Food combining describes planning and eating meals in certain combinations to achieve productive digestion. People who follow the principles of food combining believe that some types of food should not be matched in the same meal because of their digestive incompatibility, which may result in the body struggling to digest the foods or not being able to absorb all of the foods' nutrients. Tofu is judged on its protein content for its suitability in food combining.
Goals
Pair tofu with items that take similar amounts of time to digest. According to Healing Daily, food combining is based on the idea that foods with similar digestion times will optimize the digestion process and help the body function best. By adhering to the guidelines of food combining, you may be able to avoid digestive discomfort such as bloating or gas and make it easier for your body to process foods and use their nutrients.
Guidelines
Avoid combining proteins with starches or carbohydrates. Proteins take longer for the body to digest and can result in a digestive imbalance if they're eaten with starches or carbohydrates in the same meal.
Stick to meals that are primarily composed of carbohydrates, proteins, or high-starch foods. Since tofu is high in protein, it can be combined well with other foods that have high amounts of protein or foods that take similar amounts of time to digest.
Chewing
Chew your food thoroughly before swallowing, almost until it is pureed or liquefied in the mouth. Advocates of food combining believe that digestion is aided by food that is broken down as much as possible before it enters the digestive system. The body will often pass food that is swallowed in large pieces without breaking down the pieces further, thus neglecting the nutrients and vitamins within those items.
Meals
Eat tofu with vegetables for the best digestive combination. According to the Food Combining Chart from Alder Brooke Healing Arts, tofu combines well with mildly starchy vegetables and very well with non-starchy vegetables.
Examples of somewhat starchy vegetables include beets, carrots, cauliflower, corn and peas. For the best combination of tofu with non-starchy vegetables, use onions, greens, broccoli, garlic, tomatoes, squash, bell peppers or herbs. A plant-based stir-fry with no rice or high-carb ingredients is a successful way to combine tofu with vegetables.
Risks
Use the best-quality tofu possible when food combining to lessen the risk of bloating and indigestion. The Happy Cow Compassionate Eating Guide for vegetarians warns that good combinations of low-quality food are generally worse than bad combinations of high-quality food. Those who follow food combining can also run the risk of becoming deficient in certain nutrients or vitamins if they are not vigilant about balancing items from each food group in a daily diet.
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