No gluten, no soy?

[HelenaFitbit]

For medical purposes I have to make a drastic diet change, and the 2 biggest changes are the removal of soy and all soy-based products; plus no wheat nor any items with gluten in it. 

Besides those 2 restrictions, I cannot eat eggs, dairy, citrics, red meat and soda. 

Honestly I'm a bit lost. I love to cook but I am a carbs lover and soy is in everything! 

Do you have any tips to meal prep or any recipes you'd like to share? 

[cotonpal]

I eat a grain free (including gluten of course), soy free, dairy free, egg free, beef free and chicken free diet. I have been eating this way for over 3 years now. It keeps me from being sick and stuck in the house. I eat all single ingredient foods, meats and fish plus veggies. Because I like to keep my carb count low I don't eat fruit. The meats and fish I cook simply, broilded or sauteed in coconut oil. The vegetables I either make into a salad with homemade olive oil and vinegar dressing or stir fried in coconut oil. I eat small quantities of nuts. I occasionally use coconut milk in my coffee although I usually drink it black. It's a pretty simple diet but it keeps me trim and healthy.

[Raviv]

Is that a long term diet change, or just for a specific purpose?  It's an interesting combination of food restrictions, and you're a better woman than me if you could do it for more than a month or two.

So it looks like you can still have rice, fowl (chicken, turkey), vegetables, berries, nuts... probably some more things I'm missing.

One easy thing would be to just substitute ground turkey for ground beef in a recipe.  So if you're making a burger, ditch the bun, make it with ground turkey and eat it with a fork or wrapped in a lettuce leaf.

Spirilized zucchini is a big thing now, and while it doesn't translate right if you're expecting gluten pasta, it does taste good in its own right.  You can also shred it with a cheese grater and make some pretty good stuff.  Sliced really thin, it supposedly makes for a good lasagna, though I haven't made it myself.  Double check about tomato sauce if the citrus restriction is due to the acid.  Tomato is pretty acidic too.

Can you still eat butter?  Many times it's not included in dairy restrictions because it doesn't have any of the sugars in it, especially lactose.  If you can have that, then I have a really good recipe that's super easy...

Using either foil or parchment, tear off a piece large enough to enclose a piece of fish and whatever else you want inside.  Place a piece of fish on the parchment/foil, then layer on top chopped vegetables.  I gnerally use small asparagus spears and chopped mushrooms, but you could use almost anything.  Then put a pat of butter on top of the vegetables, and then about a teaspoon of minced garlic on top of the butter.  Do this for however many people you're feeding so they each have their own packet.  Wrap each one up tight in the parchment/foil and place them in a casserole dish just in case the butter somehow leaks out.  Put the dish in a 350F oven for about 30 minutes and that's it.  You just unwrap each serving and you're done.

[MRose]

That is a drastic change, especially if it's sudden! But you've totally got this, and you'll feel 100x better after your body gets used to it! The first month is hard since you are getting used to the planning and your body is going through the "detox," but it's worth it!!

As @Raviv said, there is still a ton you can eat! And coconut oil/ghee will come in handy (double check on the ghee, since it is dairy but as Raviv said, it's often excluded since you strain the lactose/sugar component).

Spaghetti squash and zoodles are a great way to ease into the new grain-free mentality, because sometimes you just need that comfort food. But, what catches a lot of people is the mentality. A paleo pizza never seems to taste the same as the McPizzaShack delivery, so it's often best not to tempt your brain with it (at least it was for me, I'm a weakling!).

Because of your no-wheat, no-egg, no-dairy requirements, I'm assuming breakfast is hard? What I generally do is make chicken sausage patties [ground chicken, sage (about 1.5 tsp/lb), and a dash of regular and cayenne peppers, pan fry with no oil or a very small amount of coconut oil] and mixed fruit. Another thing I add in sometimes is hash: Dice ham steak (make sure it doesn't have soy! A lot of it does!) and asparagus, various summe squashes, onion, and mushrooms. Sautee ham (it won't need extra oil) until cooked, add in veggies, and cook until tender crisp. It saved about a week in the fridge.

One of my go-to dinners is chicken and broccoli with cauli-rice (or regular rice if you can have it). Use coconut aminos (and fish sauce, if you like it)! The no-soy, no-wheat quick-Chinese-food meal for the busy weeknights.

Changing your diet so drastically always seems to require a lot of prep, but you'll get used to it and it will go a lot faster after the first couple of weeks. I'm also on a no-wheat/gluten, no-dairy, no-soy diet, and I have found a lot of recipes on beyonddiet.com, Om Nom Paleo, and in looking through Whole30 blogs. I have a spreadsheet with months of previous meal plans, so if you want me to send it to you for some ideas (because you can only have baked chicken and an apple for lunch so many times), send me a message! Best of luck with this, you'll love it!!!

[MRose]

Also, if you just have to eat out (because sometimes we like to leave the house...) Chipotle has food that you should be able to eat. Most of their stuff is done in soybean oil, but the pork carnitas are safe. So if you do the burrito bowl with lots of lettuce and the carnitas, you should be good. Reference.

[HelenaFitbit]

Thank you so much for your answers!

@cotonpal I will certainly look for coconut oil, thanks! 

@Raviv @MRose It's a diet to reduce endometriosis' pain and bloating. Apparently wheat has phytic acid that makes it worse and soy has phytoestrogens that interfere with my hormone treatment. At this time, I'm not sure if it's long term, but so far my doctor told me to stick to it.  

@Raviv I found out I can eat egg whites, rice, quinoa, hummus, veggies, beans, fruits, poultry, fish and corn tortillas are now my bff.  I have not checked on butter, but I've been using PAM/olive oil and I'll look for coconut oil. 

@MRose Thank you for the breakfast tips! While I get the hang of things, I've prepaid a company that sends me my lunch with my specific food requirements plus snacks. 

When going out, I also found out that besides Chipotle, Adobo sells lettuce bowls; Campero has grilled chicken with rice and Carls Jr has a low carb turkey burger that may do the trick 

[Raviv]

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@helenarriaza wrote:

. . . and Carls Jr has a low carb turkey burger that may do the trick 

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Ooh, I may have to try that for lunch tomorrow!  They're one of four fast food places within walking distance of my work.

[MRose]

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@helenarriaza wrote:

@Raviv @MRose It's a diet to reduce endometriosis' pain and bloating. Apparently wheat has phytic acid that makes it worse and soy has phytoestrogens that interfere with my hormone treatment. At this time, I'm not sure if it's long term, but so far my doctor told me to stick to it.  

@Raviv I found out I can eat egg whites, rice, quinoa, hummus, veggies, beans, fruits, poultry, fish and corn tortillas are now my bff.  I have not checked on butter, but I've been using PAM/olive oil and I'll look for coconut oil. 

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Ah, endo. Eek. I've had to have 3 surgeries trying to get that under control (but it makes me feel like a Jedi telling people I had laser surgery, so it's okay ) So... coming from a person who changed her diet and was able to get off of 13+ meds, DO IT LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW!!!!! It takes 1-2 months for you to feel the full effect of your diet change, but it will come!! Keep the psuedo-grains (quinoa, chia, corn, etc) to a minimum if you can, but once you delete wheat you'll never go back! Treat this like it's long term, because it should be. Food is a drug, make it work for you!!! I know you know a lot of this already, I'm just reiterating 🙂 It makes me excited when others are on their way to feeling better! 

One more thing... did you check the ingredients on the PAM to make sure there is no soy in it? In that (and a lot of condiments, like mayo) they still include mostly soybean or vegetable/canola oil (something I didn't realize at first). Also... check any meds/supplements you take, especially gelcaps. Most of them are made with soybean oil. Not saying to throw out your Vitamin D like it's yesterday's banana peel or anything, just something to note when you're buying new ones. I often order them online or have to go to a Whole Foods-type store to find them.

[HelenaFitbit]

oh my oh my! @MRose I just sent you a PM 

[Raviv]

Also keep in mind that, depending on where you are, you might find that "vegetable oil" can be 100% soybean oil.  So check the ingredients even in something as simple as cooking oil.  In my part of the world, they're almost always soybean oil, but in other places it's unusual.

Olive oil is usually a better choice anyway, but some of them are cut with soybean oil too because it's cheaper.