When I first tell people that Amanda is allergic to soy their typical reaction is to laugh and say,"okay, I won't feed her any edamame." Then I get them to read the labels of anything they happen to have hanging around their kitchen. Surprise! Soy is in almost everything.
Anyone with a food allergy quickly learns to cook. So many processed foods contain one or more common allergens. What happens when you don't like to cook? or don't have the time to bake from scratch? Most allergy blogs seem to be written by gleefully self-sacrificing women who have dedicated themselves to preparing all of their meals from scratch.
Sorry, folks, I'm not one of them. Maybe I'm lazy. Maybe I just want a life outside of the kitchen, but I refuse to make every morsel that passes through Amanda's lips from scratch. Among other things, its nice for her to have foods that other kids have.
I've searched for soy-free processed and take out foods. It took A LOT of work. Not surprisingly, manufacturers of items that are almost exclusively "junk food" (Hostess, Little Debbie, Kraft, etc.) don't list allergen information on their websites. They simply suggest that you read each product ingredient list every time that you shop. And, of course, almost all Japanese & Chinese foods are elminated due to the prevalence of soy sauce.
Here is my list of "Amanda Approved" soy free junk foods. Most of it isn't "organic" or "all natural" - since many of those manufacturers routinely include soy. Besides, organic and all natural products tend to be priced significantly higher than their counterparts. While the list isn't inclusive, it's a good starting place for other "lazy" moms and dads.
My disclaimer: Please be aware, that manufacturers and restaurants change their recipes and you should always check the label or the company's website before eating a food which may contain an allergen.
Quick Fix Foods & Snacks in the Grocery Store:
Takeout
Pizza
Hopefully this list has given you a starting place for easy, lazy food options if you or a family member has a soy allergy. I'm not advocating eating only processed foods, but as I said its nice to have a fall back plan for busy nights or when you're traveling. Remember, Grandma's delicious homecooked meals might easily contain soy without her even knowing it!
Other sources of information regarding soy sensitivity or allergy:
http://www.fooddomain.msu.edu/pdfs/Ethnic%20Food%20Allergens%20Flyer.pdf
http://www.choa.org/menus/documents/Wellness/teachingsheets/soyfreediet.pdf
http://ynsppcsoyfreeedition.blogspot.com/p/soy-free-foods.html
http://www.fda.gov/food/resourcesforyou/consumers/ucm079311.htm
http://www.organicconsumers.org/Organic/soyaisbad.cfm
I suppose as a protein it makes sense that it is in most hot dogs, processed meals like Beef-A-Roni, frozen meatballs and chicken nuggets. But why is it in bread, hot dog rolls, brownies, frosting, spaghetti sauce, instant oatmeal, crackers....
The FDA has identified eight foods major food allergens:
When you have a family member with a soy allergy you also learn the hidden code words for soy in foods. These other terms include "natural flavoring", "vegetable broth", "hydrolyzed protein", "vegetable gum" and "vegetable starch." Some people with a soy allergy are sensitive to soy lecithin and soybean oil. Luckily, Amanda can tolerate both of these in moderation.
The FDA has identified eight foods major food allergens:
- Milk
- Eggs
- Fish (e.g., bass, flounder, cod)
- Crustacean shellfish (e.g. crab, lobster, shrimp)
- Tree nuts (e.g., almonds, walnuts, pecans)
- Peanuts
- Wheat
- Soybeans
These eight foods, and any ingredient that contains protein derived from one or more of them, are designated as “major food allergens”.
Anyone with a food allergy quickly learns to cook. So many processed foods contain one or more common allergens. What happens when you don't like to cook? or don't have the time to bake from scratch? Most allergy blogs seem to be written by gleefully self-sacrificing women who have dedicated themselves to preparing all of their meals from scratch.
Sorry, folks, I'm not one of them. Maybe I'm lazy. Maybe I just want a life outside of the kitchen, but I refuse to make every morsel that passes through Amanda's lips from scratch. Among other things, its nice for her to have foods that other kids have.
I've searched for soy-free processed and take out foods. It took A LOT of work. Not surprisingly, manufacturers of items that are almost exclusively "junk food" (Hostess, Little Debbie, Kraft, etc.) don't list allergen information on their websites. They simply suggest that you read each product ingredient list every time that you shop. And, of course, almost all Japanese & Chinese foods are elminated due to the prevalence of soy sauce.
Here is my list of "Amanda Approved" soy free junk foods. Most of it isn't "organic" or "all natural" - since many of those manufacturers routinely include soy. Besides, organic and all natural products tend to be priced significantly higher than their counterparts. While the list isn't inclusive, it's a good starting place for other "lazy" moms and dads.
My disclaimer: Please be aware, that manufacturers and restaurants change their recipes and you should always check the label or the company's website before eating a food which may contain an allergen.
Quick Fix Foods & Snacks in the Grocery Store:
- Chicken Nuggets: Allergy Free Foods brand frozen chicken nuggets; Perdue Original refrigerated chicken nuggets (may contain soybean oil)
- Frozen Pizza: Trader's Joe's Three Cheese Pizza
- Hot Dogs: John Morrell, Coleman Natural Beef and interestingly, a very inexpensive entrant Bar S (which I can find at WalMart for $1/pack). If only I could find a soy free hot dog roll...
- Fries: Alexia Yukon Gold and Sweet Potato fries are both excellent and soy free
- Mozarella Sticks: Alexia Italian Herb and Olive Oil
- Cake Mixes: yes, almost all of these contain soy flour. Dr. Oetker Organics mixes are soy free and good. best of all most grocery stores carry them at only about 40 cents more than other cake mixes.
- Frosting: Again, try the Dr. Oetker mix or make your own. Skip canned frostings.
- Spaghetti sauce: Prego Traditional Sauce is one of the few without soy
- Canned Meals: there is no Beef-A-Roni substitute (not a bad thing, really) but Annie's makes a few soy free canned pasta meals if your kid just has to have "spaghettios." Amanda really likes the Cheesy Ravioli.
- Peanut Butter: some companies use soybean oil to stabilize peanut butter. The "natural" formulations are more likely to be soy free. Skippy Natural and Jif Natural are both soy free!
- Sandwich bread is still a huge concern. Apparently manufacturers add soy flour to breads to keep them soft. Artisan breads from grocery bakeries may be soy free (check!). I've also tried Rudi's country morning white. It's not as soft and squishy as WonderBread but its okay.
- Mac and Cheese: What is childhood without mac and cheese? Annie's Natural Mac & Cheeses are delicious and all soy free - even the super quick microwave version.
- Chips : Lay’s Potato Classic chips
- Chocolate bars: Boom Choco Boom from Enjoy Life
- Cookies: any Enjoy Life softbaked cookies , Back To Nature Vanilla Wafers , Walkers Shortbread, Jennie's macaroons
- Candy: Most sugar-based candies are soy free. We like Sunkist Fruit Snacks, Fruit Rollups, Peeps and Charms Fluffy Stuff cotton candy
- Most frozen "popsicles" like Minute Maid Frozen Lemonade and Icee Frozen cherry/raspberry
Takeout
Pizza
- Happily we have a Johnny's Pizza near us. Their pizzas are soy free and so are most of their entrees.
- Pizza Hut, Little Ceasars & Dominos all include soy according to their websites. Go for some other form of take out if these are your only options.
- McDonalds - any of the chicken & burgers - except the 100% Angus that ironically contains soy protein. However all but the "bakery style" buns contain soy. The American cheese also contains soy, but the Swiss seems to be fine. I couldn't be certain that any of the breakfast items are soy free as most seem to contain "natural flavor." http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/getnutrition/ingredientslist.pdf
- Burger King - chicken tenders, chicken fries and french fries are soy free as are the oatmeal, sausage biscuit and the hash browns. http://www.bk.com/cms/en/us/cmhash%20s_out/digital_assets/files/pages/NutritionInformation.pdf
- Wendys - order the Jr. Hamburger or the hamburger kids meal ONLY - even the roll is fine. Just avoid American cheese. Do NOT order most burgers at Wendy's - they contain soy. However most of the chicken options are soy free. http://www.wendys.com/food/pdf/us/nutrition.pdf
- Taco Bell - only the rice and the nachos are soy free - most of the salsa even contains soy. Skip Taco Bell and move on to another place would be my advice.
- Chipotle works for us as they carefully note which items contain soy but then go on to specify," The only soy-derived ingredient is highly refined soybean oil, excluded as a major food allergen." However if you are sensitive to soybean oil avoid this as well.
- KFC - Original Extra Crispy chicken is soy free. So are the potato wedges, potato salad and macaroni salad. The hardest part about KFC is that there are a number of variations on each product so in some cases or areas an item may be soy free while in others it may contain soy. These are the only "safe" options that seem to be consistent.
- Chik Fil-A - The chicken strips, nuggets and waffle fries are all soy free - nice for kids! They use peanut oil so soybean oil isn't even a concern. The cheesecake is soy free and one of Amanda's favorites.
- Dunkin Donuts: Oatmeal Raisin cookie, biscuit, most of the flatbread sandwichs and wraps are fine. Tragically, the actual donuts all contain several forms of soy. You can search their site by allergen.
- TCBY: all items are soy free as far as I can tell.
Hopefully this list has given you a starting place for easy, lazy food options if you or a family member has a soy allergy. I'm not advocating eating only processed foods, but as I said its nice to have a fall back plan for busy nights or when you're traveling. Remember, Grandma's delicious homecooked meals might easily contain soy without her even knowing it!
Other sources of information regarding soy sensitivity or allergy:
http://www.fooddomain.msu.edu/pdfs/Ethnic%20Food%20Allergens%20Flyer.pdf
http://www.choa.org/menus/documents/Wellness/teachingsheets/soyfreediet.pdf
http://ynsppcsoyfreeedition.blogspot.com/p/soy-free-foods.html
http://www.fda.gov/food/resourcesforyou/consumers/ucm079311.htm
http://www.organicconsumers.org/Organic/soyaisbad.cfm
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