Going dairy free...suggestions, help?

[Mrs. H.]

Dh has to go dairy-free from now on, to alleviate some digestion issues. Well, I say dairy-free, but hard cheeses (like cheddar) don't seem to bother him, and neither does butter. However, we are talking no milk, cream, sour cream, cottage cheese, or soft cheeses. Not sure about buttermilk yet.

 

Anyway, I thought this would be easy. Just don't give him milk with his breakfast, right? NOOOO, I can't even cook with milk anymore, and that is making my life difficult.

 

So, I know that there are some of you here who are dairy-free. Any good suggestions, cook books, recommendations of substitutes for someone who would like to be able to make cookies, cakes, cornbread, mashed potatoes, etc. without sending dh into spasms?

 

Also, is it possible for someone who cannot tolerate milk anymore to have a reaction to the amount of milk in commercial bread? We haven't completely alleviated the symptoms yet, although they are much better, and the only thing left that dh eats on a regular basis is commercial sandwich bread. He brown bags his lunch every day.

 

All comments are appreciated.

[Gailmegan]

We use soy milk, rice milk or almond milk to replace milk. I have know people to use goat's milk too and I have used some cheeses made with goat's milk. It really depends on what we are making which one we use. Most often I use soy milk and just pretend it's cow's milk. In baking and cooking, you really get used to it and don't notice the difference anymore. We use Earth Balance in place of butter, and we use pecorino romano cheese instead of parmesan - it's made with sheep's milk and tastes close enough to parmesan. And Tofutti has a cream cheese like spread that is really yummy.

[Mrs. H.]

Actually, not so much less convenient, because pretty much to only pre-packaged thing I buy is bread. Does the rice milk work as well in baked good as real milk? Dh does not do soy.

[Gailmegan]

Is he unable to do soy, or just reluctanct to try it?

[Mrs. H.]

Ok, so are people who are sensitive to cow's milk not usually sensitive to all milk? I thought it was pretty much milk from any animal was forbidden from now on.

[Mrs. H.]

Unable to do soy.

[Mom2legomaniacs]

I had to go dairy free when nursing my youngest. Even eating beef would set him off as it was a dairy protein issue.

 

I found that Baker's Inn Whole Wheat bread is dairy free -- no whey, casein, sodium caseate, etc. Those are all dairy derivatives. There are several varieties that are dairy free and some other brands that are as well. I just know this one off the top of my head because we still use it!

 

I feel your pain on this one. It was difficult to get used to doing things without dairy. It was in everything! And fake cheese is nasty, btw.

 

If I come across any websites or other sources, I will pass them on to you. It has been a while since I have researched those things so they are not fresh in my head. Good luck!

[Mrs. H.]

Should we be worried about his calcium intake if he's not eating dairy? He takes a good multivitamin and eats other calcium foods like broccoli, collard greens, etc. a couple of times a week. Is this enough?

[Mom2legomaniacs]

For soy milk, they don't generally have a nice flavor, IMO. I did like 8th Continent for taste, but I am convinced there was something in there that caused us problems.

 

We tried Almond Breeze and really like it! Very tasty indeed.

[Gailmegan]

Being allergic to dairy does not mean being allergic to other animal's milk. Infants are not to have dairy, but they drink breastmilk, right? Each animal (humans included) make milk that is varied in compostion based on the needs of the offspring. I have a close friend who is highly allergic to dairy but has no problems with goat or sheep products.

[Mrs. H.]

Well, brownies for one, some cakes, often cookies, cornbread, muffins, pancakes, waffles. I never make these from a mix, always homemade, and the recipes all call for milk. It is usually a consistency issue, not a flavor one, and I was wondering about the rice milk's consistency and how it affects baked goods.

[Mrs. H.]

Thank you, that is good to know about sheep and goat milk. I know our local grocer sells goat's milk, so I will have to give that a try for dh.

[Gailmegan]

Rice milk is a little more watery than cow's milk, but it's flavor is pretty bland. Almond milk is richer and a little thicker, but the flavor may clash with something like say cornbread.

[Mom2legomaniacs]

Rice milk is a little more watery than cow's milk, but it's flavor is pretty bland. Almond milk is richer and a little thicker, but the flavor may clash with something like say cornbread.

 

True. I like it for cereal and drinking.

[Mrs. H.]

Ok, so rice milk for baking and cooking, almond milk for cereal and drinking, and try alternative animal's milks and cheeses. Whew! Anything else? This is good stuff, and it's not seeming quite so overwhelming as before.

[Gailmegan]

True. I like it for cereal and drinking.

 

 

Dh loves it on cereal, the boys like to drink it and I like it in my coffee. LOL. With four different sets of tastes, we keep all 3 milk substitutes on hand.

[Needleroozer]

Ok, so are people who are sensitive to cow's milk not usually sensitive to all milk? I thought it was pretty much milk from any animal was forbidden from now on.

 

It depends- my dd has a severe milk allergy and cannot do any kind of milk at all. I can occasionally have sheep or goat cheese if I do not overdo it.

 

For drinking and cereal we drink rice, almond or oat milk. Soy allergies as well here.

 

I personally would cut out ALL milks, and ALL cheeses.

 

About the breads- you can find breads with NO dairy at all- you just have to really read the labels. We have taken to making our own in the bread machine, using rice or coconut milk.

 

For baking, I prefer coconut milk and coconut butter. Sometimes I also do a mix of milks.

 

For casseroles, I use Imagine Foods Potato Leek soup.

 

Any other specific questions?

[Needleroozer]

Rice milk is a little more watery than cow's milk, but it's flavor is pretty bland. Almond milk is richer and a little thicker, but the flavor may clash with something like say cornbread.

 

We are avoiding corn right now, but for cornbread, I really liked coconut milk.

[Needleroozer]

Should we be worried about his calcium intake if he's not eating dairy? He takes a good multivitamin and eats other calcium foods like broccoli, collard greens, etc. a couple of times a week. Is this enough?

 

Yes it is. I will also occasionally buy the calcium-added OJ. You can also add sesame seeds and kiwi fruit to his diet- they are both quite high in calcium.

[j.griff]

My aunts and uncles abhor milk and milk products (just a personal aversion) and they make all those baked goods using plain old water instead of milk. You can use oil instead of butter, there are vegan butters also, but I'm not sure about soy-free vegan butter.

[Mrs. H.]

Thanks for the suggestions about calcium, and I do have another question. I am going to suggest to dh that we cut out all dairy (including the butter, cheese, and breads) and see if that helps with the last remaining symptoms.

 

I'm beginning to think I have a child who is allergic to dairy as well. He was a super-colicky baby, spit up a ton, is now a super-sensitive 5 year old who is a terribly picky eater (but likes dairy), is never "regular" (goes from one extreme to the other, probably tmi).

 

So, what do you use in place of butter, when you want a buttery flavor? We're not wild about margarine because of the health risks, but what about those olive oil spreads? Is there something out there that isn't butter or margarine, but tastes like butter?

[Gailmegan]

The Earth Balance I recommended before does have soy in it, so not okay for dh but there is a canola margerine that is much helathier than the alternatives.

[Adrianne]

after reading this thread, I will add just a few things:

 

These are all terms that mean milk protein:

 

caseinate

sodium caseinate

whey

milk fat (sometimes can aggravate, found usually in chocolate)

 

A lot of products that claim to be dairy free, i.e. no dairy creamers, non dairy whipped topping, et cetera, do indeed include caseinate or whey. These can aggravate milk allergies. I look for vegan foods. These do not tend to have any milk related products as vegans do not want to eat milk products.

 

Sara Lee sandwich bread, last time I checked was inexpensive and had no milk or milk by products in it. Peanut Chews, original, also do not have milk or milk products. I enjoy these for a treat!

 

I have found that Tofutti products are great substitutes for basic daily things, i.e. cream cheese, sour cream, ice cream. And they taste great! They are made from Tofu (I know - yuck) but taste good.

 

I have had no luck with real nondairy vegan cheeses. They do not taste good and do not act like regular cheese. If you have luck finding one, please share the info!

 

I have found that I can tolerate small amounts of cheese or milk products if I avoid them most of the time. If I know I am going to eat a lot, I use a acid reducer like zantac and this helps with the pain and heartburn. Interestingly, now that I am pregnant. I cannot tolerate dairy at all. I become sooooo sick that I cannot get off the couch. The pills help but I do not like to take pills while pregnant.

 

Calcium intake is a big deal and I am constantly making sure I am getting enough calcium through supplements, greens, orange juice, and soy milk (this I can tolerate). Figs are also high in calcium.

 

Oh you can also find milkless chocolate (not carob) in the baking section of your grocery store. Look under bittersweet or unsweetened.

 

 

I will be praying for you during your new adventure!

[Harriet Vane]

Dh has to go dairy-free from now on, to alleviate some digestion issues. Well, I say dairy-free, but hard cheeses (like cheddar) don't seem to bother him, and neither does butter. However, we are talking no milk, cream, sour cream, cottage cheese, or soft cheeses. Not sure about buttermilk yet.

 

Anyway, I thought this would be easy. Just don't give him milk with his breakfast, right? NOOOO, I can't even cook with milk anymore, and that is making my life difficult.

 

So, I know that there are some of you here who are dairy-free. Any good suggestions, cook books, recommendations of substitutes for someone who would like to be able to make cookies, cakes, cornbread, mashed potatoes, etc. without sending dh into spasms?

 

Also, is it possible for someone who cannot tolerate milk anymore to have a reaction to the amount of milk in commercial bread? We haven't completely alleviated the symptoms yet, although they are much better, and the only thing left that dh eats on a regular basis is commercial sandwich bread. He brown bags his lunch every day.

 

All comments are appreciated.

 

First of all, yes, it's completely possible to react to the milk in bread. My ds certainly does.

 

I would advise you to give up ALL dairy, including hard cheeses and bread. Then after a month or 6 weeks you can try re-introducing to see about reactions.

 

My ds doesn't react as badly to first exposure as he does to repetitive exposure. So for example he will do sort of okay with bread-that-has-milk the first time, but by the third day in a row of that bread he will be in PAIN. The system gets more and more sensitive with repeated exposure.

 

For baking you can substitute soy milk and still get a fluffy result and virtually no difference in taste.

 

For breakfast cereal we switched to vanilla-flavored rice milk.

 

Oatmeal is heavenly with coconut milk (comes in a can, don't confuse it with coconut cream, which is a highly-processed and highly-sugared product).

 

There is a dairy-free butter that is fabulous, called Earth Balance. Look for the one labeled "vegan."

 

You can substitute plain soy milk or chicken broth in mashed potatoes for milk.

 

I find that eggs scramble just fine without anything added.

 

I don't serve any cream sauces any more--I have not found a good substitute for milk there.

 

For gravy, you can use the Earth Balance butter, flour, and broth of your choice. Or you can combine the broth of your choice with a lot of cornstarch and boil down for about a half hour for a thinner, but tasty, gravy. Add salt or spices as you see fit.

 

I also use coconut milk as a whipped cream substitute. It doesn't taste anything like whipped cream, but ds likes to have something white and fluffy on his dessert just like the rest of us.

 

HTH.

[Mrs. H.]

Thank you all. I'm so glad there are others that have tread this path before me, and I don't have to reinvent the wheel trying to figure out what will work, taste good, bake well, etc. You've all been so much help.

 

:grouphug:

[Harriet Vane]

Being allergic to dairy does not mean being allergic to other animal's milk. Infants are not to have dairy, but they drink breastmilk, right? Each animal (humans included) make milk that is varied in compostion based on the needs of the offspring. I have a close friend who is highly allergic to dairy but has no problems with goat or sheep products.

 

Every animal milk contains lactose, so my ds gets a stomachache from any milk. We tried him on goat's milk because someone gave us the wrong advice that it would be okay--ds had a stomach ache, and our doctor (who also happens to be lactose intolerant) informed us that while the specific composition does vary per animal, all mammals do have lactose in their milk.

[Gailmegan]

Every animal milk contains lactose, so my ds gets a stomachache from any milk. We tried him on goat's milk because someone gave us the wrong advice that it would be okay--ds had a stomach ache, and our doctor (who also happens to be lactose intolerant) informed us that while the specific composition does vary per animal, all mammals do have lactose in their milk.

 

Yes, they all do have lactose. Lactose is a sugar. It causes irritation for some people, so for those it should be avoided in all sources. However it is my understanding that most allergies are to proteins. So if it is a true allergy and not an intolerance, then unless the individual has other allergies, milk from goats and sheep should be fine.

[LadyR]

I use rice milk in place of cow's milk. In cereal, muffins, pancakes, etc. I found that baked items come a bit sweeter because of the rice milk. Different brands of rice milk may taste differently.

[Storm Bay]

Many people have mentioned casein, but it sounds more to me like it's lactose that's the issue here, right? Because hard cheeses have casein but usually lack lactose.

 

Rice milk works. Water can work often. Many milks can work, and usually with little variation in my experience. I would watch the breads, of course.

 

Although you don't need the whole diet, The Specific Carbohydrate Diet contains (or at least it used to) a recipe to make lactose free yogurt. You have to make it yourself--if you make yogurt correctly and long enough, the active culture will "eat" all the lactose. You could then cook with that, but I'd test a wee bit first just to be sure.

 

By unable to do soy, I'm also assuming an intolerance or allergy to that. My dd can't do soy, either, so we don't bake with that anymore.

[rafiki]

.

[Tracy in Ky]

Since hard cheeses do not bother him, he may do fine with all cultured milk--yogurt, buttermilk, etc. Raw cow's milk may do fine for him as well because it has lactase intact which actually digests the lactose for him. Pasteurization kills the lactase--which is in there naturally and digests the milk sugar. Some people who cannot tolerate pasteurized milk because of lactose intolerance do fine on raw because the natural enzymes are present, and do the digesting for them. I would experiment and see.

 

Meanwhile, raw goat's milk is absolutely delicious! If you can get your hands on it, go for it :)

[Jean in Newcastle]

Lots of great advice here. The only thing I have to add is that if your husband can't do soy (my dh can't even tolerate the little bit in Earth Balance) there are some other choices.

 

My dh uses oil on his bread (think of those nice restaurants where you dip your bread into some olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Or he will use some real mayonnaise (it is really easy and fun to make!) - esp. for a sandwich. Or peanut butter or jam directly on the bread.

 

He will pour some oil on potatoes. I make mashed potatoes with some olive oil in it (no milk or butter).

 

I've even started baking lately with oil instead of butter or shortening and I've been surprised that I haven't had a flop yet! (Though I've only baked a few recipes so far.)