Soyummi - Blog

Gluten Free Grains: Rice

Melissa Montovani — Thu, 6 Jun 2013 12:03:00 -0800

Celiac Awareness Month may have just ended, but that doesn't mean that another piece for our gluten free grains blog series is no longer necessary. We know that Celiac Awareness Month is a way for the general public to learn more about this autoimmune disease and for those who have recently been diagnosed with it might find themselves lost for what they can eat. We know this because, from time to time, we receive emails, phone calls, and letters from Celiac patients, who find their old favorites aren’t safe for them anymore, who just want to eat pudding again. Maybe they also just want to know what foods are gluten free and can become a part of their new lifestyle. But we also know that May isn’t the only time of year when people are newly diagnosed with celiac disease, so why not keep the posts coming, right? We’ve already shared with you information about and recipes featuring quinoa, millet, buckwheat, and amaranth, but today, as the title suggests, we’re sharing with you a grain that comes in many varieties and is eaten all over the world on a daily basis: rice.

Gluten Free Grains: Amaranth

Melissa Montovani — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:37:00 -0800

If you are familiar with Soymmi’s products, then you’ll know that we’re proud to be gluten-free, and if you watch the news, read food magazines, or read your news online regularly, then you’ve probably seen that the number of stories on gluten-free foods and the gluten-free diet have increased dramatically over the last few years. Did you ever wonder what foods are gluten free? Did you also know that in “Gluten-Free Foods and Beverages in the U.S.,” Packaged Facts ays “the market reached $4.2 billion in 2012 and projects that the U.S. sales of gluten-free foods and beverages will exceed $6.6 billion by 2017”? With these stats in mind, we thought that our next post in the gluten free grain blog series was well overdue. We’ve already covered the health benefits of eating quinoa, millet, and buckwheat and shared some tasty recipes featuring them, and today, we’re going to delve into amaranth, another superfood pseudo grain that is actually a seed, as the title of this blog post would suggest.

Gluten Free Grains: Buckwheat

Melissa Montovani — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 16:28:00 -0800

Buckwheat is one of the pseudo-grains that cause confusion for those who still aren’t quite sure what foods are gluten free or who are preparing food for the gluten sensitive and intolerant. When the word “wheat” finds itself in the name of another staple food, many people automatically assume that they should avoid it as well. Unfortunately, that’s just not the case. In fact, buckwheat is one of the many whole grains that don’t contain any gluten, despite the misconception that the gluten-free diet is void of whole grains like this article would have you believe. Even though we’ve established that buckwheat is a “safe” food, keep in mind that with this grain…things tend to get a little more complicated and confusing before they’re completely clear, as we explain in the rest of this gluten-free grain article.

Spark Up Some Romance with these Gluten-Free, Valentine’s Day Meal Ideas

Melissa Montovani — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 17:27:00 -0800

If your significant other is one of the 1 in 133 Americans with celiac disease, then you definitely know about it. That said, if you aren’t a chef (and possibly even if you are) creating a special evening meal to wow your gluten-free valentine this year might seem like an overwhelming task. You might even be asking yourself what foods are gluten free? Even though I work at a company that makes gluten-free products and had a lot of information at my fingertips about the diet, I had to take a breather myself to figure out what was safe for me to eat when I realized that I needed to start on the gfree diet, and it was only myself that I’d make sick if I messed up. So I know how you feel, but I also know that with some careful planning, it’s easy to make February 14th a night to remember with some simple gluten-free meal ideas.

Gluten Free Grains: Millet

Melissa Montovani — Fri, 8 Feb 2013 16:00:00 -0800

When most Americans hear the word “millet,” they think of birdseed, but for many people in some Asian and African countries, it is an important staple…and for good reason. We’ll tell you all about millet’s health benefits, but first, keep in mind that for those who are starting on the gluten-free diet or trying to add more gluten free whole grains rather than overly processed and refined ones to it, then you’ll want to incorporate this one regularly. In fact, that’s part of the reason that when Joanne Hollander, our founder and product developer, decided to create COGO Coconut Milk Smoothies, she opted to make millet one of its four key ingredients and why I’ve decided to make it the second gfree grain in our blog series designed to help you answer the question, “what foods are gluten free?”

Gluten Free Grains: Quinoa

Melissa Montovani — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 12:59:00 -0800

While vegetarians and vegans have been experimenting with various grains that are indigenous to South American, Africa, and Asia, the standard American diet is largely filled with wheat products. This shouldn’t be news to anyone, but for those people (and their families) who are diagnosed with a wheat allergy, gluten intolerance, or celiac disease, it)s easy to become paralyzed with one or two things running through their heads over and over again, like “What can I eat now?” or “What foods are gluten free?” With the recent launch of Soyummi Foods’ functional, 100% organic beverage, COGO Coconut Milk Smoothies, which blends coconut milk, the gluten free grains: quinoa and millet, and inulin, a source of dietary fiber sourced from Jerusalem artichokes, it made sense to begin a blog series for those new to the gluten-free diet about some of the other grains and pseudo-grains available to them. In Gluten Free Grains: Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah), we’ll discuss this South-American pseudo-grain that has several very good reasons to become a staple in your kitchen.

Interview With Terry Hope Romero & Giveaway Of Vegan Eats World

Melissa Montovani — Thu, 1 Nov 2012 11:28:00 -0800

For those who have any interest in the vegan community or merely enjoying eating vegan meals either occasionally or on a regular basis, the name Terry Hope Romero will mean something to you. She’s the best-selling cookbook co-author of Veganomicon, Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World, and Vegan Pie In The Sky and the author of Viva Vegan!. On October 30, 2012, however, Vegan Eats World: 300 International Recipes for Savoring the Planet hit bookstores everywhere, and to celebrate it’s release, we’re happy to share our interview with Terry and offer a giveaway of two copies to our US and Canadian readers. We’re reallly excited about the release of this cookbook, and hope that you are, too.

Vegan Eats World by Terry Hope Romero

Melissa Montovani — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 17:18:00 -0800

Full Title: Vegan Eats World: 300 International Recipes for Savoring the Planet

Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books

Format: Hardcover

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Would you pick your college based on the cafeteria menu?

Melissa Montovani — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 19:41:00 -0800

October is Vegan MoFo — Vegan Month of Food for those who aren’t in the know — so it shouldn’t be too surprising that PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has decided to begin the 7th annual Most Vegan-Friendly College Contest now. October also coincides with the time of year where high school seniors and their parents pour over college admission forms and weigh the pros and cons of all the various schools that have caught their eyes. With so many options to consider when you write your college applications, we want to know, will your final decision will include a look at the on college cafeteria menus?

Nazia Iqbal: What I Learned Interning At Soyummi

Melissa Montovani — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 14:17:00 -0800

Yesterday, we posted a story from one of the two interns we hired over the summer to help with the goals of our marketing team. Liya talked about the various tasks we assigned her, and what she learned from the experience. I think that you’ll find that our other intern, Nazia Iqbal, wrote about her time at Soyummi Foods in a much different way, but it’s a way in which the Soyummi team was happy to be a part.

Liya Adessky: What I Learned Interning At Soyummi

Melissa Montovani — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 15:32:00 -0800

This past summer, we hired two interns to help the marketing department make some additional progress on a number of projects. As the fall weather starts creeping up on us, it’s clear that we’ve left the summer far behind us, but what we didn’t have a chance to put in the past until now is the last messages that they left about their time at Soyummi HQ. Find out what Liya Adessky thought about interning at Soyummi Foods and get a glimpse at some of the goings on behind the scenes.

American Cancer Society Says Soy Is Safe for Women, Even Breast Cancer Survivors

Melissa Montovani — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 16:18:00 -0800

Regular readers of the Soyummi blog know that we believe consuming whole soy is not only healthy, but also offers innumerable health benefits, but not everyone agrees. Whenever the subject of soy comes up among women I know, someone turns the conversation to “Yes, it’s good for you, but…” and enumerates either an argument completely against it or a vague word of caution. Dr. Marji McCullough, ScD, RD for the American Cancer Society is familiar with these contentions. In fact, she informally polled a group of her friends, who gave various arguments against the consumption of soy, but when forced to look into the link between soy and breast cancer risk, she argues that consuming soy is safe for women, even those who are breast cancer survivors.

Nutritionists & Vegans Agree: Whole Soy Is Good For You!

Melissa Montovani — Mon, 6 Aug 2012 13:15:00 -0800

As a company that creates a line of minimally processed soy-based puddings that are gluten, dairy/lactose, tree nut, peanut, and egg free, you better believe that we’ve done our research to ensure that we’re using not only the best ingredients out there, but also that eating whole soy is healthy. The problem is that after books like Kaayla T. Daniel’s The Whole Soy Story, came out in 2005, the general public has become confused about whether soy is good for you. While we’ve consistently shown you research that proves it is, we’re happy to report that we aren’t the only ones who believe in making whole soy a part of a healthy diet. Many people who subsist on plant-based diets agree with us on this point, but they aren’t the only ones — we recently came upon an article written by Ginny Messina, a vegan dietician and nutritionist, who clears up the foggy information floating around the Internet and public libraries.

Concluding our Interview with Alexandra Caswell and a Giveaway!

Melissa Montovani — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 13:01:00 -0800

Yesterday, we posted the first half of our blog interview with Alexandra Caswell, the founder of Humane Consumer. We spoke about why she decided to create her website and go vegan, what conscientious shoppers should do to ensure they’re using cruelty-free products, and why Humane Consumer is phasing out all palm oil-containing products from their site. In the second half of this interview, you’ll learn more about the way the website is organized, the health benefits of the vegan lifestyle, some of the other things Ms. Caswell does to maintain a cruelty-free life, and more. Click read more to see the rest of the interview and participate in our First Blog Interview Giveaway!

Soyummi Interviews Humane Consumer Founder, Alexandra Caswell, Part 1

Melissa Montovani — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 13:01:00 -0800

Many people go vegan, in part, because they feel it reduces the amount of harm to the natural world and to animals. Unfortunately, many products that line grocery store shelves are only “accidentally vegan,” meaning the item itself doesn’t contain any animal-derived ingredients, but is produced by a company that uses such ingredients in other products. In February 2012, we found a great website called Humane Consumer, whose purpose is to list truly cruelty-free products in the grocery, body care, supplements, animal care, home goods, apparel, and gift idea categories. Not only were they interested in evaluating our company for their grocery section, but also they ultimately labeled us cruelty free. Now, we’re happy to get the opportunity to offer our readers this in-depth blog interview with Alexandra Caswell, the founder of this ethically-based website on everything from why she started her website, the vegan lifestyle, quality cruelty-free products, and more. Check out part one of this two part interview now.