Name: Strawberry Miso Dressing
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 1 cup fresh strawberries (tops removed); 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil; 1 tablespoon miso paste (any type is fine, look for brands that offer traditionally fermented versions); 2 tablespoons lemon juice; pinch of sea salt

Miso, a beautiful ferment

Isn’t it funny, the things we tell ourselves? As I whipped up this dressing I found myself being like wait, this shouldn’t go on the blog. Even though it’s something I eat (and enjoy!). Why? Because it has a soybean product. Soy fear is so 2014, Lucia! But also, it’s so current. Lemme explain…

Taking time with soy

While many people may discover they do not tolerate soy as readily as they may have initially assumed, I find that there’s a bit more investigating that can happen before people need to feel like they have to write it off for forever. The use of soy is just too steeped in tradition for me to believe that all instances of it are off for most people (as something like a strict Paleo protocol may lead us to believe!) Here are the factors that can be considered:

Is the soy in question organic? Are we reacting to what the soy may be carrying on its surface or due to chemicals its been in contact with as it was developing?
Is the soy from a GMO crop? Has it been declared Round Up Ready?
Is the soy processed with harsh alkaline processes that do not consider leaching of aluminum, therefore increasing the potential for the soy product to contain high levels of aluminum?
Is the soy traditionally fermented? Natto, miso paste and tamari are all forms of soy that have been allowed to be broken down by natural yeast and bacteria, rendering the products more readily digestible by a larger group of people.

I fall into the camp of people who say hey, try a food out and get to know it. Know where you purchased it from (companies can answer many of the questions above!), know how it was prepared (ingredient lists can be useful here) and know how you’re using the food (are you trying a small dose during a time when you can notice any reactions, positive, negative or neutral from it?). Get to know the food, its background, and how you want to engage with it and it’ll probably have a lot of information ready and just waiting for you to learn from it!

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