One of my goals in my cooking work is to encourage our members to take time to make their own food at home. Most people today have very busy schedules; they do not have time to cook fresh foods at home. While it is not wrong to get up in the morning to go to work to provide for the family, we should not get too busy to have time for one of the most important things—HOMEMADE FOOD. Because many come home late and tired, they choose the easy way by buying foods that are already cooked and ready to serve. Most prepared foods that are sold in grocery stores are not 100 percent healthy. They have hidden ingredients that you might not be aware of. One of the most dangerous and well-hidden ingredients found in many processed foods is MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE (MSG).
There are several hidden sources of MSG found in vegetarian meat substitutes. The food industry uses MSG to make processed foods that are low in nutrition taste good, by fooling your taste buds into liking something that is not healthy. Furthermore, MSG increases your insulin response, tricking your body into thinking you can eat more than you actually should. Scientists are able to make rats obese by feeding them MSG-laced food. I do not know about you, but knowing there is a potential substance that can trick me into eating more food is reason enough to avoid this at all costs. Furthermore MSG is added in large amounts to prepackaged meals, soups, snacks, and fast food; all of which we are tempted to eat and feed our families every day. MSG is linked to all sorts of terrible reactions in humans including toxicity, autoimmune disorders, diabetes, migraines, headaches, autism, ADHD, and Alzheimer’s.
Here is the challenging part for consumers
There is a certain legal amount that manufacturers are not to exceed if they want to label their products as “free from MSG” or “free from Glutamate”.
Manufacturers are allowed to hide MSG under any of 40 different names. These are the most common ones: Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, Hydrolyzed Plant Protein, Plant Protein Extract, Sodium Caseinate, Calcium Caseinate, Yeast Extract, Textured Protein, Autolyzed Yeast, Natural Flavoring, Natural Chicken Flavoring, and many others. When any product contains at least 79 percent free glutamic acid, it must be called MSG. The quantity of less than this amount does not fall under MSG-labelling restrictions. Many food that you buy in supermarkets that is already cooked contains MSG. If MSG was not harmful, why would they need to hide it? We need to be aware of these things for our good and the good of our families. Children are innocent; they eat what they see on the table.
If you want healthy sausages or any meat substitute, go home and make these simple, easy, and delicious sausages.
For more simple, healthy, and delicious recipes, visit my website: www.dorcasvegankitchen.com
You can also find the video on homemade vegan sausages on my YouTube channel, “Dorcas Ndomba Luboya”. You can also visit my Facebook page, “Dorcas Vegan Kitchen”.
Please support this work in any way you can. There are many families who need help. God bless you.
Dorcas Ndomba Luboya, Senegal
“In order to learn how to cook, women should study, then patiently reduce what they learn to practice. . . . Do not think the time wasted which is devoted to obtaining a thorough knowledge and experience in the preparation of healthful, palatable food. No matter how long an experience you have had in cooking, if you still have the responsibilities of a family, it is your duty to learn how to care for them properly. If necessary, go to some good cook and put yourself under her instruction until you are mistress of the art. “ –Counsels on Health, p. 117
INGREDIENTS
2 cups boiled red beans (or other beans)
1 cup soy, minced, soaked (or mushrooms)
1 large onion, finely chopped
½ cup chickpea flour (substitute gluten flour, whole wheat flour, or rice flour)
½ cup breadcrumbs (optional)
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
⅓ cup nutritional yeast (optional)
Seasoning of your choice (cumin, fennel seeds, ground coriander, celery, garlic powder, oregano, rosemary, thyme, etc.)
PREPARATION
In a large mixing bowl, mash beans with a fork, potato masher or food processor.
Once it is done, add the other ingredients one by one, except flour and breadcrumbs. Mix well using your hands or food processor.
Once that is done, add flour and breadcrumbs and mix again until you get a nice batter (you may have to add a bit more flour and breadcrumbs if it is too moist).
Divide the mixture into small pieces. With your oiled hands, roll the dough and place it onto a piece of parchment paper (not aluminum), roll it up and shape the VEGAN SAUSAGES into sausages. Shape and twist the ends, then close with an elastic rubber band.
Place the sausages into a steaming basket and steam them for 30 minutes, you may need to steam longer for them to become firm.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes, unwrap and enjoy steamed, or baked. Serve with anything you wish.
To store, place the wrapped Sausages in freezer bags and store in the freezer.
“There is a class who seem to think that whatever is eaten is lost, that anything tossed into the stomach to fill it, will do as well as food prepared with intelligence and care. But it is important that we relish the food we eat. If we cannot, and have to eat mechanically, we fail to receive the proper nourishment. Our bodies are constructed from what we eat; and in order to make tissues of good quality, we must have the right kind of food, and it must be prepared with such skill as will best adapt it to the wants of the system. It is a religious duty for those who cook, to learn how to prepare healthful food in a variety of ways, so that it may be both palatable and healthful. Poor cookery is wearing away the life energies of thousands. More souls are lost from this cause than many realize. It deranges the system and produces disease. In the condition thus induced, heavenly things cannot be readily discerned.” –Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, p. 48–49