soy allergy

Help! Having recently discovered I am allergic to soy has really messed with my quasi-vegetarian brain. Soy is everywhere! (The only consolation is, it turns out I can eat Lindt-Sprungli soy-free dark chocolate after not having had chocolate for a couple of years. ;-D) Does anybody else here have to avoid soy? I have eaten really badly lately while trying to adjust!

I'm not allergic to it but I limit my soy intake as I think it's in too many foods and overprocessed.
There are some great alternate soy-free milks (Hemp, Rice, Almond, Hazelnut ect.)
Ice cream alternatives (coconut, Rice, Avocado, or cashew based)

soy lecithin is usually okay with people with soy allergies that I know. Which would make most high quality dark chocolate ok.

There are rice cheeses but I've only tried one and it wasn't my favorite but it did the job and made decent grilled cheese.

What types of food did you eat that you are having problems finding alternatives too? Is there any paticular kind of food you enjoy?

I limit soy to once a week (tofu). Have you tried seitan? Several companies now make a just-add-water mix that's fast and easy; it's a tremendous food value, loaded with protein, surprisingly inexpensive and highly adaptable to just about any recipe in which you'd ordinarily use soy products.

Thanks for the hints. I will get the hang of this no-soy thing. Since I'm also severely allergic to nuts, as is common with soy allergy, several other items are also out. I can tolerate soy lecthin, but generally avoid it too, just in case. We've actually had some trouble with bread; soy-free breads have tended to be tough. The guy who supplies bread to our natural foods store just flat-out told us soy-free wouldn't sell there. While I'm not a vegetarian, I didn't eat much meat for quite a while, but find to my dismay that I'm eating more now because most of the substitute type foods I ate are full of soy.

My situation's complicated a little because I have a spinal injury and my mobility is limited, so I often have to impose on others to prepare food for me when time is short. That's part of why I'm very frustrated that so few frozen dinners are soy-free!

I hadn't heard much about seitan; please tell me more!

I'm also having soy woes at coffee shops; the other day when I asked the counter clerk if a particular item had soy, and explained that I was very allergic, she replied, "Oh, sure, we can make it with soy milk!" Yikes, already.

She is probably more used to people like me with milk allergies!

Seitan is made of wheat gluten, mostly. You can get it at most health food stores pre-made, or make your own. I have made it myself and it is pretty easy with a stand mixer (it takes a fair amount of kneading). There are multiple recipes online, but here is a link to the recipe that I made: http://www.veganlunchcast.com/2007/03/vegan-chicken-dumplings.html
And, here's a great link to a bunch of links to a baked seitan recipe (one basic recipe with many variations): http://isachandra.livejournal.com/65139.html

kcasada, here's where I buy ready-mix seitan:

http://store.foodfightgrocery.com/seitanquickmix.html

They've got the best deal I've found and besides it's always fun to get an order-confirming email from the young folks at Food Fight informing me that I "rule," haha!

sussabmax, I took one look at making seitan from scratch and began hunting for a ready-mix! Hats off to you for making it yourself!

ouch, no nuts either.
what about things like lentil burgers, easy to make and season however you want. also makes good fake meatloaf.

or for quick food, premade "Sunshine Burgers" I love them and they are vegan soy-free, don't contain any nuts. The basic ingredients are: Ground raw sun-flower seeds
Brown rice, Carrots, Herbs, Sea Salt.

can't help much with the bread, but you can always make wraps out of lightly steamed cabbage. These can be really good stuffted with rice and vegetables.

green jackfruit if you can find it (proabably at a local indian mart) is a fruit that is sometimes used as a meat sub in indian recipes. It was a little odd to me but not bad. The recipe I tried it in was a chicken curried rice.

Try getting mock duck, chicken or abalone similar from a Chinese supermarket - it is seitan in a sort of broth. It comes in a tin, and can be added to a stir-fry or whatever. It's a little bit more expensive than making your own seitan, but handy when in a hurry or not very confident about cooking anything unusual.

Beans are good too - try different sorts - I love chickpeas/garbanzos and black eyed peas.

Bread - I make pancakes from buckwheat (not wheat at all) and water or non-dairy milk - quick and easy. I part flour to one part liquid - stir well and pour into a non-stick pan and it's done in no time. I don't know when I last had proper bread.

Non-dairy milk - oat milk is very good.

I am vegetarian and a severe soy allergy was caused by over consumption of soy and stress.

It seems almost everything has soy. I am almost completely whole foods now.
I get protein from nuts, dairy and beans/legumes.
There are a few dark chocolates that are soy free...whole foods carries a few brands with soy free bars. Enjoy life has soy free products and chocolate chips.

I havent tried seitan, but my son is going vegan, so I will be getting it as I dont want him bring much soy into the house.

I would check the mock chinese meats first...even if its seitan, it may be in a soy sauce broth.

Many bakery breads are soy free. My supermarket carries 2 brands that are local and soy free.

Kashi has soy free crackers and "triscuits" and cereals.

All Pam type sprays have soy oil in them...even the "olive oil" sprays.
Buy a spritzer and fill it w/ olive oil.

Wolfgang Pucks frozen pizzas are soy free.
Boboli pizza crusts are soy free.

I use real butter as all margerines have soy.

Its frustrating, but possible to do...just takes work and some getting used to.

Forgot to add...
We eat a lot of bean/lentil burgers.
Spinach/feta burgers.
bean burritos/enchiladas.

If I make pasta, I often throw in beans of some sort.
Chili is easy. Soups.

:-)