From weight loss to keeping you recharged, soy granules can do it all

To get maximum benefits of soy granules, you must learn the right way to cook it.

Befriend soy for good health! Image courtesy: Shutterstock

Parmita Uniyal Published: 5 Feb 2022, 10:00 am IST

Soya granules, the protein-packed crumbs made from soy flour, a by-product of soy oil extraction, are popular addition to many delicacies. They can give a healthy twist to your dinner gravy, breakfast poha or mid-meal tikki. For most of the preparations, they are boiled in water with a pinch of salt for a few minutes and then kept aside for a few hours to be used in your favourite dish.

Soya granules are high in protein, low in carbs and very low in fat content. While it is a delicious way to make your diet super-healthy, we may not be utilising this protein source properly. In most of the households soy nuggets are treated and made like a gravy vegetable and not enough quantity is used in it to meet our required daily quantity of protein.

soy granules — Soy is loaded with estrogen. Image courtesy: Needpix.com

“It absorbs a lot of water while cooking. When people are having them as their sole “dense source of protein”, they need to understand that most of the time in Indian households, soy nuggets are treated and made like a gravy vegetable. Each person gets a few nuggets and rest water. This way we are just getting max 6g protein – which we get from 2 30g atta roti anyway. (How can it be a dense protein source if it’s giving you the same protein as the major grain on your plate? A single normal serving of paneer or chicken easily gives 15+g protein.)” says nutritionist Bhuvan Rastogi.

So should we replace soya granule with a better source of protein or should we eat it differently. The latter is possible if we eat the right quantity of it. Rastogi recommends a big serving of 25 g raw soy granules for each person is a household, which will contain 13 g protein.

“Consider it as a low carb legume and have in similar quantities as we have thin daal. Secondly, prefer granules over nuggets to reduce apparent quantity or eat accordingly,” adds the nutritionist.