Sneaky Soy: In My Own Home!!!!!

Here is a shocking list of some items that I never would have thought contained soy...and some obvious ones too (e.g. soy sauce and edamame). Who would have thought they needed to put soy in things like protein powder or barbeque sauce! I felt bloated all of the time and just thought it was normal for me to feel that way after I ate too much. I was consuming loads of soy every day and had no idea! It wasn't until I REALLY cleaned up my diet, cooked ALL my own meals, and stopped eating junk like processed foods, that realized I was lactose intolerant. In an effort to control my lactose intolerance, I tried to substitute soy milk for dairy and my body reacted poorly (see soy belly). I realized I was allergic to soy and went to the doctor for an allergy test. My suspicions were confirmed and she told me I was indeed allergic to soy. I encourage everyone to get tested for allergies, you may be allergic to something you consume every day and not even know it! It will change your life! :)

Home List:

• Canned tuna fish (all varierties)
• Some vitamins (especially fish oils or any oil containing vitamin)
• Protein Powders (most varieties unless specifically listed NO soy)
• Crystal light
• Barbeque sauce
• Spray butter 
• Cooking Spray (all varieties: Canola, Olive Oil, Butter, ect.)
•  Soy Sauce
• Edemame
• Tofu
• Lipton Vegetable Soup Mix
• Reeses Cup
• Triscuits
• Lotions, shampoos, conditioners

Meal Prep for Weight Loss Success!

Exsoycise is now Awakened Nutrition & Training, a blog for health seekers, food lovers and dream body builders!

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Each week, I take a day and cook about 4 days worth of meals, which takes about an hour to an hour and a half of my time. I weigh my food and pre-package it in easy togo containers. I love doing my meal prep because of the time I save each day and I don't ever have to think or stress over what I am eating that day, I just grab it and go! I will usually saute a batch of chicken breast or extra lean ground turkey, veggies and cook either brown rice or brown rice pasta. I really love sauteing fresh vegetables, but to save time I will buy a variety of frozen vegetables. The frozen veggies are great because they never go bad in the freezer, they save me money each week, and are easy to prepare.Below I have listed an example of my current daily meal plan. If I feel like I am still hungry, I will have an apple during the day or even throw in a 6th meal with grilled chicken and veggies.

meal prep

Sign up here to receive my FREE 7 day meal plan (soy, dairy & gluten-free!) with guide, tips and shopping list that is similar to what I used when I first started out to help me to loose weight and build muscle while doing cardio and weight training 6 days per week. Click here to sign up for my printable 7 day meal plan.

Meal 1: 1/2 cup egg white, 1 whole egg scrambled with sauteed mushrooms  1 cup old fashioned oatmeal  Green tea with stevia or coffee with almond milk and stevia

Meal 2: Pre Workout Protein Shake:  1 scoop protein powder almond milk 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa  instant coffee stevia

Meal 3: Post Workout Pumpkin Protein Pancake

Meal 4: 4oz chicken breast 1/2 cup brown rice pasta sauteed spinach 

Meal 5: Protein Shake:   1 scoop protein powder 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa stevia 1 tbsp flax meal

4 oz. chicken, sweet potatoes, and chickpeas yummy!

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Cranberry Walnut Protein Pancake

Breakfast has to be my favorite meal of the day...besides my post workout meal of course. Almost every morning I eat a half cup of oatmeal mixed with scrambled eggs and veggies, sounds weird but it is delicious!! But this morning I woke up in a pancake mood, but I knew I still needed something hearty like oatmeal to keep me feeling full. So instead of making my normal pumpkin pancake that I love so much, I made it with oatmeal, walnuts, and cranberries. My dish turned out great and it definitely gave me that fullness I needed. This recipe is great because you can be creative and add just about anything to it to create a different pancake each time. Recipe is below, leave me a comment if you try them and tell me how they turned out! Bon Appétit!

Cranberry Walnut Protein Pancake - 1 serving:

• 1 scoop of protein powder - I use Fit 'n Healthy's 100% Egg Protein but whey is fine if you can tolerate it
• 1/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 jumbo egg white or 2 large
• 1 tbsp dried cranberry
• 1 tbsp chopped walnut
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon 
• 1 packet of Truvia
• dash of pumpkin spice
• dash of baking powder  

Nutritional info:
Fat: 6.5
Calories: 276
Carb: 27.5
Protein: 29.8
*The nutritional breakdown is an estimate based on the specific ingredients that I use in my recipes. The breakdown for your recipe may vary slightly depending on the ingredients that are used.
 

Cook the oats in water in the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes until done. I have made this recipe without cooking the oatmeal, but I prefer it cooked for a more fluffy pancake. Once they are cooked, mix all the ingredients in a small bowl together. Turn burner on medium heat, preheat pan and mist with olive oil. Cook the pancake for a couple minutes on each side. Be sure not to cook it for too long because you want  it to stay nice and fluffy, if cooked too long, it will get tough. Once my pancake is cooked, I drizzle a small amount of agave nectar over the top and enjoy!

Post Workout Pumpkin Protein Pancake Recipe

My favorite post workout meal is the delicious chocolate and PB2 peanut putter protein pancake. I make one just about every day before I go to the gym. I love feeling like I am eating something naughty, rather than just drinking a protein powder shake after my workouts. They are also great for on the go, as I usually am, because you can just stick them in a bag and eat them while you are out and about. I have made several different variations of the pancake using sweet potato, pumpkin puree, unsweetened applesauce and have even tried baby food. I love getting creative with them, so on occasion I will add delicious blueberries, nuts and other fun fruits to the batter.

The triple threat!!!!

Chocolate Pumpkin Protein Pancake - 1 serving:

• 1 scoop chocolate or vanilla protein powder - works best with Whey or Egg Protein - be sure to check the allergy info on the label when choosing your protein powder
• 2 tbsp egg white
• 1 tbsp ground flax seed
• 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree (not the pumpkin pie mix)
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• Cinnamon to taste - I used about a 1/2 tsp
• Stevia to taste 
• Dash of baking powder - about 1/8 tsp
• A splash of water if the batter is too dry

Optional topping:

• PB2 powdered peanut butter or 1 Tbsp organic peanut butter

Nutritional info for pancake:

• Fat: 3
• Calories: 207
• Carb: 24
• Protein: 30.5

*The nutritional breakdown is an estimate based on the specific ingredients that I use in my recipes. The breakdown for your recipe may vary slightly depending on the ingredients that are used.

Nutrition info for PB2:

• Fat: 1.5
• Calories: 45
• Carb: 5
• Protein: 5

Mix all the ingredients together except for the PB2. Set your stove to medium to medium-low heat, preheat frying pan. Heat will vary depending on the type of stove you are working with. I have a gas stove, so my stove top gets very hot and cooks my food very quick. Once the pan is hot, spray it lightly with cooking spray, I use my Misto olive oil sprayer to coat the pan. Pour the batter into the pan, it will either make one large pancake or you can choose to break them up into two or three cakes. In the picture above I made three small pancakes. Cook pancakes for a couple minutes on both sides until brown, flipping once.

After the pancakes are done, set them aside to cool slightly. Mix the PB2 peanut butter to your desired consistency. I like to switch it up, sometimes I will add extra water to make the peanut butter more fluffy and sometimes I make it very thick like the normal peanut butter consistency. I then layer each pancake with the peanut butter. I don't usually add anything extra besides the peanut butter, but it is great with sugar free pancake syrup or agave nectar. If I make one large pancake, I will slice it down the middle and then spread the peanut butter in the middle.

One large pancake split with PB2 filling

Pancake topped with agave, PB2 and blueberries

My Favorite Things: Misto Olive Oil Sprayer

Since the revealing of my soy allergy, I have not been able to use any sort of aerosol oil spray as they all contain the evil soy. I tossed out all of my cooking sprays and start cooking everything with extra virgin olive oil. As we all may know, EVOO is a good fat when used in moderation, but since I was using it in such large quantities, it has caused me to take in a lot of extra unnecessary calories. This all changed as of a few weeks ago while I was shopping at TJmaxx. I discovered a magical little product called the Misto Olive Oil Sprayer!

When I bought my Misto, I was under the impression it would have some sort of wimpy spray pump that would get clogged after a few months, but to my surprise it was just the opposite! I was blown away when I realized that it acts as an aerosol sprayer and after a few pumps of the lid, it sprays just the same as the store bought soy containing aerosol sprays. The aerosol type spray allows you to coat the whole pan evenly that way you don't burn your food or use unnecessary amounts oil. The great thing about this sprayer is that you can use any oil and even add the balsamic vinegar to it to create a vinaigrette spray. It comes in a cute aluminum brushed canister, so you can have it sitting out without it being an eyesore. I found my Misto at TJmaxx for $7.99, but I also found it on Amazon for $9.70.

I can already tell I am going to get a lot of uses out of this little guy! Leave me a comment below telling me what's your favorite kitchen tool!

xoxo-Amber

Sneaky Soy: The Hawaii List

For the last week I have been on vacation in beautiful Kauai and Oahu, Hawaii. What an amazing place! I felt fabulous the first half of the trip since we did almost all of our own cooking at the house we stayed at in Kauai. I was able to control everything I consumed and avoid soy containing products. I even cooked up a delicious batch of protein granola bars before I left on the trip and ate them between meals (recipe to come later). I was doing good until the second half of our trip in Oahu where we dined out almost every meal. I wasn't able to monitor the soy I was consuming, as it is hidden in almost everything and I chose to ignore my lactose intolerance and go crazy on dairy products. All of the food I ate was amazing, but afterwards I found myself feeling ill every night with a very severe case of soy belly. I knew I was going to suffer for eating all of those yummy foods, but I had to indulge a little on my Hawaii vacation!

Sister and I after a morning run in Kauai

Here is a generic list of some of the products I found while on my trip that contained the sneaky soy:

Hawaii List:

• Muffin mix:  blueberry and banana nut
• Pretzels
• Triscuits by Nabisco
• Tortilla chips
• Whole wheat bread
• Bagels
• Macadamia nut chocolate chip cookies
• Caesar salad dressing by Newmans
• Lunchables pizza kits by Oscar Mayer
• Clif Energy Bars

Attack of the "Soy Belly"

The story of the "soy belly".....

I discovered my allergy to soy and my lactose intolerance right around the same time. I was going through a phase where I was drinking a lot of coffee. I had finally developed a taste for coffee after only 27 years and became a little obsessed with it. So in an effort to cut back on calories, I decided to stop having milk in my coffee and only used unsweetened cocoa and artificial sweetener. I went without milk and all other dairy products such as cheese and Greek yogurt for about a week. I felt great! One day, I decided I would treat myself and I added the milk back into my coffee. I immediately felt the effects of the milk. My stomach cramped up, I became very bloated and uncomfortable. There was no doubt that I was lactose intolerant. This was really a bummer because I love my Greek yogurt snack because it not only tastes great with mixed with berries, but it also has tons of protein! Giving up cheese wasn't as bad because I had already cut back quite a bit.

I decided I wouldn't let my lactose intolerance get me down and chose soy, what I thought was a wonderful milk alternative. I loved soy milk and ordered it like crazy in my coffee at Starbucks. It tasted so delicious and from what I read it was a "healthy" substitute for milk.  I was fine at first, but after a little while I ballooned up, I was even more bloated then when I consumed lactose.I looked like I was 4-5 months pregnant! I went to my doctor and had my blood drawn for an allergy test. It was confirmed to me that I indeed had a soy allergy.

Soy allergies are tricky because you have to always be aware of EVERYTHING you consume or else be prepared to suffer the consequences. Food companies love to sneak in soy to their products because it not only adds extra flavoring, protein and is a binding agent, it is also a very inexpensive ingredient. One obvious soy product is soy sauce, but who would ever think that products such as Worcestershire sauce, bread, hummus, or smoke flavoring would also contain soy. I definitely didn't think these were off limits, so without checking ahead of time, I consumed a delicious steak dinner that was marinated in Worcestershire. Hours later I blew up like a balloon! All my hard work at the gym vanished and I developed what I call the "Soy belly".

Before:

1:00 a.m. after eating a meal earlier in the day that contained soy

After:

8:00 a.m. the next day