Here is an article about another person's experience with soy allergy.  I am fascinated by her suggestion that other legumes could also cause problems, as I've had a new breakout for the first time since clearing up my soy allergy rash in 2007.  Considering my consequence of consuming soy, I know that the current breakout is not a result of that particular ingredient.  However, this week I made a lovely Mediterranean chick pea soup, and I am struggling with a rash again.  Hm…

Here is the link to the article: http://rfox.hubpages.com/hub/Soy-Allergy-and-Foods-To-Avoid
It is a very informative and interesting read, even for those of you who have no issues with soy, because it gives a bit of information about how soy is in everything.  I hadn't thought of the airplane food issue, but that is because it's been so long since I've travelled that it has not come up for me yet.  The few times I've travelled have typically been long, overseas flights - like to Australia or Europe.

My only comment about Ms Fox's list is a technicality.  I believe that carob in and of itself is not related to soy - however, when listed as an ingredient in something (most often as carob chips), it often does have soy lecithin or other soy derivatives.

TOYO


Toyo Japanese Restaurant
1463 Shattuck Ave  (between Rose St & Vine St) Berkeley, CA 94709
(510) 843-3768

Relaxed:  Low Cost ($40 including tip for two people, with leftovers); neighborhood gem.
This restaurant cooks with RICE BRAN oil and is proud of it.  This is the first restaurant I'd ever encountered who uses rice bran oil, which I'd not heard of before.  They've been there for something like 30 years, and I've gone perhaps once every two or three years over the past fifteen.  Every time I've gone in, I'm always pleasantly surprised by the amazing quality of this local hole-in-the-wall.  


Ambiance: This is a small restaurant that has never updated its fixtures.  They play vague (unmemorable, possibly unrecognizable) but not-too-loud background music that helps with having a more private conversation from the other tables.  

Food: Just as the Yelpers imply, the servings are generous and delicious.  I would not order a teriyaki dish so I cannot speak to that end, but their sushi, salad, and miso soup (per my hubby) are great!  
This restaurant uses both organic and conventional ingredients.


Is it Sara-Safe? Yes, as long as I know what and how to order. (I know, where have you heard that before?)  On my most recent visit, I shared some sushi rolls and an order of veggie tempura with my husband. Said husband also had miso soup.  The restaurant has added an organic green salad to the menu, served with a house made dressing on the side (the dressing contains soy).

The staff here is kind, but the older lady's grasp of English takes some patience.  When I asked about the cooking oil, she didn't know what I meant until the third or fourth attempt, at which point she presented a framed information sheet about the fact that they use rice bran oil.  We found it much easier to express my need to avoid soy to the younger lady working there, who also has a thick accent.  

Do NOT eat here if you don't have patience for heavy accents, or if yours is a more finicky or difficult dietary need since the language barrier will make it difficult to communicate your needs.  (If fresh fish and organic salad work, then you'll be fine.) 

Nature's Express

Here is another vegan restaurant - check the warnings below on this one.

Nature's Express Vegan
http://natures-express.com
1823 Solano Ave                   (510) 527-5331
Berkeley, CA 94707              Open Daily 10:30 AM - 8:00 PM


Ease-On-Down-The-Road:
Medium to High Cost.  
What to wear: as long as you're wearing clothes, you should be fine.  Beware if it's cold - there is indoor seating but this restaurant is best attended in the (sunny) daytime due to it's large open windows.  There is outdoor seating, too.

Food:
Vegan, Organic, Non-GMO Verified Menu.  This restaurant offers alternative menus!  There is a soy-free menu, wheat-sensitive, and a list of allergens for their entire menu.  Check all that out here:  http://natures-express.com/menu/

Is it Sara-Safe? It can be… 
Nature's Express is a great lunch spot, good for health nuts, organic-crazy folks, and vegetarian and vegans.  I love that they essentially have a guide for me to order a soy-free meal.    My favorite thing to order here is an almond sunflower burger patty and sweet potato fries.  Their air-baked sweet potato fries are nice (but not as good once they get cold).  One time I went and they were out of the burger patty I'd wanted.  I opted for a grilled cheese sandwich on rye, and was less than impressed because the fake cheese (made out of cashews, and actually very tasty) did not actually fill the sandwich.  I think I went home and made a real cheese sandwich later.  Even though they offer a soy-free menu, this is a soy-heavy place and not somewhere I go that often.

Meat-Eaters: They have a menu catered to possibly impress you.  (If I want meat, I would not go here.)

Do NOT eat here if you can't do cilantro.  It's in pretty much everything.

SaWadDee Thai

Thai food, anyone?

SaWadDee Thai Restaurant             http://www.sawaddeerichmond.com/index.html
12200 San Pablo Avenue                (510) 232-5542 
Richmond, California 94805           Open Daily from 11:30 am. - 9:30 pm. 

Relaxed:  Low Cost, high value, neighborhood gem.
General Thai Menu - This restaurant cooks with CORN and PEANUT oils.  
Nothing organic; this restaurant uses conventional ingredients, and thus serves GMO food.

Is it Sara-Safe? Yes, as long as I know what and how to order.
I had a wonderful yellow curry with chicken and a nice Tom Ka Gai soup.  Very standard fare for me - but then, I don't actually care for pod thai.  My husband (the vegetarian/pescatarian) had the pod thai.  I look forward to going back and trying other dishes.  

The staff here is kind and accommodating.  Be sure to tell them what you are avoiding, and they will happily check the ingredients of sauces or dishes before you order.  Servings were generous enough for me to have leftovers.

Do NOT eat here if you are allergic to corn (oil), and avoid the deep fried food if you're allergic to or avoiding peanut (oil).  Be aware that, in general, yellow curries do not contain soy, but red and green curries often do.

Potala

Here is a restaurant that is generally safe for almost anyone to eat.

Potala Vegan Restaurant    http://www.potalavegan.com
1045 San Pablo Avenue     (510) 528-2375 
Albany, CA 94706             Open Daily: 11:00 am to 3:00 pm for lunch; 5/20pm - 9:00 p.m. for dinner

Ease-On-Down-The-Road:
Low Cost, high value, and as long as you're wearing clothes, you should be fine.

Fixed menu format (changes daily)
Vegan, Macro-biotic, Organic.  Good for healthy diets, cancer patients, and those avoiding GMOs.
Soy-Free - Gluten-Free - Nightshade-Free

Is it Sara-Safe? Yes!  On days when there is a little soy in the menu, they accommodate gracefully and with ease by leaving out the sauce on that item.  Or, I can order the Simple Meal any day.

Ladies and gentlemen, if you are looking for something simple, homey, and yet filling, look no further. This neighborhood gem is a delight, and very easy for Picky Eaters, allergy-ridden, AND vegetarians to come together in harmony.  Check their simple website to see the day's menu listings and bring all the babies and little old ladies with you because everyone can eat here.

Meat-eaters beware: if you absolutely won't think of a dinner as a "meal" unless there is meat, then you'll want to plan to have a little something when you get back home.  However, don't let that stop you from trying out the large plate of food here.  You might be surprised!

Do NOT eat here if you can't process leafy green veggies or high fiber.

Who? What? Why?

Hello and welcome to my Restaurant Selections blog!  My name is Sara, and I want to share the plethora of general information about what it's like for me to eat, particularly what it's like to eat out.  I hope you enjoy your time here.

Here is why:

SHORT VERSION:
I'm allergic to soy, tomatoes, tuna, and chocolate.  I was still vegetarian when I first narrowed down that list.  Today I still eat a cornucopia of vegetarian and vegan foods.  I've discovered that with a little footwork, I can still eat out without incident.  People along the way sometimes ask, "What do you eat?" This blog is my answer to that query.

LONG VERSION & BACKGROUND:
I have been through an interesting series of dietary changes throughout my life.  I was blessed to be raised in San Francisco, where my mother was able to access a nationally renowned specialist (in diets? …in allergies?  I'm not actually sure what the specialty was) at UCSF.  Without that access, my mother truly did not know what to feed me or how as I apparently had quite the difficulties with what these days seem like fairly standard allergens.  In the 70's, it seemed like I was allergic to *everything* - but, as I remember it, the list was actually

milk & milk products (apparently we didn't think to say "dairy" at the time)
citrus fruit
chocolate
artificial colors and flavors
preservatives

The UCSF Specialist taught my mother how to put me on a very basic diet whenever I had digestive Issues - but that was when I was so young that I really don't remember any of it.  I now know the basics of the BRAT diet, an excellent reference for when your tummy is out of whack (and you have diarrhea) but you still need to eat.  BRAT stands for Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast.  I returned to that as an adult when I was having difficulty, and found it very affective.  My point here is that this is not just for kids.  Adults might be more able to handle "adult" food but sometimes a return to simpler fare on the dinner plate is a kind thing to do for oneself.

My mother also learned to introduce new foods to me gently, slowly - and then wait 24 or more hours to observe and note any possible reactions.  Besides the rearranging of my intestines, some foods caused me to break out in eczema rashes.  I remember having a scaly breakout on both hands that often included open wounds (cuts, but not caused by anything having cut me) on my knuckles.  This was neither pretty nor comfortable, and it was terribly embarrassing when other kids saw it.  That part of my body seemed to settle down and stop breaking out in that manner in my early twenties.  Thus, something changed so that I "grew out" of it.

Fast forward to 2007.  I had an emergency appendectomy that year, and was afraid to eat for much of the week that I was in the hospital because, frankly, I'd sensed that problems were caused by something I was eating…but I had no idea what.  It actually took me another couple of months, visits to a dermatologist for the rashes I got (he only wanted to treat the symptoms but not actually seek out the cause), and a few conversations with friends before having a chat with one friend in particular that went something like this.

Me:  I just don't know what is causing my break-outs or the digestive problems I have. 

Them: Really? Have you tried an Elimination Diet?

Me: Yes!  

(An Elimination Diet is when you take one or more items out of your diet for two weeks or more to make sure it isn't in your system.  Then you select ONE of the trial ingredients, and have ONE serving of it (or less is ok too), ONCE - and wait 24 hours to see if you have any reactions.)

Them: You know there are five things on the list to try removing from your diet, right?

At this point a funny thing happened.  The friend and I both said our five things - two of which I wasn't really eating much of anyway… and two of the things on her list were different from two of the things on mine.  Whoa!  I told her I'd begin over again right away.

My original list was

Wheat
Dairy
Eggs
Chocolate
Oranges

(By the way, chocolate is the one allergy that has stuck with me all my life.  It's also my most mild allergy: the *only* thing that happens is an easily managed rash.  Rarely, but every once in a while, that is totally worth it.)

The conversation with my friend inspired me to add soy and corn to the list.  Within the first week, I also discovered that I break out whenever I eat tomatoes.  Goodie.  By the end of the test, I'd discovered that  SOY was the culprit, and suddenly twenty or more years of reactions (that I just never connected before) came to light.  Oh, and tuna.

The best way to conduct an Elimination Diet is to cook all your own foods.  If you need to socialize at a restaurant and you're in the middle of said diet, order a plain salad with no dressing - and eat a little something before you go, then a little something after you leave.  It's not ideal but it works.

Once I discovered that soy is my edible arch nemesis, I went about avoiding it like the plague that it is for me… at home.  After a few tribulations, I learned to be more careful in restaurants by asking if there are any soy ingredients in the dishes I was considering.  Little by little I found ways and means to eat out.  The last thing I learned is the first thing I want to pass on via this blog: I began asking what kind of oil a restaurant cooks with - and used the answers to decide whether or not to eat there.