SNACKS

"Why does everything have soy in it?"  I think I utter these seven little words every time I go grocery shopping.  Coming up with dinner ideas is hard.  Figuring out what to eat as a snack is absolutely ridiculous.  Once you move my husband's soy-filled foods out of the way, here's what you can find in my pantry (or refrigerator, depending on what the case may be!):

Stacy's pita chips.  These are fantastic and come in several different flavors that I love.  For a salty fix, I get the Simply Naked or Garden Vegetable Medley ones.  The Cinnamon Sugar pita chips are unbelievably delicious if you need something sweet.

Cheerios.  In multiple flavors.  Hard to believe, but this is one of the only soy-free dairy-free cereals out there.

Pretzels.   Yep, pretzels are one of those few snacks that actually only contain three or four ingredients.  Flour, yeast, salt, done.

Sorbet.  I am a big ice cream/sherbet person and am heartbroken whenever I look into the freezer and see a big hole where the ice cream used to live.  Whole Fruit makes sorbet in sad little bitty pints that are pricey, but it's a nice treat every once in a while.  I usually go all out and put Ghirardelli chocolate chips (contain soy lecithin) on mine.  Sometimes, I'll make my own:

     RASPBERRY SORBET

• Half bag of frozen raspberries 
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• Squeeze of lemon or lime juice

    Place the water and sugar in a small saucepan over low heat until sugar has dissolved.  Simmer until a thin syrup forms.  Let cool.
    Blend raspberries and lemon/lime juice in blender or food processor until it turns into a puree.  Add the cooled sugar syrup and blend.
    Pour mixture through a strainer to remove all of the seeds, and place in a shallow tray (I usually use an 8x8 pyrex dish). 
    Place in freezer.  Stir mixture every 30 minutes for the first two hours.  Then cover and let it set overnight.

Baked Lays.  Three cheers for Lays, who doesn't use soybean oil!  If you have a very strict diet, be aware that the original potato chips do have soy lecithin in them.  All of the other ones contain milk ingredients, so no barbecue chips for you...

Fruit.  This was easier to do in the summer, when there was all kinds of fruit that was in season.  Still, you can't go wrong with fruit!

Fruit snacks.  Make sure you check the label on this one.  I know that Welch's are dairy and soy-free.

Hummus.  Most of the store-bought hummus that I've seen contains soybean oil.  I make my own, and it's very easy (and tasty):

     EASY HUMMUS 

• 1 can garbanzo beans/chickpeas, drained
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 T lemon juice
• 1 tsp cumin 

     Blend all ingredients together until smooth.  Enjoy!

This is just a short list for now.  I'll try to add on to it as I remember more!  Until then, try not to get discouraged in the snack aisle.  :)