There's casein in my soy cheese, am I doomed?
#187925 - 06/21/05 02:47 PM
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OK, just reread Heather's guide to foods and see that the reason we can't have dairy is the casein and whey in addition to the fat and lactose. My soy cheese that I just bought contains casein. Does this mean I should throw it out? I'm trying to eat as "well" as possible to stablize my alternating D and C. So far I never noticed dairy to be a trigger, but right now I'm eliminating all suspects. Am I doomed to not even having fake cheese now too?
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It's a case of the lesser of two evils, I'm afraid, my dear. Almost all fake cheeses contain casein and/or whey. They are dairy products, and they are considered triggers, but they are the lesser of two evils. Regular dairy is evil. Fake substitutes taste awful without the casein or whey. So, try it and do as best as you can. It may cause some gas or bloating, but it's better than real dairy. Don't throw it out. Just try it in small portions and beware. Be sure to try it after a full meal of soluble fibre as well.
--------------------
Formerly HanSolo. IBS, OCD, Bipolar, PTSD times 3.
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Thanks. I am hungry all the time these days and used to snack primarily on fruit and dairy, so without the fake cheese and crackers I don't know what else would keep me going!
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It's a treat-food for most of us. I don't buy it any more as I found it so more-ish I was eating way too much and getting gassy and crampy. 
I get extra tasty crackers that I like on their own. Or have something like houmous, tuna mayo or smoked salmon (yummy!  ) on top.
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So far I've had some each day & I'll probably continue to do so. I'm already having hummus and flatbread once a day, and tuna non/organic or wild salmon I won't eat due to the mercury level. Being pregnant I am hungry constantly and am needing to find snacks that I can tolerate. Before getting serious about the IBS diet my staples included cheese and crackers (crackers alone won't fill me up or give me enough nutrition), natural yogurt with fruit and granola, cottage cheese and salsa, bagels with cream cheese. Now I've had to revise the whole thing and I'm running out of ideas! The soy cheese is going to have to do for now- but so far I haven't reacted to it in any way that I can tell.
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Violette:
Finding snacks to eat shouldn't be difficult if you have IBS, what may be difficult, though, is finding the time to prepare those snacks. I find I can't just buy prepared food like everyone else to eat for snack. I have to make my own. However, if I invest a little time in advance preparation, I can find lots to eat for a snack. I am forced to invest this time because (in addition to having IBS) I have some blood sugar problems so I can't afford to get hungry and let my glucose level drop.
If you have time, cook some chicken breast and/or turkey breast and slice it up and keep little packages of it in the freezer for sandwiches. Perhaps someone on this board can advise whether cooked poultry needs to be heated or can be eaten cold once it has been thawed from the freezer.
I find the following items also to be good for snacks:
- mix up a couple of egg whites and add a small quantity of herbs that would go well together and that you can tolerate. Bake in oven for about 30 minutes (or until done) at 350 Fahrenheit and put it on bread for a snack later in the day. (Of course, keep the sandwich refrigerated.) I often make the egg mixture when I get up in the morning. I pop it in the oven and it's ready by the time I have finished showering. By the way, you may need to grease the baking dish a little. Use Earth Balance organic buttery spread (see below). You may also need to add a little water to the egg mixture.
- buy bread, bagels, etc. from a good Jewish bakery. Make sure the bread products are "parve" so they won't contain any milk products.
- Yehuda matzoh is a great substitute for crackers. It is made from just water and wheat flour (check the ingredients), and the flour seems to be white flour because it totally agrees with me.
-I continue to recommend Earth Balance organic buttery spread, a non-dairy (vegan) substitute for butter that contains natural ingredients that seem to be very safe and no chemicals. I have a severe case of IBS and this spread has been a godsend because it agrees with me 100 per cent!
- Bake up some of Heather's banana bread. If you want to make apple bread instead, you can substitute apple sauce for the banana and add about 1 tspn of cinnamon. If you can't tolerate sugar, then omit the sugar from the mixture. The recipe will still work. Once baked and cooled, slice the banana bread and freeze it so you can remove a slice or two at a time whenever you want some.
- If you don't have time to bake but want something a little sweet (but not too fattening), spread a little Earth Balance on bread or a bagel and put a little fruit babyfood sauce like pear sauce or apple sauce or apple/strawberry sauce on top (check ingredients to ensure the babyfood doesn't contain any additives or other junk). This is an extremely tasty treat without any added sugar!
- Invest in an insulated lunch bag/container and some freezer packs. (Places like Office Depot and Staples sell them.) Pack up your lunch bag with snacks that need refridgeration. The food will stay cool for hours. I do this whenever I am going anywhere for longer than a couple of hours or when I am travelling, including taking flights somewhere. I never go hungry because I bring tons of food in my lunch container and I find it stays cool for as long as eight hours if I pack it right with enough freezer packs.
Alas, I have to stay away from soy cheese because I cannot tolerate casein.
Belinda
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...at this stage (ie. not stable) you won't be able to tell if you tolerate the casein or not. You have to wait until you're stable to try these things and find out b/c if you're already having symptoms, how are you to tell if a food makes the symptoms continue?
If you eat chicken, you can get sliced chicken breast from the deli counter (if it's packaged, check for dairy)...and that'd be good on crackers, especially with a bit of low fat mayo. I didn't mention chicken as I don;t eat it.
Check the snack list too. There's no point being "serious" about the IBS diet if yo're going to sabotage yourself by eating triggers everyday.
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Personally I don't recommend deli counter chicken slices or any other cold cut for that matter. I find the chemicals (nitrates, etc.) in these meats are IBS triggers for me. That's why I either cook my own chicken or turkey for sandwiches or (because I live in Toronto) I buy vacuum-packed Rowe Farm turkey slices which contain naturally-raised turkey and salt and no nitrates.
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Ideas!
#188161 - 06/22/05 07:48 AM
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Linz
Reged: 09/01/03
Posts: 8242
Loc: England
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Baby food! V. topical I thought. But seriously, baby food fruit and veggie pots can be so safe and yummy...and you can put them on crackers or use them as dips, etc. 
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Not everyone has trouble with deli meat. I know I'm perfectly okay with it (and, no, I'm not deluding myself). However, some people are more certainly more sensitive than others.
Just to reiterate, if you are not stable, be CAREFUL, CAREFUL, CAREFUL!
For snacks, can you do apple sauce? I ate a lot of it when I was stabilizing.
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Thanks to all of you for the ideas. I do buy organic turkey breast and usually have this for lunch every other day. I also bake and rely on the bananna bread for breakfast. I also eat applesauce as one of many snacks as well as rice chex with soy milk and strawberries chopped up. I guess I am just frustrated because I need to snack fairly often (including the middle of the night- I'm now waking up with intense hunger pains) due to the pregnancy, and I'm sick of applesauce, banannas, and hummus. I used to rely so much on dairy, and now without it I'm having a difficult time filling those slots. I also want to make sure I'm getting all the nutrients that I need for the baby, although when I'm pooping my brains out I doubt I'm retaining much, so it's a strange balancing that I'm trying to figure out.
I haven't been "stable" since early February!!! I can barely remember what it was like to not have D or C but just go to the bathroom in the morning like a normal person and then get on with my day, so I am committed now to avoiding triggers and doing everything I can (yoga, hypnosis cds, acacia, even have an appointment with a shrink who specializes in pregnancy and anxiety) but I am a big food lover and so emotionally this is really becoming difficult for me to restrict my diet so much during a time when I am naturally hungry all the time. Anyhow, I will definitely buy the earth balance spread and try the egg whites, but I don't think I can get into baby food  . I am not working or in school (I was in school but had to take incompletes b/c my D was so bad that I couldn't go anywhere for a couple of months) so I have time to focus on taking care of myself these days. Cooking is a good way to fill the time.
I'll check out the recipe board for more ideas too- you guys are really a bunch of life savers, thanks so much
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Heather's Honey Glazed Snack Mix from EFI - you can make a big batch and it's absolutely addictive. I ate tons of it when I first stared the diet and needed a snack that wouldn't make me cry over all the stuff I couldn't eat.
Her guacamole is also great, but be sure to eat it with lots of Baked Tostitos to balance the fat. It might be just the ticket since the creaminess and relatively high fat content might compensate a little for your lack of cheese. And avocadoes have lots of good vitamins, if I remember correctly. (You can supposedly also make a good guacamole with just a ripe avocado and green Tabasco sauce - I haven't tried it, but what could be simpler? You should be able to find references to it by Searching on "green Tabasco".)
Hummus - I know you're sick of it, but there's a recipe for artichoke hummus in the Recipe Board that's really great. It's too new to be in the index, but you can find it by Searching.
Smoothies - this might fool you into thinking you're actually getting dairy.
Baked Tostitos and salsa - practically no fat, lots of SF, and it feels like you're eating something you shouldn't be.
Pretzels - the simplest snack of all, but I love them
In EFI breads, I really like the Pumpkin Apple Spice Bread and the Sweet Cinnamon Zucchini Bread. They're both delicious and you're getting your fruits and vegetables, too. And the Simple Sweet Cornbread is incredibly soothing.
The EFI Chocolate Silk Pudding is a little work, but it's unbelievable creamy and chocolate-y. Again, it could fool you into thinking you're getting dairy.
I hope this helps a little. Take care.
--------------------
[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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Thanks Sand, these are some good ideas that I'll use!
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I'm a huge fan of Silk soy yogurt. If you were having yogurt snacks before, give it a try. Not only do you get dairy-like creaminess, but also a bunch of helpful probiotics. What's not to like?
--AC (fan of peach, lemon, and raspberry flavors)
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Violette:
Actually quite a few people on this board eat babyfood! Often it contains no additives and is already pureed so it makes for good, safe "fast food" for an IBS person! Also, it doesn't taste too bad either (compared to eating nothing at all!)
I use the pureed fruit sauce babyfood in place of jam which contains things that aren't good for IBS people.
Hey, when you have IBS, you gotta be creative with food and you can't afford to have any shame about what you eat!
Belinda
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Hmmm, I've seen it at the health food store but I have to admit I'm not sure I'll like it. I am generally not a big fan of the taste of soy foods, and I have been ok with the cheese when it's accompanied by something else, but I must admit I don't really even like it at this point. In terms of yogurt I generally only was eating all natural good quality brands like Ronnybrook Farm, or other locally made ones, and when I go to the UK the first thing I go nuts for is their great yogurt which you can't get here (yes, it always makes me prettty ill to tank down a few of those) because it's just one of my favorite foods. I just don't think that soy yogurt will taste good since I'm so picky, but I will certainly try one, you never know! It would be a blessing if I did like it.
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It's not that I find it shameful to eat babyfood, I just don't like it (I've had it during times of dental work) as much as I would like it if it were homemade. I'd rather just make a batch of mashed peas or carrots in the Cusinart with some chopped mint or chives and a little salt and pepper. Seems cheaper too, but I do appreciate the suggestion.
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Wildwood brand soy yogurt is the best approximation, in my opinion, and I'm a pretty picky yogurt snob myself. I grew up on homemade and always made my own, so it's been tough. I do cheat now and then and have the real stuff -- the pain is worth it for me!
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Amanda
I live in the Big Apple, but I don't eat the skin
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Just a thought...I put spices and thing in my baby food. It really helps it. Cinnamon (or even cinnamon and sugar) in the fruits, and different mixes (Italian mix, Asian mix, etc) in the veggies. Sometimes I eat them plain if I'm out, but it feels more like "real" food with the spices. Also, you can just cook the vegetables you would normally serve for dinner (or that you are already serving your family) and puree them for you to eat. Veggies are so much easier to digest if they are cooked. I'm actually using the "Mini Food Chopper" my parents purchased when I was a baby to make baby food (oh, so many years ago). It's works great, because its made for the small amounts.
Also, you said you were used to bagels and cream cheese (which I also adore). There is a soy cream cheese called Toffuti Cream Cheese that I bought to try as a sub in a recipe, but it tasted so good that I've bought it over and over to use on bagels, bananna bread (Heather's recipe is *so* good!), and other things. If you are still looking for safe bagels, I believe that Pepperidge Farm Plain is safe, and the Sara Lee Delightful Plain (be sure it says Delightful) or the Sara Lee Mini Bagels (Plain, Blueberry, Cinnamon Raison, all kinds of flavors). Just be sure to read the ingredients for yourself, in case something has changed since I last bought them. (It's just a good idea in general, really...)
Enjoy. And Congratulations!
--------------------
~~~Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.~~~
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I've found that soy yogurt is a lot less beany than most other soy products. Admittedly, you might want to try all the brands available - I tried some other brands before I hit on the Silk, and I couldn't even finish them! In fact, I've had a lot less trouble with soy yogurt than I ever had with dairy yogurt: there were many times with dairy yogurt that I would get grossed out and not be able to finish it. The Silk soy yogurt goes down really well...
--AC
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