I love to cook, I love to bake, and I'll try pretty much anything once. I am, however, allergic to soybeans. Soybean oil is in a lot of commercial products from bread to salad dressing, commercial cake mixes, cookie mixes... even mayonnaise (soybean oil is in 95% of mayo; only a very few do NOT have it. Nalley's is one of the few that doesn't).
Which is why instead of BUYING a cake mix, I prefer to make my cakes completely from scratch. With recipes like Paula Deen's Basic 1-2-3-4 Cake or this easy Homemade Yellow Cake Mix, both from the Food Network website, it's easy to do so. I especially like the second one for its "feels like a cake mix" ease of use. There's also the Trisha Yearwood recipe, Chocolate Cake in a Mug and Basic Mug Cakes, for when you want a small portion of cake but don't want to expend a lot of effort (or don't want to negate your gym workout, although this isn't something I ever worry about).
One of my foodie favorite sites is Fooducate -- it has a lot of information about the foods we eat, including what ingredients they have in them. When you have an ER level allergy to soybean oil like my Dad does and I'm headed towards, it's critical to know what's in what you're eating. Fooducate also has an app available on both the Google Play store and the Apple app store.
One store I definitely like is Trader Joe's. Their products are all delish (poutine, anyone?) and MOST of them don't have soy in any form. Those that do have it clearly labeled as such, like the Veggie Pizza Burger which has soy, just not a lot of it. The Tikka Masala Veggie burger is also amazing, best chopped into slices and served with their garlic naan bread. Their Lobster Ravioli and Portobella Mushroom Ravioli are also amazing, paired with either their Garlic Alfredo sauce (which also doesn't have soybean oil; many commercial sauces, including Ragu, DO. Safeway/Vons and their store brand doesn't) or the plain Alfredo sauce. I like to add minced dehydrated garlic (I got an awesome one from Litehouse) and parsley to it to enhance flavors. During the holiday season (in between Thanksgiving and Christmas and sometimes into the new year), they also have a great truffle salt that's amazeballs on popcorn, mashed potatoes, steamed veggies... and it's also stellar on Trader Joe's macaroni and cheese.
In short, we should NEVER restrict our diets, even if we're trying to lose or maintain weight (for the next several months I'm immune from that, for what it's worth). For when we cut things out of our diets, if we allow a "cheat day", we invariably tend to overindulge. Then any progress we've made is lost.
Basically, EVERYTHING IN MODERATION is my mantra. Some weeks I crave fruitier froyo, some weeks it's all about the chocolate and caramel. Some weeks I want my broccoli smothered in thick cheese sauce, others I want it steamed without anything else.
It's all about finding a foodie balance.
Which is why instead of BUYING a cake mix, I prefer to make my cakes completely from scratch. With recipes like Paula Deen's Basic 1-2-3-4 Cake or this easy Homemade Yellow Cake Mix, both from the Food Network website, it's easy to do so. I especially like the second one for its "feels like a cake mix" ease of use. There's also the Trisha Yearwood recipe, Chocolate Cake in a Mug and Basic Mug Cakes, for when you want a small portion of cake but don't want to expend a lot of effort (or don't want to negate your gym workout, although this isn't something I ever worry about).
One of my foodie favorite sites is Fooducate -- it has a lot of information about the foods we eat, including what ingredients they have in them. When you have an ER level allergy to soybean oil like my Dad does and I'm headed towards, it's critical to know what's in what you're eating. Fooducate also has an app available on both the Google Play store and the Apple app store.
One store I definitely like is Trader Joe's. Their products are all delish (poutine, anyone?) and MOST of them don't have soy in any form. Those that do have it clearly labeled as such, like the Veggie Pizza Burger which has soy, just not a lot of it. The Tikka Masala Veggie burger is also amazing, best chopped into slices and served with their garlic naan bread. Their Lobster Ravioli and Portobella Mushroom Ravioli are also amazing, paired with either their Garlic Alfredo sauce (which also doesn't have soybean oil; many commercial sauces, including Ragu, DO. Safeway/Vons and their store brand doesn't) or the plain Alfredo sauce. I like to add minced dehydrated garlic (I got an awesome one from Litehouse) and parsley to it to enhance flavors. During the holiday season (in between Thanksgiving and Christmas and sometimes into the new year), they also have a great truffle salt that's amazeballs on popcorn, mashed potatoes, steamed veggies... and it's also stellar on Trader Joe's macaroni and cheese.
In short, we should NEVER restrict our diets, even if we're trying to lose or maintain weight (for the next several months I'm immune from that, for what it's worth). For when we cut things out of our diets, if we allow a "cheat day", we invariably tend to overindulge. Then any progress we've made is lost.
Basically, EVERYTHING IN MODERATION is my mantra. Some weeks I crave fruitier froyo, some weeks it's all about the chocolate and caramel. Some weeks I want my broccoli smothered in thick cheese sauce, others I want it steamed without anything else.
It's all about finding a foodie balance.
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