soy-free, low-to-no-processed foods vegan?

[dauphinette]

Hi Veg Mamas!
I am not on MDC very much but I knew to come right here when I wanted to make some changes in my diet that my body was telling me to make
I have been veg. off and on my whole life, my mom was veg. so I grew up that way and when I met my husband he was veg. so that continued for many years.
I have never been vegan before though, and that is where my questions come in. Since New Year's my body has been telling me to get back into juicing and to try vegan, but I really don't know where to start. My recently traditional foods based diet has me really eating heavily in the dairy foods and I do not want to just switch over to processed versions of these foods.
I am not comfortable with eating soy, something about it makes me feel like it's not for me.
So are there any soy-free/unprocessed foods/vegan/mamas out there?
Blogs, books, sites and friends would be GREAT
Thanks in advance and peace to all!

[beesknees]

I have really liked this website http://www.theppk.com/ (the oatmeal pancakes are a house favorite!). They have a lot of recipes that are whole foods. When I moved out of the states I realized how much I relied on soy foods and tofu in my diet. It helped looking at other cuisines around the world as a source of whole foods based recipes. Hope that helps. Good Luck!

[mi_amor]

I'm interested in this too. I cut out soy and feel great, now all I need are some more recipes that don't use soy!

I saw this book recommended on another thread: http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1557...pf_rd_i=915398. The recipes don't use soy, so I was going to buy it soon.

[wytchywoman]

I'm not completely soy free but I do minimize it. SOme options for dairy/milk alternatives are to make raw nut or rice milks. The obviously don't have soy and wouldn't have carageenan or other preservatives or additives in them.
Somewhere on here I was given a recipe for a nutmilk yogurt. I think it was cashew or almond, I'll try to find it for you. Coconut milk is a yummy alternative. What else are you looking for?

Check out this thread
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...ghlight=yogurt
The recipe for cashew yogurt is on the 1st page, but it also has a lot of information about vegan dairy alternatives.

[AmandaMom]

Cashew cheese, almond milk, and eating more beans/rice/lentils/seitan are a few ways to avoid processed soy products. Good luck!

[homeschoolingmama]

That book suggested is one of the ones I am supposed to get this wk in the mail. Here is what I ordered.
Becoming Vegetarian by Brenda Davis
Becoming Vegan by Brenda Davis
That Mediterranean Cookbook
And a kids book about why we are vegetarian.
I am on this journey as well so I am interested in what people will share.

[dauphinette]

Well, I am so sorry I have not been back to this thread in a million years! My computer was down, but now it is finally back!
My plan of attack so far has been to buy a big binder at the store and some plastic page protectors, actually a lot of them, and then I go to the library and check out a BUNCH of veg. cook books and I bookmark the pages of recipes I want to try and when I have gone through all of the books I bring them back to the library and photo-copy all of the recipes I have marked and then slip the photo-copies into the page protectors. It has helped me to not have to look only for books that exclude soy and instead just pick out individual recipes that appeal to us. And so far I have only spent about $15 and I have a TON of recipes.
Another thing I have done is try the coconut yogurt, kefir and coffee creamer from Whole foods, thats all good stuff.
I have been trying to eat a lot of beans/legumes but I find I have been eating a little bit to many carbs, any one else have that problem?
~R

[To-Fu]

You might check out Feeding the Whole Family. It's not a veg*n cookbook, but it is based on simple, whole foods. A lot of teh recipes ARE vegan, or are easily veganizable.

There are alternatives to soy that others have mentioned... cashew cheese, almond/rice milk, etc. I think it's totally doable! And I think it's great that you're going to try it.