Tofu a versatile tool, to use as plant based protein source or to mix with animal proteins

The picture is a Tofu 'ragu', with tomato, veggies, mushrooms and a topping of minced meat to boost your protein intake.

We need to re-imagine the role of protein in our dishes by reducing our consumption of some animal products, especially red meat and switching to other animal and plant proteins with smaller environmental footprints.

Tofu is an excellent tool and very versatile to mix with animal proteins.

It has an impressive nutritional profile and also contains isoflavones such as phytoestrogens. Isoflavones may have both estrogen-agonist or estrogen-antagonist properties. These may help protect against some cancers, heart disease, and osteoporosis. However, overconsumption may also present some risks. Therefore always think about eating it conscientiously by interchanging it with other dietary sources of protein. A way for formulating an intake recommendation would be to mimic the intake of regions that have traditionally consumed soyfoods, especially China and Japan, given their long history of consumption. A reasonable amount to recommend is that soy protein not account for more than ~25 to 30% of total protein intake (25 g/d).

*For the Tofu ragu as a side dish you can use rice, pasta or potato pure as well. And if you want to completely replace animal proteins, an idea is to add lentils as a topping.