Food Allergy or Intolerance to Soy , and How to Substitute on a Gluten Free Diet.
Having a food allergy or intolerance to soy is not uncommon for
those of us on a gluten free diet. Finding soy substitutes on
the gluten free diet can be quite a challenge. Soy seems to be
just as ubiquitous in prepared foods as gluten. For those of
us who are also dairy and soy intolerant, it narrows the
choices down tremendously. Margarine and cheese, in
particular, seem to be soy based if you are avoiding casein.
Soy oil is not considered to be allergenic, as the manufacturing
process removes most of the soy protein. However for some
people, myself included, soy oil still causes a reaction.
Having a food allergy or intolerance to soy as well as gluten
and casein can make salad dressings hard to find. Salad
dressings that are gluten free are mainly soy oil based. I
have found only two that I can tolerate.
I am going to list the substitutes or brands that I have found
which are gluten, casein and soy free below. I hope this will
help those of you having a hard time finding anything free of
all three of these allergens.
Cheese Substitutes
Cheese is probably one of the foods we all miss most. It is
particularly hard to find a cheese substitute that does not
contain casein or soy. Pizza just isn't the same without cheese,
or at least something that tastes like cheese. I recently
found one that is available online at Vegan Essentials. They
have many casein free cheese substitutes, but there are only
two that are gluten and soy free as well. You can order
Galaxy Rice Cheese in American or Cheddar flavor
here:
Galaxy Rice Cheese
They ship nationwide, with a cooler bag or box, at a fairly
reasonable charge. The other cheese is by Dr. Cow. It is an
aged cheese made of nuts.
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While I have found other rice cheeses in various stores, most
contain tapioca, yeast or other allergens I cannot eat. These
brands are free of those as well as soy.
I have been using both flavors of the Galaxy Rice Cheese. The
American is okay, a little mild in flavor though. Which makes
it usable for pizza! (I haven't tried that yet.) The cheddar
has a little bit stronger, deeper flavor. When melted they are
smooth. They would be very nice on a cheeseburger too. Both
are fine even without melting, although I think the texture is
better when they are melted. Not quite like actual cheese, but
okay. My husband prefers the cheddar flavor, and agrees they
are better melted. While they are not gritty, like some of the
nut cheese I have made, you can tell they are from rice.
NOTE: I have now made pizza using the American flavored rice cheese above and it was wonderful!
I have also tried the Aged Cashew Dr.Cow Nut Cheese. It is
delectably creamy, tangy, and flavorful. I'm looking forward
to trying some of the other aged cheese flavors.
Note: They also carry Daiya cheese, which is considered the
best alternative cheese out there. It is soy free, but it
does contain yeast and tapioca. You can reach it by going
through the cheese alternatives, it is on the first page. I
can't have yeast or tapioca so I'm not able to try it.
It is gluten, dairy, soy, and nut free.
Shortening
Shortening like Crisco, available in most stores, is soy based.
Lard is an alternative for some uses. For baking cookies or
making margarine however, there is a better alternative.
Spectrum shortening is made from palm oil. It is solid at
room temperature. You can find it at most health food stores,
farmer's markets, Whole Foods, Wild Oats, some grocery stores
with a health food section, and online. If you don't mind the
flavor, coconut oil is also a good substitute. You can find
it at Wal-Mart.
Margarine See Note!
The only mainstream margarine I have found that is casein and
soy free is Fleischmann's Light in the tub. It does say
"Contains Soy" on the package. I spoke with their customer
service department and they told me it is not an added
ingredient. It is produced on the same line as the other
margarines that do contain soy. Although the lines are
cleaned in between, the company wants people to know that
there is a very slight chance of cross contamination with soy.
It can be hard to find, especially in the West. If you cannot
find it in your local Fry's/Meyer's/ Kroger, then try talking
to the manager and asking them to special order it for you.
You will need the barcode number(UPC number) in order for them
to order it. The number is :Fleishmann's Light: 2900000854.
Another possibility is during the passover season, Kosher
markets often carry a brand called Migdal. This brand of
margarine is made soy free only during passover. If you can
find some in a Kosher market, buy it and freeze it for later.
The margarine has been hard to find the last two years though,
as not enough is being made for those who normally use it.
The other alternative is to make your own margarine. I have
done this when necessary, but it really is not the same. It
is harder to use as a spread. It is better than nothing
though. If you only use it for cooking, baking or on a baked
potato, it is fine. I am working on a more spreadable
version, and will list it in the recipe section when I
get it right. You will need a bottle of McCormick Imitation
Butter Flavoring to make your own.
NOTE: Earth Balance brand has now come out
with a spread that is Gluten Free, Dairy Free and SOY Free,
Yeah! You can find it at Whole Foods, Sprouts and other markets
that carry health foods! Walmart here also carries it now.
Bouillon
For a long time I have been using Wal-Mart's Maggi brand beef
bouillon. It has recently become impossible to get in my
area. If you can find it in your area, it will be very useful
for making soups and your own soy sauce.
The other brand I have found that is gluten, casein and soy
free is Celifibr. They make a soy free beef, chicken,
and vegetarian vegetable medley.
I do use Celifibr bouillon myself for certain recipes and
it tastes great. So I do not hesitate to recommend it.
For Chicken bouillon you can use the Maggi brand from Wal-Mart,
which is still available. Knorr is also soy free in the
chicken flavor.
Soy Sauce
Soy Sauce is something that is used extensivelyy in Oriental
dishes. If you can't have soy, that makes it very difficult
to have anything taste like it is supposed to. The recipe
below will make cooking these dishes much tastier.
Before you begin, find a 12-16 ounce jar. Wash it well with
dishsoap and hot water. Put some water on to boil. When the
water is boiling, pour it into the jar and the lid to
sterilize them. Leave them at least 10 minutes, and then
empty them and set on a clean towel until your soy sauce is
ready.
The recipe below will hold for at least two weeks, and must be
refrigerated.
1 1/2 cups water
4 Tablespoons Beef Bouillon or equivalent in cubes(6)celifibr
A Pinch of black pepper
4 Tablespoons cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar
2 Tablespoons black strap or other dark molasses
1 teaspoon Sesame Seed Oil
In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients and stir well to
blend. Bring this mixture to a boil, and then turn it down to
a low simmer. Allow it to simmer until the volume has been
reduced by about 1/2.
Pour the sauce into a sterile jar, cover with lid, and
refrigerate. Will hold at least two weeks.
If you don't expect to use much at a time, then cut the recipe
in half.
Salad Dressings
I have found that you have some options on salad dressings if
you make your own. You can make them soy free using canola,
corn, or olive oil. Good Season's can be made this way.
Wal-Mart carries a pre-made salad dressing that does not
contain soy. It is their Fat Free Italian dressing, in the
Great Value brand.
Good Season's Italian Vinaigrette with Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Dressing is gluten, casein, soy oil and soy free.
Mayonnaise
While most mainstream mayonnaise is gluten free, it does
contain a lot of soy. To avoid egg and most soy, I use the
vegan version called Vegenaise. It does contain a small
amount of soy protein. It is available at health food stores,
farmer's markets, Whole Foods, Wild Oats,and some grocery
stores with health food sections. It must be refrigerated,
even while unopened.
This is the version of mayonnaise I use to make the Ranch
dressing in my recipe section. Also it makes potato salad,
tuna salad etc. possible again. I can tolerate small amounts
occasionally. You would have to try it and see if you get
much of a reaction if you are soy intolerant.
UPDATE: Vegenaise now has a Soy Free version, so you can
avoid gluten, dairy, egg and soy! It's very good too!
You will find it with the other versions of Vegenaise,
just look for the green lid.
Tuna
Amazingly enough, most tuna has either casein or soy in it. I
have found two brands that don't contain either. The first is
Polar All Natural Chunk Light Tuna in water. I found it at
Smart and Final. The other is StarKist Low Sodium Chunk Light
Tuna in water. The Star Kist is more expensive, but easier to
find. Walmart carries it.
Chocolate Chips
Chocolate chips for baking usually contain casein or soy. For
making my candy or cookies, I use the Ghiradelli semi-sweet.
They have no casein and only soy lecithin. The lecithin does
not bother me. If you find it does cause a reaction for you,
you will need to find some Enjoy Life brand, which is soy
free. These are available in the health food stores or
sections, Whole Foods, Wild Oats, farmer's markets, or online.
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