Finally I had to do even more research because it was clear, by my continued weight gain and other symptoms, that I was still getting soy somewhere. I realized food manufacturers are very sneaky (in my opinion), and there were other foods to avoid all together if I could because they just might contain soy (this is why an allergy card just isn’t feasible for me).   I’ve even had to drop some of my supplements because they contain hidden soy.

Here are some not so obvious foods that I’ve had to reassess because they might contain soy [1]:

  • Baked goods and baking mixes
  • Bouillon cubes
  • Candy
  • Cereal
  • Chicken (raw or cooked) that is processed with chicken broth
  • Chicken broth
  • Chocolate
  • Deli meat
  • Energy bars, nutrition bars
  • Imitation dairy foods, such as soy milks, vegan cheese, or vegan ice cream
  • Infant formula
  • Margarine
  • Mayonnaise
  • Meat products with fillers, for example, burgers or sausages
  • Nutrition supplements (vitamins)
  • Peanut butter
  • Protein powders
  • Sauces, gravies, and soups (pre-made or sauce packs)
  • Smoothies
  • Vegetable broth
  • Vegetarian meat substitutes: veggie burgers, imitation chicken patties, imitation lunchmeats, imitation bacon bits, etc.

How is that for a list, huh? I mean what is left at this point? That doesn’t include breads, hotdog buns, and hamburger buns.

 

But wait! It only grows more intensive.

I was sent to the Nation Institutes of Health (NIH) for testing for an environmental allergy and found out that chicken and pork may also cause reactions because they are fed soy. My response was…”Then what the heck am I allowed to eat?” The answer,“Grass-fed beef”. Thanks!

I can also eat wild caught fish, and wild caught sea food.  That’s great, but over all very expensive, so I’m trying to find other ways to eat chicken.

And what do I eat? Organic chicken (so long as there’s no chicken broth used) and pork from a local store that can scale the care given to the animals, while I don’t eat a lot of pork it helps knowing if its local and what it was fed.

All of this to say…  I still have a lot to learn about soy and what I need to avoid.  I do my best to make things from scratch, if you’d like to follow along on that journey follow me on Instagram  I recently made chicken soup with multicolored carrots. It was very interesting…the purple ones turned white while cooking.  I also had my first success at baking a sweet potato.  It was awesome!  Check me out, and follow me for more of my cooking adventures.

 

 

 

[1] A Soy Free Diet Means More Than Just Checking For ‘Soy’. By Jill Castle, MS, RD (2016)

 

[2] Diseases and Conditions: Soy Allergy. By May Clinic Staff (2014)

 

[3] Living With A Soy Allergy. Web MD