Alternatives for Soy due to Allergy?

[surlynymph]

Hello everyone

Comments

[balamuthia]

My husband had acne and moderate eczema until he spent a week at a retreat eating only vegan food, and his face cleared right up. For him, it was meat- but it's funny how so many things affect our skin!

I found this as a random suggestion on Yahoo answers, I haven't tried it personally but it sounds like it would work reasonably well:

"I am allergic to soy, so I make a "mock" soy sauce with unsulphured molasses and sea salt-just mix to taste, and add a little black pepper. It helps if you heat the molasses prior to mixing to help dissolve the salt. Add just a few drops of water to make a better consistency. Make in small batches and store in a glass container (we use an old, sanitized soy sauce bottle) Good luck

[surlynymph]

Oh interesting! I'll try this even though it doesn't sound horribly appetizing at first :-P

[nickys]

Well, Geo Watkins mushroom ketchup is a good alternative to soy sauce.

[surlynymph]

Oh, sounds pretty good! Thank you.

[veganinfo]

Congratulations on your pregnancy :). I'm glad you posted this question because I haven't found many soy alternatives either and am hoping to learn more about them. My skin has been looking better than ever before since I started eating fewer processed foods and following a mostly raw diet though. Perhaps this was due to a soy allergy that I didn't even know about.

[surlynymph]

You know, I notice when I eat more raw my skin does look better. I think soy is a big issue because if I eat tofu, I have a big cyst the next day however whenever I start snacking on more raw vegetables, it only has positive effects as well.

[surlynymph]

Oh, and thank you!

[quietgrrl]

I've found that in stir fries a little balsalmic vinegar and salt goes a long ways towards soy sauce. I've tried the molasses + bl vinegar + salt before and thought it was too sweet. It'll start tasting good once you've forgotten what soy sauce tastes like.

I'm allergic to soy, wheat, gluten, and nuts. After I found this out I gave up on being vegan. I have not found a margarine that does not contain soy. You could also try food_allergies.

[surlynymph]

When you use balsamic vinegar, are you using the really good stuff, or can you use the run of the mill imitation that is regularly sold?

[quietgrrl]

I just use generic Safeway brand so I can only assume that's run of the mill cheap-o.

[surlynymph]

Ok, great! Thank you. That's pretty much what I have at home too :-P

[refined_mirages]

For soy-free soy sauce: I've used dried plums [aka prunes] soaked in hot water for an hour, squished thoroughly then strained. The remaining plum water is used. Sometimes I add a little balsamic vinegar or rice wine vinegar for a tang.

As for other non-dairy dairy-like products they are very hard to come by especially in margarine and cream cheese forms. Better off using olive oil or nut butters. Olive Oil with herbs and garlic in it is very tasty on pretty much everything savory.

For baking, palm oil shortening is your friend.

And I'm allergic to soy - it causes eczema on my legs and triggers chronic pain.

[surlynymph]

Oooh, I don't know why I didn't think of herbed olive oil! Also, palm oil shortening -- thanks for this! Does it work just as well as regular shortening for things like buttercreams?

[refined_mirages]

Soy is such a big part of the typical vegan diet that other alternatives don't normally register. Totally understandable.

Palm oil shortening works the same as soy-based for everything. I actually prefer it in buttercreams and like over the soy-based.

[surlynymph]

Oh, and prunes?? Woah. I would have never even imagined that.