April is National Soyfoods Month, and the state of Michigan’s latest effort to introduce soyfoods to residents, including future chefs, could be a lesson your dealership can use.
“Whether you consider yourself a gourmet chef or a drive-through connoisseur, you can enjoy soyfoods,” says Gretchen Hofing, Michigan State University Extension (MSUE) soyfoods health educator and a registered dietitian based in Lenawee County. “Soyfoods are available in a wide variety of products in mainstream grocery stores. If you’re thinking that you don’t have time to cook or look for something new at the store, soyfoods are also easy to find in restaurants. Look for edamame in salads, tofu in Asian soups and stir-fries, and soymilk in smoothies and coffee drinks.”
The Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee and Michigan State University Extension have released their new “Soyfoods . . . Soy good for you, Soy easy!” lesson plan. The lesson plan was done with Michigan’s high school career and technical programs hospitality track in mind, but it could be adapted for use with a variety of school and public audiences interested in learning more about why and how to cook soyfoods.
The concept was piloted by Hofing with the Lenawee Intermediate School District’s (LISD) Tech Center classes this past fall. “The soyfoods lesson plan was probably one of the most informative and influential presentations that has been given to my students. It gave them a better appreciation for soyfoods and products that are becoming ever more popular in our industry,” says Corbett Day, careers in hospitality instructor for the LISD Tech Center.
Conversations with the Michigan Restaurant Association also revealed that instructors using their ProStart curriculum, a careers in restaurant and food service industries curriculum, have an increased interest in cooking with vegetable protein sources.
The lesson plan consists of a guide on how to use the included resources and suggested activities; a PowerPoint presentation on the composition of soybeans, health benefits of soyfoods, a discussion of how soyfoods fit into MyPyramid, and information on the uses and functionality of soyfoods in cooking; a chart of additional soyfood resources; a comparison of soyfoods and their traditional counterparts; a guide to modifying recipes; and a set of 11 recipes. Visit www.michigansoybean.org for more information.
