Here we give you all the reasons why you should pick roasted soya beans as your new munching snack!
Healthy snack
Courtesy processed and packaged food items that have made their way into our lifestyles, Snacking proves to be unhealthy because all we consume is hollow nutrition, additives, unhealthy oils and trans fat, etc in appealing shapes. These snacks tantalize our tastebuds and fill our tummy but don’t provide any nutritional benefits and are total junk to the body. And what’s worse, we tend to overeat them, because our hands just won’t stop!
Firstly, Our snacking needs to be healthy. And secondly, munching should ideally be in moderation. And Soya is the answer to both of these! Roasted soya beans are a healthy snack (find out how in the following sections) that you can replace all your processed, unhealthy namkeens and junk snacks with. Munching often leads to overconsumption, but soya is rich in fiber, which fills the tummy and gives it the signal when it’s full so you don’t overeat.
Great source of protein
Soya beans are a unique vegetable protein source compared to any other legume because it’s high on protein and low on carbs. Whole soya beans have more protein than other dals, almost 40% of it’s nutritional composition! That’s one of the highest sources of natural and vegetarian protein. What else, it is the only vegetarian food known to contains all the eight essential amino acids that our body needs but doesn’t produce on its own. Ain’t that great?!
Super Soya
In addition to all the protein, Soya beans also contain oil and good carbohydrates that are essential to our diet. Soya is loaded with vitamins and minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium, and selenium. It is rich in dietary fiber that is good for maintaining a healthy digestive system and bowel health and is easy to digest as well. Whole soya beans also have a whole lot of Omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids, which are great for heart health, lower cholesterol, and avoid the build of plaque in the arteries. It also contains Isoflavones that are associated with reducing the risk of cancers, heart disease, and osteoporosis.
Vegan and Gluten-free
Soya protein is gluten-free and makes for great vegan food! If you are vegan, Whole soya beans are one of the ingredients, easily available in India, that can be added to your diet. And if you rely heavily on processed soya for your daily protein intake, these are a great alternative, not only cheap but superiorly healthy. However, in this case, keep it in moderation as too much of everything is bad!
Whole Soya beans > processed soya
Natural sources of soya are healthier than processed soya. There is more than one reason for it. Processed kinds of soya such as soya chunks contain unhealthy amounts of soy protein isolates and a substance called phytoestrogens that can cause hormonal imbalance.
Phytoestrogens are a natural substance that is found in many fruits and vegetables and is found in soya as well. It is similar in structure to the estrogen found in the human body, can mimic the estrogen in our body and cause problems.
However natural sources of soya such as soya beans contain very small amounts of plant estrogen making them healthy and acceptable sources of soya.
Caution: whole soya or natural soya is safe and healthy to eat, however, if you suffer from hormonal imbalance or estrogen dominance, it’s best to avoid soya.
Make your own snack!
Now that you know all about this great food, you would want to try the new munching snack! To get you started we have an easy peasy recipe for a whole soya bean munching snack.
Steps:
1. Clean the Soyabeans, remove any debris or broken pieces.
2. Rinse in a strainer, and then soak them overnight in a large bowl.
3. In the morning, rinse and drain the beans and let them dry a little.
4. Add some olive oil, or desi ghee to a kadhai or wok and heat it.
5. Add the beans, keep stirring and roast the beans until they turn light brown and crunchy. This should take about 15-20 mins.
And your roasted soya bean snack is ready. Store it in a dry container and munch away!
Soya is great but processed soya is not! The market is flooded with soya products that are mainly processed and mostly imported. Go for natural sources of soy protein such as whole soya beans from Two Brother’s India Shop that are organically grown from native varieties and are GMO-free.
Check out their website for a range of organic and natural products made in India.
