Not using soy

[DianeVegan]

Researchers have discovered 2 soybeans that are free of the allergen some people are sensitive to - read about it here. (http://www.foodnavigator.com/news/ng.asp?n=67547&m=2fsn509&c=ygonxcyvsuqokio&idP=1) The best part is that the process does not include genetic engineering and the researchers are NOT GOING TO PATENT THEM to make a lot of money. Unbelievable.

[Tigerlily]

Yay! That would make soy allergic vegans a little happier (and easier to live)!

[GoGreen]

Hi Everyone,
I am new to message boards and new to this forum, so please bear with me...
I have been vegan for about 2 years with a recent fall off the wagon, but am now back with renewed inspiration.
One thing I really struggle with is meal preparation and eating enough of the real foods and not eating strictly high carb, out of package foods (blood sugar problems). Plus, I try to avoid soy.
Does anyone have any suggestions or similar problems?

Nice to see so many other vegans out there and from all over the world! :)

[eve]

Hi GoGreen
Struggling with meal preparation? If you have a ricer, just put the rice into the container, cover with water, then into the steamer lid put plenty of broccoli or cauli, or other greens, plus perhaps some sweet potato. After 20 minutes, eat it with relish.

If you don't have a ricer, then simply get whatever vegies you have, barely cover with water, and cook for less than 10 minutes. Into whatever liquid remains, sprinkle some nutritious yeast flakes.

If you stick to vegies, some raw fruit, and the odd handful of peanuts etc, you won't go far wrong. I also have a juicer, and just about every day I wash some carrots and juice them, sometimes with an apple or a raw beetroot. Frankly I follow what someone (whose name I forget) advised, and that is the "Five Regime" , namely fewer than 5 ingredients, costing less than $5, and ready to eat in about 5 minutes.

There is also raw, have you see the website of www.rawpleasure.com.au that has a free book of recipes for raw vegans to enjoy? :D

[Seaside]

*rant advisory* :D

There is nothing wrong with food high in carbohydrate. Carbohydrates are what we use as energy, as opposed to true carnivores who use dietary fat for energy. They are essential to human health. It just drives me nuts when "food" marketers label processed garbage as "carbs", when the stuff they sell isn't even food, thus giving foods like whole grains, beans, and starchy root vegetables a bad reputation. These are the carbs you need to eat.
*rant over*

Nothing personal, by the way, GoGreen. :) Millions of people have been duped by Atkins into lumping all edible substances that aren't predominantly protein or fat as "carbs", and into believing that these foods are harmful. Wonder bread and Pringles are not the same thing as sprouted grain tortillas and baked potatoes. But if you are really concerned about your carbohydrate intake, pay attention to the glycemic index of any given food, which will tell you what kind of an effect that food will have on your blood sugar.

Eve made some good suggestions for meal preparation. We also have a lot of recipes here. I hardly ever eat soy foods, but I don't deliberately avoid them, either. Having lots of canned beans on hand is good, until you learn to cook them yourself (if you want to), and I love unsweetened almond milk. A sprouted grain tortilla spread with hummus and loaded with fresh or steamed veggies is a great quick easy meal. Just be aware that too much dietary fat can make your cells insulin-resistant, which will raise your blood sugar as surely as a diet high in refined flours and sugars will. Sticking with foods as close to their original condition is best, and its not difficult to get the hang of preparing them. :)

[fiamma]

Excellent advice from eve and Seaside.

Some pieces of equipment are invaluable in cooking quick meals; a microwave, a stick blender and a veggie steamer. Cut your veggies up small and don't overcook them, just blanch them and they literally cook in minutes. Canned beans are handy to have in your store cupboard and can be chucked into soups, stews and salads, and you can whizz up a hummus style pate using any bean of your choice in minutes. Make a huge batch of chilli or soup when you have time, maybe at the weekends, and store single portions in the freezer for super quick meals when you're in a hurry. Certain grains cook very quickly, like rolled oats and couscous, making for quick and filling breakfasts. Plus fruit and nuts are instant foods and full of nutrients. Some recipes require no cooking at all, like gazpacho (cold tomato soup, mmmmm).

Take a look around the threads and check out the Fast and Easy vegan food thread (http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2542)for more ideas.

[insubordination]

I agree, it's not the carbs which are the problem but the effect they have on altering your blood sugar. If you have blood sugar problems, you'll want to eat low to medium GI foods. Get a list of these. Out with pumpkin, potato (especially without skin), white rice and watermelon and dates and in with sweet potato, quinoa, basmati, strawberries and prunes.

Eat protein with every meal. The suggestions above are great and that's how I eat too (oats with nuts, hummous with vegies, beans with tomato based dished, curry with lentils). Also, add cinammon to dishes wherever possible. It stabilises blood sugar.

[eve]

I didn't know that about cinnamon. A couple of years ago I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and could not believe it - even argued with the doctor. However, genes are part of the picture, but since then I'm very careful about GI levels, as well as increasing exercise. Now, my glucose level is normal, but I will check out the cinnamon, especially as it adds a pleasant taste to some dishes. so thanks, insubordination. :)

[bronny]

Hi All,

To my horror I think I've developed a soy allergy - or at least an intolerance - after some 15 years as a vegan. I can't believe it - I love soy so much.

My naturopath has been treating me for a mysterious illness for the past year - and it had been put down to a recurring virus - but I was also wondering if it could have been approaching menopause or anxiety (both on the cards). Symptoms are bloating/gas, stomach cramps, slight asthma, headache, fever, sore, tired eyes, lack of energy and generally feeling yuk. Immune system boosters and acidophilus hasn't helped. I checked the web tonight and all my symptoms seem to be a possibility with soy allergies.

I did the whole elimination diet thing a couple of months ago, but there were no positive results. Then today, I had tofu for lunch and tonight I am feeling terrible. It seems to be happening more from tofu and veggie soy sausages rather than soy milk.

But if I take all soy out of my diet - I wonder if I'll start feeling terrific? (can't remember when I last felt like that). I know I can substitute rice milk (we sometimes do in cooking anyway) but I really don't like it in tea! So watery!
Any help would be most welcome. I love soy, but will stop eating it if it means I'll get better!

Bronny

[Purple]

Heya, I can't offer much help I'm afraid but I'm wondering if I'm in a similar boat.

I get stomach cramps and a generally upset tummy if I have soya milk on my cereal. I seem to be okay with it in small doses like tea. If I have soya yoghurt on my pancakes I get a belly ache too.

I need to try completely eliminating it and see how I feel. I also think I have a wheat intolerance (makes me very very tired and run down feeling).

You're right about rice milk though, it's really water - on cereal it just makes it go soggy. Is oat-milk any better? I haven't tried it yet.

good luck! Sorry I can't offer much help :(

[Marrers]

I know some people on here have been trying to cut down on soy too.

These threads might have useful info:-

http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12566&highlight=cut+soy

http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=626&highlight=cut+soy

[scarlett]

I was getting terrible stomach cramps, bloating, headaches so I cut all soya out.
I've switched to earl grey tea (without milk) and have been having porridge for breakfast with rice milk or oatmilk or toast as I really don't like oat/rice milk on cereal.
I certainly do feel better for cutting it out and haven't had stomach ache/cramps for days :)

[bronny]

Oh thanks Scarlett for replying! How long did it take you to feel better? I stopped all soy milk/tofu/tempeh a week ago and so far there's some improvement but not a lot of change - but I'm having trouble finding a bread that doesn't have soy - so maybe that's why. I'm still having a tiny bit. Stupidly I did have a soy coffee on Sat night - and boy did I feel it early on Sunday morning. My friend who is allergic had relief immediately after giving up - but my partner who has an intolerance to soy says it took him a couple of weeks to feel better......

Bronny

[scarlett]

I felt better after a couple of days, I did have to cut it all out completely though, I tried having just a little after a few days and had the stomach cramps back again straight away :( so I stopped it all.
I'm not sure how easy it's going to be eating out though, there's soya in such alot of things.

I do hope you feel better soon :)

[button]

Can we unite? I would love some recipes. I have a hard time finding vegan recipes (sometimes) that don't include these things.

I need to get on the seitan thing already..

[KerrieSue]

I am a new vegan (2 weeks) and all the new recipes I have tried have been soy and tofu free. We (husband and I) have been eating a lot of salads and frozen fruits and our main meals have been rice and beans, black bean burgers...etc. I just found an awesome recipe for red beans and rice I am going to try this week. Honestly soy and tofu scare me because I have never cooked with them before. So any new recipes I am trying I avoid those two ingredients. Also for cost efficiency cooking dry beans goes a long way and is very filling.:)

[KerrieSue]

The red beans and rice recipe was found at:
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/02/real-louisiana-red-beans-and-rice.html

[Mr Flibble]

I believe that the majority of Cherry's recipes (http://www.parsleysoup.co.uk/list.php?category=maincourses) are soy free.

KerrieSue: Tofu can take a while to get right, a lot of people are put off too early on in their experimentation (certainly the first time i tried it was revolting). It is worth it though.

[button]

Thanks for the links and recipes. (: I'm just on the "soy is evil" side of the fence, lol, and I try to avoid processed foods as much as I can. I'm going to check out Cherry's recipes now.

[button]

Am I alone?? ;)

[Risker]

I don't eat tofu, not a fan of the flavour/texture. I eat soya beans very rarely, never as part of a recipe though. I'm suprised you have trouble finding recipes without them to be honest.

[Korn]

Am I alone?? ;)

Hi,

There are many vegans that don't mind using soy or tofu, but still often eat stuff that don't contain soy at all, or people like me who use a little tofu occasionally, but don't mind using soy sauce/tamari. I've actually seen lots of recipes not mentioning soy at all (even inside this forum; most of our recipes probably don't mention soy)... Soy beans is something that it seems that very few vegans actually eat.


I have a hard time finding vegan recipes (sometimes) that don't include these things. I don't know where you have been looking, but maybe you would enjoy a look in our Vegan Cookbook-section?

Good luck! :)

[pavotrouge]

I'm proud to say I'm over with this... it took me 3 years of vegetarianism and 1 year of veganism to finally like tofu- anyway, I've got loads of tofu-free recipes and I think there are many on the forum already ^^

Don't you eat soy products because you don't like them or because of allergies?

[absentmindedfan]

Seitan is yummy, I'm planning on making some soon.

But I don't understand why you're having such a hard time finding tofu/soy-free recipes...curries, chillies, soups, breads, salads, sandwiches, desserts...none of these foods contain soy or tofu they are made from vegetables and pulses and grains. A tiny amount of my diet contains soya/tofu and that's usually when I want convenience foods.

Where are you looking?

[button]

Hmm, maybe I'm not looking hard enough? I'll check out the recipe section here. I don't eat them pavotrouge, because I try my hardest to stay away from processed foods and they are bad for my thyroid.