Soy in Kettle Korn, Street Vendor Popcorn

     It was time for another family day so we packed the family into the car and headed East. This weekend is the first in a while that we haven't had rain, perfect for a trip to a pick-your-own farm.

     Our first stop was Apple Annie's Orchard for 30 pounds of apples. We were greeted in the lot by man shaking caramel corn samples into everyone's hands from a container. I popped some into my mouth thinking only of how much I love caramel corn, and without asking what was in the caramel coating. I spit it out, gave the rest to my daughter, and moved on. I had a solid breakfast before we left and I had some snack bars in my bag. I wasn't worried about being hungry. Then we had lunch!

     The three boys had hot dog meals, my husband and my daughter had the apple-smoked hamburgers. That's all that was on the menu. I walked over to the handmade ice cream tent and asked if they had vanilla. No, they only had vanilla with apple pie chunks mixed in! They told me I could get vanilla inside the gift shop, but only on top of pie. In the gift shop they also sold fudge, a soy lecithin nightmare. Apple cider donughts were definitely not an option (gluten) and my husband had already asked the woman at the kettle korn stand about soy. All of the foods on the premises had obvious soy or gluten ingredients.

  I was shocked, really shocked, that kettle korn is a soy offender. They cooked their popcorn in soybean oil! I never considered the oil. Now I'm wondering what they use at the movie theater. I was puzzled recently when I had some of my son's plain popcorn at the theater, and I was still affected. It must have been the cooking oil. Always ask specifically if a prepared food has any ingredients you should avoid, never assume that you already know, or that vendors prepare their foods in the same manner.

     I didn't go without food completely during our outing. After lunch we went to Apple Annie's vegetable farm and I enjoyed some roasted sweet corn on the cob while we picked peppers, tomatoes and squash. I had a Trio bar in the car and we were home by 2:45. I had some protein when we got home and later had a delicious dinner of trout, asparagus and rice. In the end, it's OK if I have to pass on some treats.

     Many thanks to my husband who took it upon himself to ask about ingredients! Thanks to him I'm not feeling like a train wreck right now and tomorrow isn't ruined before it even starts.

Soy-Free Tuna Sandwich

I like Tuna. It's an easy protein mix-in with the added benefit of omegas. Yes, we have to consider mercury.  I eat Tuna once a month, on average. Even though I talk about it a lot, I'm not eating an alarming amount of tuna.

Believe it or not, most of the cans of tuna on the shelves contain soy. It seems silly. Why can't they just jam some fish into a can and sell it to me? Why muck it up with things they think will make it "better." It's like sprinkling sugar on strawberries, there's just no need for that. The reason canned tuna tastes so different than tuna steaks is because the tuna in cans has added broth (with soy) and/or other flavorings. I've kept my eyes peeled and have now found two varieties that do not have soy: Kirkland solid white albacore, and Starkist Selects. The Kirkland variety is a much better buy; the cans are 2.5 ounces larger and they cost much less than Starkist Selects.

Now we know which tuna is safe to eat. Next we have to do something with it. The most obvious is a sandwich. SURPRISE! Mayonnaise is made from soybean oil.  We've hit a snag again. Here's a tip:  A friend of mine mixes her tuna with sour cream instead of mayo. I've got to say, it works. When I first heard of it I laughed, because the topic of conversation at the time was how to make healthy substitutions. Sour cream does not fall under the "healthy" category in my book. However, if it means I can have a tuna sandwich, it gets a pass.

What else goes with tuna?

• Tuna on a green salad
• Tuna mixed into mashed potatoes (trust me)
• Tuna mixed with cooked and cooled ramen noodles, prepare as for soup but drained (or gluten free pasta), sour cream (instead of mayo), and a small can of corn. 
• Tuna on rice cakes
• Tuna with rice in seaweed wraps

Lifesaver

Organic Garden of Life Raw Protein Powder 

One of the major problems when dealing with food allergies is how to balance your nutrition to maintain optimal health. Addressing my allergies cured my stomach pains and my lethargy, or so I thought.  I haven't been shy about my state of denial. Since I don't have anaphylactic allergies, I wasn't really avoiding all of my forbidden foods as much as I should. Well, I avoided gluten because the pain is not worth a slip up. Finally, I'm proud to say that I've had it with the stomach trouble associated with eating soy and I am being more diligent about avoiding it. Unfortunately, this means that I'm hardly eating anything at all, and therefore I don't have any energy, I cannot exercise, and I have ironically not lost any weight. I would like to lose a little weight.  Really, how long can you call it baby fat? Not for four years!

My husband found a protein powder for me that is soy, gluten and dairy free, and it's vegan. It's not just protein either! It also boasts "live probiotics and enzymes" and a slew of vitamins. At only 80 calories per serving, each serving provides 17 grams of protein. I mixed mine with plain almond milk today, and it was not bad. I mean that in the literal sense, it did not taste bad. It seems to me that it doesn't really have its own flavor, so you have to give it some flavor in the mixing process. I added 1/2 banana and then it was delicious. I'm going to try it with vanilla flavored almond milk to see if I can omit the banana (one of my oral allergy foods).

Today is "day one" of supplementing my diet. I hope to have more energy and feel generally healthy, and I would LOVE to balance my system so that I can drop a few pounds. Check out Raw Protein by Garden of Life.  Read the reviews, look at the ingredients. It may be something that you could add to your diet too.