hollyh Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 I am going to be going dairy free for the kids for 3 weeks - 3 months... don't know how long. We need to figure out if dairy is what is causing their tonsils to get huge. That being said, cheese is a permanent staple in just about every meal. I am on day 3 and have no clue what to feed these kids besides fruit/veggies! LOL. I'm not a big cooker either, so the idea of looking up recipes... ugh. Need help figuring out what to feed them. Also, what foods have dairy in them that I wouldn't even think about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravinlunachick Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Start here: http://godairyfree.org/ . Their dining out guide (on the left hand side) was extremely valuable to me when I was DF. They also have grocery lists and such and ideas for alternatives. One thing I will caution against, though, is fake cheese. BLECH. Much better to just do without, imo, than taste that nasty stuff! Also, be aware that some things like Cool-Whip will say "non-dairy" even though they *do* actually contain milk. I have no idea why that is. It can take up to 2 weeks for dairy to completely leave your system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravinlunachick Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Meat is dairy-free! :) If you are used to cooking from scratch, things will be much easier. If not, it will just mean spending some extra time reading labels in the store. IIRC Banquet chicken nuggets are milk free. Mrs. Paul's fish sticks are also milk-free. One big favorite while I was DF was goulash. Boil macaroni noodles while you brown a lb of ground beef (or turkey). Add the meat to the drained noodles, add a can of corn and a can of diced tomatoes. If you think you can get away with it, chop some fresh spinach very tiny and add in there. Add most of a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce and let simmer for 10 min or so. This makes very good leftovers, btw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amo_mea_filiis. Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Dairy is harder to avoid than gluten (IMO, having avoided both). You have to read all labels. If you don't cook often, how about DF cream cheese bagels? Tacos without the cheese? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 You don't think of bread as containing dairy. Or I didn't until my son had hives all over his body from a deli roll at 1 year old. There have been a number of threads over the years here about dairy free cooking. If you do a search, you'll likely find a number of recommendations. It is very tough to make the change. It can be done though. Earth Balance is good margarine. Enjoy Life has safe cookies & safe chocolate chips. I have started cooking from scratch. We really can't eat out at any restaurants - the nut allergy is easier to handle out than the dairy allergy. Linda Coss's cookbooks have been useful. Here's the first one. The Milk-Free Kitchen is also one of our mainstays. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollyh Posted November 4, 2011 Author Share Posted November 4, 2011 oh my... looking at the sites just got overwhelming. Let me ask a few simple questions on if there is dairy in them just to get me started while I sift through all the info... pasta tortillas wheat bread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeachGirl Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 I think most Chinese food is dairy free. Maybe look up some recipes for Chinese food your family would like and then look at the ingredients needed to see if they are all dairy free. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 oh my... looking at the sites just got overwhelming. Let me ask a few simple questions on if there is dairy in them just to get me started while I sift through all the info... pasta tortillas wheat bread The tortillas I buy are just flour and oil. I imagine that you'll have to read labels looking for dairy in various brands of pasta and bread. Watch out for ingredients like whey, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 oh my... looking at the sites just got overwhelming. Let me ask a few simple questions on if there is dairy in them just to get me started while I sift through all the info... pasta tortillas wheat bread It depends on the brand. Many breads do. Most tortillas don't. I've never seen a pasta with dairy in it. You can cook with rice milk or coconut milk or almond milk or soy milk in place of milk. Smart Balance LIGHT or Blue Bonnet LIGHT or Earth Balance are dairy-free "butter." Beans, rice, pasta, most Indian dishes, meat/veggie/rice or meat/veggie/pasta meals are dairy-free. Stirfry. I use coconut milk in the can for cream of _____ (will add mushrooms for cream of mushroom, etc) and coconut milk in the box for milk sub. Crockpot meals are often dairy-free. Read EVERY label. You would not believe what things have dairy in them. Taco seasoning?! Really? Sigh. :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 (edited) I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned it, but if the packaged food is labeled with a P for pareve, it should be dairy free. You can google images to see the symbol. There are options that are not pareve and are still dairy free, but if you see that symbol, it should be dairy free. eta: does your family eat things like curries? You could integrate a good amount of coconut milk for that creamy type comforty food feeling. Edited November 4, 2011 by Momof3littles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Back again to say that when I went dairy free while BFing my oldest, I used recipes from vegweb. They are vegan. I added in meat, but there were lots of good ideas on there. There was a divine chocolate cake recipe (I remember it had vinegar and baking soda in it) that we loved. Earth balance for the frosting if I remember correctly. I got asked for the recipe all of the time. I would check out vegan recipes and realize you can always add meat to the dishes. They'll give you ideas for baking and things like that though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravinlunachick Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 In the US, anything that has an ingredients list must list milk as a possible allergen at the end in bold print. It will say something like, "Contains: MILK or MILK Ingredients." Same is true for wheat, soy, and nuts, iirc. That will offer you a quick way to check while you're in the store. Keep in mind, though, that many deli-made items do not have lists, or do not list allergens. If you're not sure, better to avoid the item. Also, do not assume that because 1 or 5 of a certain item have milk, that they all will. Keep checking different brands. You'll be surprised. For example, I found a kind of "chocolate-flavored chip" that I could use to make DF cookies. It was the cheapest of the el-cheapo kinds. One taco seasoning (I think it was Old El Paso or Taco Bell) didn't have milk, but all the others did. Mrs. Paul's fish is dairy free, Gortons has milk. You get the picture. Oh, and Kraft used to make a Cucumber Ranch dressing that was DF. I was ever so grateful for that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 (edited) I have food ideas (love food threads!), but I wanted to mention that I know a child (NOT mine) who was constantly sick until the tonisls were removed. They were so big dc was having horrible sleep apnea issues. I hate the thought of surgery, but this little one is a whole new person. Getting sick is rare, the child sleeps well, and even the quality and tonality of the voice has changed. I do believe medical professionals of the past were too quick to remove tonisls, but it seems to improve the lives of some folks. Not pushing (I am pro alternative/coordinated care), just 'putting it out there." Edited November 5, 2011 by LibraryLover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5knights3maidens Posted November 5, 2011 Share Posted November 5, 2011 meat, potatoes, rice, mashed potatoes with earth balance and unsweetened coconut milk, or soy milk, baked potatoes, cut up potatoes with earth balance or brushed with oil backed on a pan in the oven, soy or rice dream ice cream, so delicious ice cream, Diaya shredded cheeses...these are good. Any baked goods/pancakes etc. that you make use the unsweetened coconut(or soy) milk or vanilla coconut (or soy) milk. Check all labels on packaged foods, most have casein/ dairy. Oh, Enjoy Life chocolate chips...excellent but expensive (worth it). Hope this helps you. There is also Hemp milk and Rice milk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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