Living with a newly diagnosed food allergy

[Rjmakmom]

...and it really sucks. I am allergic to dairy. Me...the butter, cheese, chocolate loving person that I am. And dairy is in so much that you would never even expect it to be! Anyone have any helpful hints for replacing butter and cheese? And for surviving eating at other people's homes? Restaurants seem to be pretty good at listing food ingredients, but this past weekend we were at a family reunion and it was a potluck meal. I was so careful, but must have missed something that had dairy and was sick for hours. 

[Dana]

(Hugs)

 

It really does suck.

My son is allergic to dairy and it's more frustrating and trickier to avoid for us than his nut allergy.

 

There have been a number of threads over the years about allergies...check for tag "food allergy".

First recommendation....carry your medications if you have them. For my son, it's the epi pen, Benadryl, and an oral steroid. They're with him at all times.

 

Sign up with http://www.foodallergy.org/ for recall information.

 

For margarine, butter replacement, Earth Balance is good. You can find it in cubes for baking. Enjoy Life does safe chocolate chips and candy bars (dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and krispie bars). Namaste does mixes including a really great brownie mix.

 

Cheese you're out of luck with. Daiya is worth trying and my son enjoys it, but it isn't a good substitute in my opinion.

 

Depending on how severe your allergy is, I wouldn't eat food prepared by others unless they know food allergies. We're still pretty hesitant about restaurants.

 

Read labels regularly. Food production can change. Watch for hidden dairy in breads.

 

Sorry. Allergies suck.

(Namaste brownies are really tasty though.)

[Cricket]

I have a weird food allergy that isn't one of the top 8.  If I go to a potluck, I bring a separate meal for myself.  I don't dare try anything unless I can read the labels myself or I prepared it myself.  Potlucks are even trickier because sometimes spoons are shared between dishes.  Food allergies definitely make socializing a pain because everyone wants to feed you when they invite you over and, unless they deal with allergies themselves, they just don't get it.

 

Right after discovering my allergy, we went over to someone's house for dinner.  I explained all about my allergy plus celiac.  We agreed on a menu.  When we got there, I found out the hostess put a bottled marinade all over the meat.  Before we could eat, we were in the kitchen, digging through the garbage trying to find the bottle so I could read the ingredients.  It was awful and I felt like the rudest guest ever but I was so terrified of ending up in the ER. 

[Eagle]

:grouphug: allergies suck!

 

http://www.godairyfree.org/ is a very useful resource for recipes and tips on living with a dairy allergy. Well worth looking through.

 

We use a lot of coconut milk for creamy desserts or recipes that call for cream. Almond milk is a delicious replacement for cow's milk. Enjoy Life chocolate is rich and yummy.

 

My son eventually outgrew his dairy allergy and the only things we started eating again are cheese and butter, and even those are in much-reduced quantities than what we used to eat. I can't drink cow's milk anymore -- I no longer enjoy the taste (homemade almond milk is soooo good). We all prefer the coconut milk ice cream we make instead of the dairy variety. Coconut yogurt is also delicious.

[kbutton]

I think a lot of paleo (or primal) stuff is dairy free. Best wishes. I cannot eat wheat, so I understand how stressful new food issues are.

[twoxcell]

 

Cheese you're out of luck with. Daiya is worth trying and my son enjoys it, but it isn't a good substitute in my opinion.

:iagree: I tried a cheese substitute and it had to be the nastiest thing I have ever eaten. :huh:  I don't eat dairy or gluten so I feel your pain. I use almond milk, coconut creamer, earth balance spread, coconut ice cream, etc.

[Ellie]

...and it really sucks. I am allergic to dairy. Me...the butter, cheese, chocolate loving person that I am. And dairy is in so much that you would never even expect it to be! Anyone have any helpful hints for replacing butter and cheese? And for surviving eating at other people's homes? Restaurants seem to be pretty good at listing food ingredients, but this past weekend we were at a family reunion and it was a potluck meal. I was so careful, but must have missed something that had dairy and was sick for hours. 

 

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

 

A friend is not only deathly allergic to dairy, but she's also deathly allergic to tropical oils (such as coconut and palm). There are NO butter substitutes that she can eat. She tends to take her own food to potlucks and only eats what she brings, and rarely eats at other people's homes, because so many people just.don't.get.it.

 

As long as you aren't allergic to tropical oils, you should be able to find a butter substitute. I'm not sure I'd try to replace cheese. :-( 

 

ITA with checking out paleo recipes. I found a recipe for bon-bons that are made of raw cashews, dates, and cacao powder--no dairy but still chocolate. :-)