It is starting to smell a little like summer is on its way in my city. If you've ever lived somewhere with long, snowy winters you know what I mean. Every season has a scent of its own and people from cold places tend to have a finely honed ability to detect summer in the air. I don't live in a place that gets snow now but I did from ages 8 to 20. Despite the fact that summer brings some pretty intense heat to my neck of the woods, I still get a little giddy when I can wear short sleeves and flip flops.

You know those days when you haven't had a chance to get to the store and you have to make something out of nothing for dinner? Yeah, that was last Monday for me. Having run out of almost everything, I managed to throw together this broccoli soup and it turned out so good that I had to share the recipe with you!

It seems that there are just about as many opinions on the topic of soy consumption as there are foods that have soy ingredients. Because soy foods contain naturally occurring phytoestrogens (estrogen-like compounds), there is concern about how they affect human hormones and health. Some believe that soy is a healthy addition to our diet and that it can reduce the risk of heart disease, osteoporosis, and some forms of cancer. Others eschew it because they are convinced that it increases the risk of serious diseases and contributes to infertility. There are, of course, extremely radical opinions (and hidden politics) at both ends of this debate that have left many of us confused and stuck in the middle.

So, should we eat soy or not? I will share my personal soy-eating philosophy, however, I do think that it is extremely important for everyone to do some reading on the topic and make their own educated decision as to how much (if any) soy that they wish to consume and feed their families. I will provide some resources at the end of this post.

My thoughts on eating soy can be summed up by the word "moderation". I am not convinced that soy is a miracle food nor do I buy into the radical warnings of crazy people claiming that soy is poison. I do know that there are silent politics at play here as well. For example, those in favor of soy foods often point their fingers at dairy producers as the source of the negative press. Those against, discredit the beneficial health claims as being marketing strategy. I don't believe that soy is miraculous or poisonous. I do believe that eating some soy is perfectly fine as long as we pay attention to a few important details. Here my guiding principles on choosing soy foods: