I'm a vegetarian slowly easing my way into a vegan lifestyle. However it's recently come to my attention that I may be allergic to wheat and soy. I'm almost 100% positive about the wheat allergy. I'm wondering then if it's still possible to be vegan without access to both wheat and soy. That pretty much omits the use of tofu, seitan, and tempeh as protein sources. I could use any help or recommendations. I really don't want to go back to eating meat. Thank you!

I'm a vegetarian slowly easing my way into a vegan lifestyle. However it's recently come to my attention that I may be allergic to wheat and soy. I'm almost 100% positive about the wheat allergy. I'm wondering then if it's still possible to be vegan without access to both wheat and soy. That pretty much omits the use of tofu, seitan, and tempeh as protein sources. I could use any help or recommendations. I really don't want to go back to eating meat. Thank you!

Jennifer,

When I visited my dietitian she didn't once mention any of those as necessary protein sources. Things like nuts, lentils, beans and seeds are some examples of other high protein sources.

Before you go taking any advice though I highly recommend seeing a good dietitian like Dawn Jackson Blatner R.D.. She'll not only help you find sources of protein but customize a plan around your life to make it easy for you. Many people rely too much on the internet, book and tv for nutrition advice when the best thing to do is just to get it straight the first time without wasting all that time and money on dubious sources while compromising your health while doing it. Plus it's just fun! I recommended Dawn because she's qualified (RD, LDN), local, bubbly and loves talking about vegan stuff but any good local RD,LDN will do.

Also this is none of my business really so you can tell me to piss off but I know there are some ill qualified "wellness professionals" who tends to lean heavy on wheat and soy allergy as a panacea diagnosis. This is a trick many do because it tends to work well. The reason why this works is that when people concentrate on eliminating certain foods that tend to be highly calorie dense and processed they tend to feel better for eating less and whole foods. Also they just plain pay more attention to their diet which probably is a good thing the way most people eat.

I hope some of that helps, good luck and please keep us up to date!

cheers,
-dave

Hi Jennifer,

Try eating quinoa or buckwheat which are like grains but technically not grains.
Quinoa and buckwheat are complete proteins. Also, both are gluten free despite
buckwheat's name. Or, you could simply eat legumes (lentils,split peas and beans)
and combine them with brown rice or corn for a complete protein. Note, you don't
have to eat legumes and grains at the same meal. Just make sure that you eat them
sometime during the day. I hope that this helps.

Good luck Jennifer.

Vince

JENNIFER HAVE YOU CHECKED OUT "GREAT TASTE CAFE" THE TOTALLY VEGAN AND GLUTEN FREE RESTAURANT IN THE HOLMES HEALTH CLUB BY (2ND FLOOR) OMG IF NOT U HAVE GOT TO CHECK THIS PLACE OUT! AND YOU CAN CALL BETTY AHEAD OF TIME 312-527-1211 AND TELL HER U CAN'T DO SOY AND SHE CAN WHIP A PANCAKE OR PIZZA ... REMEMBER VEGAN SO NO DAIRY AND NO SOY CAUSE U REQUESTED IT. BUT THEY DO HAVE SOME STUFF NON SOY EVERYDAY. SO YA ALSO DID U GO TO THE GLUTEN FREE EXPO LAST WEEKEND??? AND U KNOW ABOUT THE ANNUAL BENEFIT FOR CELIAC DISEASE 5/14?? YOU CAN ALWAYS TRY TO VOLUNTEER BUT LOTS OF GREAT INFO!!!!! CALL 773-702-7593

100% GLUTEN FREE FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!

SALLY

AND EVER

AND EVER

Hey Jennifer. I'm vegan and am allergic to gluten (wheat, barley, rye) and soy. I totally recommend two books for you: "Living Gluten Free for Dummies" (where you'll learn all about the gluten allergy / celiac disease and substitutes) and "The Gluten-Free Vegan" cookbook. Going gluten/soy free as a vegan is definitely possible. I stick with rice noodles and rice for carbs and just google a bunch of fun veggie recipes. Grocery stores are stocking up on lots of gluten free items that are vegan too - soups, pastas, etc. And like the other members have said, there's always nuts and beans and of course, quinoa...Going gluten/soy free may sound hard but I've found it to be pretty fun - forces me to learn to cook a bunch of different things and it's quite easy when health is your motivation (especially after reading about what gluten does to you whether or not you are allergic). Best of luck!!! I'm sure you can do it.