blondeviolin Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 I very strongly suspect that my littlest has a milk allergy. Does anyone have any good recipes, blogs, sites, etc that are dairy free? I particularly need quick meals... :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftyerin Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 We are dairy free, and I find it relatively straightforward. If you completely eliminate cheese and use almond milk (or your other preferred milk sub) and earth balance for butter, everything else is pretty easily substituted. Read labels carefully on snacks and packaged foods. Otherwise, we don't eat differently than we did before eliminating dairy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Almond milk is a great substitute for drinking/cereal, but soy or rice milk are better for using in savory recipes. Coconut milk is great in baking. You'll have to try the various cheese substitutes to see if there is one you like. I have yet to find one that I like better than just doing without. Are there certain things you'd like to make that need a substitute? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted September 27, 2011 Author Share Posted September 27, 2011 My husband regularly drinks almond milk so we've had it around. I am NOT a milk person, so it's not a drinking/cereal thing. It's a baking/cooking thing. I found a recipe that I can use to make cream of mushroom soup (for casseroles) out of milk subs that I might try. I still need the ingredients to be able to be found at a local grocery store and not something like Trader Joe's/Whole Foods because (a) it's more expensive and (b) it's further away. I'm also missing snacks (of the unhealthy variety...I like to splurge :)) and cheese. OHMYGOODNESS I miss cheese. :( Hyrum is MUCH happier when I'm not eating dairy, though. Before, we'd have periods where he'd just cry and cry and cry no matter what I tried to do to soothe him. He's got acid reflux so I had assumed it was that. It was when he starting pooping blood that I thought to drop dairy. (Poor little guy!) And now he doesn't have crying fits like he used to. If he cries he's either hungry, tired, or wants a bit of attention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee in NC Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 We are dairy free, and I find it relatively straightforward. If you completely eliminate cheese and use almond milk (or your other preferred milk sub) and earth balance for butter, everything else is pretty easily substituted. Read labels carefully on snacks and packaged foods. Otherwise, we don't eat differently than we did before eliminating dairy. :iagree: I have a dairy allergy and this is what I do. I don't substitute a lot, though, just avoid dairy products. So, for example, if we have tacos I skip the cheese and sour cream. I don't eat macaroni and cheese, but will eat rice instead (or potatoes.) If we have baked ziti, dh will set some aside for me before he puts the cheese on. No dairy is easy. ETA: We don't eat casseroles and never use cream of anything soups. Wait - we do have one recipe that uses it, so I just skip it (it is chicken with a sauce made from cream of mushroom soup and sour cream - I'll eat plain chicken instead.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Earth Balance margarine is good. Enjoy Life has chocolate chips :) I haven't found dairy free to be quick :( The Coss cookbooks have some good recipes. I also use The Milk Free Kitchen. You can try Daiya cheese substitute. I don't really think it's similar to cheese. The statistic I've heard is that half the kids allergic to dairy are also allergic to soy, so keep an eye out for multiple reactions. But also many kids outgrow the dairy allergy. (My son hasn't :( ) There are a lot of allergy threads with a lot of suggestions, so a search can help. Food Allergies for Dummies has also been one of the best books on food allergies. It can help you get a list of questions too if you need to see an allergist. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 What they said! Skip any optional cheese/sour cream/milk. Use rice milk, almond milk, soy milk, or coconut milk in place of milk in recipes & cereal. Coconut milk in the can plus sauteed mushrooms works GREAT in place of "cream of mushroom soup" in recipes. Daiya works very, very well for melted cheese when you really want to use some--we especially love adding the pepperjack to Mexican dishes. We can make "quesadillas" with a ton of chicken & a sprinkling of Daiya. Earth Balance, Smart Balance LIGHT, and Blue Bonnet LIGHT are dairy-free butter alternatives. We cook in olive oil instead of butter. There are several dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips that have no dairy (check labels). I make a lot of Crockpot meals, Mexican dishes, and Indian/Thai dishes. Those are often dairy-free (at least the authentic versions are :tongue_smilie:). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in Jax Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 NoMilk.com LivingWithout.com http://www.fankids.org HIH, Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murmer Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Also there are soy yogurts that don't use diary derived pro-biotics. Odd tidbits of living dairy free...McD's french fries contain milk, BK nuggets contain milk but not the hamburgers, Culver's chicken strips are safe but not the hamburgers. So basically depending on what you are avoiding (we are whey and casein and anaphylactic) you might find something that is safe one place but not at another. But it is really easy I promise...looks hard but its not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almondbutterandjelly Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 (edited) Most dairy-free cheeses are icky, sadly. Tofutti makes a cream cheese and a sour cream that are okay. Tofutti's mozzarella cheese is tolerable. Vegan brand Parmesan is decent. Use tofu as a substitute for ricotta for texture, like in a lasagna. No great dairy-free cheddar cheeses, unfortunately. Lots of great ice creams made from coconut milk and other kids of milk. For things requiring cream of mushroom soup, try making a regular white gravy with dairy-free margarine (like earth balance) and whatever milk (soy, almond, rice) you are using. Any standard white gravy recipe should work. Gravy works well in casseroles and tastes good. Lots of spaghetti sauces are dairy-free. Macaroni noodles taste decent plain. You can buy Macaroni and Chreez but I think it's gross. Some people like it. Papa John's pizza, if you order it without cheese, is dairy-free and quite delightful. I just noticed you are missing snacks. Here are some dairy-free snacks: Oreo cookies, Fritos Corn Chips, Lay's Potato Chips, Lay's Barbecue Potato Chips, Bugles, Corn Nuts, Pretzels, Soft Pretzels, Sun Chips - original flavor, Salty sweet popcorn like kettle corn, Rice Krispy treats made with dairy-free margarine, marshmallows, Pop Tarts.... That's all I can think of right now. HTH! Edited September 27, 2011 by perkybunch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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