Saturday, August 13, 2011

Choosing to eliminate certain foods.....

As promised, here is the follow up post to the one about food additives. 

I have decided, for various reasons that I'll get to, to severely reduce the amount of soy that I consume.  I would like to eliminate it all together, but I'm not sure I'm ready for that commitment yet.  How did I come to this decision?  Read on!


My WW leader has mentioned a few times that those that have had cancer (whether in remission or not) should not be eating soy, because it can cause it to come out of remission, and encourage it to grow.  It got me thinking.....that if soy was so bad for those that were diagnosed with cancer, why should "the rest of us" be eating it.  I did some research online about soy and the pros and cons of eating it.  I came to the conclusion that there really wasn't anything good about it.  In my research I learned that the different compounds in soy mimic hormones, specifically estrogen.  I took it all in, and didn't really give it much more thought at the time.
 
One day, a few weeks ago, I was upset having heard from two or three recruiters that I did not get jobs I had interviewed for.  I was alone in the car and had a mini-meltdown...I couldn't stop crying and the only thing that made me feel any better was screaming at the top of my lungs over and over.  Among my rantings while crying, I kept repeating "What's wrong with me....I never used to be like this."  I started thinking and trying to figure out what had changed semi-recently (the last 6 months or so).  Yes, the job thing is stressful, but it seemed to be something more than that (I have been unemployed for about 2.5yrs, and it was fairly recent that this was happening).  I realized, after thinking for a bit, the feelings that I was having lately were irritability, general moodiness, almost no patience, frustration that came on all of a sudden with little prompting, etc......pretty much the symptoms of PMS.  Except it was all the time, not just before my period (which is the only time it used to happen). 
 
I remembered what I had read about soy, and when I got home started looking at the ingredients on the foods I eat, especially those I eat on a daily (or almost-daily) basis.  I found that the oatmeal I have been eating a packet of every single day (some days two packets) for close to 4 months had soy protein as it's main source of protein!  I was buying the name brand (Quaker Weight Control Oatmeal) but had switched to the store brand because it was cheaper.  I found that just about every canned tuna has soy in it (I was eating almost a can a day for the last week or so), and most baked goods contain soy.  
 
I realized that immediately throwing away everything that had soy in it was going to create a HUGE bill at the grocery store, so I decided to eliminate soy from the things I ate every day, like the oatmeal and tuna.  Those that I only eat occasionally (bread, bagels, cake) I decided to not be too concerned about for now.  At some point I will, but it's less important to me right now. 
 
The light mayo that I was using to make my tuna salad has soybean oil as the first ingredient.  I looked for mayo without it, but only found full fat mayo and was not willing to count the points for full fat mayo.  I found it after I had returned from the store (I had gone searching for soy-free versions of stuff I ate daily) and was not going back.  So I decided to try using sour cream instead of mayo (the points are a whole lot less than mayo).  It tasted just as good as with mayo (at least to me).  So, I am now using sour cream in sandwiches (which I don't eat very often) and for making chicken and ham salad.  
 
The other day, I made an egg salad with the sour cream instead of mayo.  It was pretty bland.  I actually put salt and pepper in it (I almost never put salt on food, I just don't like it).  So, I started looking online for mayo recipes, etc...  Well, one link led to another to another, and I ended up finding a recipe for a lo-fat mayo made from greek yogurt.  I made it this afternoon and it was super-simple!  A 6oz container of Chobani plain greek yogurt, a tablespoon of olive oil and a teaspoon of dijon mustard.  The recipe really didn't have any directions, so I mixed the mustard and yogurt together first, then whisked the mixture while I slowly added the oil.  In reading how to make real mayo, it has to be done very slowly - I didn't know if it mattered with the yogurt but did it anyway.  It looked like a thin mayo.  The recipe said it will thicken in 24 hours, so I put it in the fridge and am currently waiting.  We'll see what tomorrow evening brings!
 
The peanut butter I eat everyday also had soybean oil as it's main ingredient (besides peanuts).  I looked at the ones I had at home, and the Peter Pan that I have does not have soybean oil in it.  I promptly threw away the other 3 opened containers of three different peanut butters (I LOVE peanut butter and love variety!).  When I went to the store, I looked and found that Skippy Natural w/Honey does not have soybean oil in it's ingredient list.  I love peanut butter with honey mixed in, and this is the only honey one that does not have soybean oil in it.
 
There are a ton of foods that have soy in them though.  The bread that I love has it, as does the ice cream I love.  Since I don't eat these every day (a loaf of bread lasts me a month or more), I have decided to forgo giving them up right now.  When it's time to replace them, I will look for soy-free versions of them though.
We'll see how my theory holds up next time I'm faced with a situation in which my emotions could take over, but I feel better (at least in my head) not eating as much soy as I was.  I have always been more emotional than other people, but lately it has been an out-of-control feeling, which I don't like at all.

~Chelle

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