To think I can't eat out with soy allergy

[Carbon12]

DD2 has cows milk allergy and soy allergy.

She's exclusively breastfed and refuses the bottle.

My friends and I want to go out for a meal, but soy is in everything!!!

Can restaurants truly cater for a soy allergy?

My friend's son has a pretty severe soy allergy and still eats out ok. He's older though so since around the age of 10 he's been confident enough to ask for the allergens list in restaurants/takeaways. I do agree that it's in a surprising amount of products as I always checked the ingredients list when using things like gravy granules/packet sauces. You can get most things soy free though, just takes a bit of careful shopping.

Good luck with the ladders!

Tbf I didn't start the ladder until DD1 was a year old. She's 20 months now and absolutely loves milk.

I hope DD2 grows out of her allergies too.

Yesss I just looked at the Tesco app and you can filter items for dietary requirements which is good! Saves me from reading endless ingredient lists!

Loool I had to tell my MIL that butter is a dairy item.

She sends food and claims it's dairy free, but she's very forgetful bless her.

Oh my god!!!!! This could be me writing - 2 doses of antibiotics in the first 2 months and now I’ve had to cut out dairy, gluten, eggs and soy. I agree it’s tricky I didn’t realise how much soy was in stuff!

@Carbon12 DS is 10 and has the allergies he was tested for at 6 months.

But we are challenging them gradually. Hopefully he will eventually tolerate them to some degree.

How obvious is it that it’s the problem food? I’ve just reintroduced soy no issue and trying to reintroduce gluten but I’ve seen an increase in crying after 2 days but can’t tell if coincidence. Do they need to have gluten via breastmilk for the allergy test to work?

Since the shortage of other oils in the catering industry, the use of soya oil has become widespread in places that would have otherwise been ok.

I’m allergic to soya and nuts and I used to be able to eat out with few issues. Due to the proliferation of soya oil it’s become very difficult indeed. They fry in it, grease the grills with it etc. and that’s before you think about it being in Lea and perrins etc which gets thrown into lots of dishes.

Does you eating soya definitely affect the baby? I only realised my DD had a dairy allergy when I fed her yogurt. She’d tolerated it in my breast milk.

I have adult onset soy allergy and am coeliac, so have fun eating out. While a lot more places are now clued in to gluten, soy is often poorly understood. And to be fair, I can eat fermented soya like tamari and miso, and I can tolerate soy lecithin, but tofu and soy milk and beans are completely out.

Where I’ve had issues is in places like noodle bars where they use a Chinese meat broth concentrate that included soybean oil, or in some of the curry houses on Brick Lane where they don’t understand that vegetable oil often means soya. But I’m still safe in Nando’s, Pizza Express, most sushi places (make them leave out any Qewpie mayonnaise), and so on.

I would also warn you to check nut milks in coffee shops, because some have added soya to make them froth. But you’ll still be able to eat out. Just takes a bit more planning.

@Honeynutcheerios she had all the obvious symptoms for CMA. Rash, mucousy poos, awful reflux and constant crying. Went dairy free for a month and only the rash disappeared.

Dietician suggested soy and I'm a couple weeks in noticing a difference but will take a bit longer for DD2 to feel completely better.

Unless it could be egg as well, but I can't remember the last time I had egg, even in mayo, so I doubt it.

I've been sticking with oat milk since that seems to be soy free!!

I hope that's the case with all oat milks though but will definitely keep an eye out for that.

Thank you!

@Honeynutcheerios I realised I tagged the wrong person for my previous response.

So I think the skin allergy tests can only be done 6 months+.

DD2 is just over 2 months so the only way of telling is elimination diet.

If her symptoms weren't so severe I wouldn't be bothered, but poor baby sounds like she's in so much pain :(

This reply was meant for @ItsNotReallyChaos !

I don't have allergies myself but have a close friend whose daughter was breastfed and had many allergies, so the friend was restricted. I was always very impressed by Wagamamas. They have the manager take your order, have a specific allergy menu and a separate chef cooks the food, I believe. I would be very happy trusting them to provide you a soy-free meal. You might be able to look at their allergy menu and see what would be available to you.

Yo Sushi and Dishoom are both pretty good for soy allergies, but be

With most allergies, simple dishes with few ingredients are safer options generally. Eg my coeliac friend nearly always orders steak and chips because she knows it's safe (as long as fries aren't dipped in batter), things with sauces are more iffy.

With a soy allergy I would avoid Chinese food and se Asian but speak to your local Indian restaurant who are less likely to use soy at all. Doughs often have soy added, so pizza is an avoid

Oh I LOVE Wagamama and Dishoom. I wish I had one where I live.

But as @gogohmm said, I might have to be careful with Wagamama because of their sauces.

Okay defs going to check them out!

I love a good prawn firecracker or katsu curry!