Ok. So my kiddo has had chronic ear problems and seems to constantly have a runny nose. The doc says to do a trial by going without dairy for 4 days. So any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
If you can go to Whole Foods, the Customer Service desk has shopping lists that are specific to particular allergies. They will provide you with a list of products that are dairy free, including casein, milk proteins, and all those other hidden dairy words.
It is kind of obvious, but soy and rice products are great (milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, etc.)
My son has a dairy allergy. He is 3 1/2 now, but was diagnosed at 6 months, so we have been cooking without diary for a long time. Below are two websites I use for dairy free recipes that have helped immensely.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Healthy-Cooking/Dairy-Free/...
http://www.godairyfree.org/Table/Recipes/
Also, I use the plain Silk soymilk to substitute in my own recipes (chicken dijon, meatballs, etc.) that call for milk or half and half and nobody can tell a difference.
I shop Vitamin Cottage - they have a huge selection of dairy-free products ranging from pre-made cakes, cookies, energy bars to dairy free chocolate chips, breads, Silk milks and yogurts. Beware of any soy cheese, they still contain casein (milk protein). Read labels on everything - you won't believe the products that contain milk that you never expected.
I hope this is helpful and we wish you lots of luck!
Hi--
My 4 year old is the same. We use rice milk because soy milk can mess with a little boy's hormones (too much estrogen). If you want it a little creamier you can also mix it with coconut milk to flavor and good fats. You can use the rice milk in just about any recipe you would've need milk. Cheese is tough--the soy one's are decent and there is one that melts okay. Be careful on the packaging--if it has casein in it that is the milk protein that most children are allergic to, so avoid that. You can still do spaghetti, and meats, etc. I use avocado in place of cheese on sandwiches, burritos, etc. My son loves it! It has a similar texture to cheese so it may be a great substitute for you. Any other questions I'm happy to answer, but this should get you through four days. Incidentally, it actually takes about 7 days for milk protein to be completely eliminated from the body, so you might consider going a little longer to get the best results.
Good luck!
J.
R.: we found out last January that my son had a milk allergy. it was hard in the beginnning because you do need to read ingredients in every single thing you buy. (did you know they even use milk fillers in hotdogs?) anyway, there are lots of great recipes on the websites that were suggested to you. Rice Dreams is a big winner with my son (soy is too h*** o* his tummy) Good luck. once you start using all the alternatives it's easy.
R.,
Good Morning. I am sorry to hear of this and hope your child feels better soon. As frustrating and frightening as this news may be, I wanted you to know it feasible to live with a dairy allergy. Both of our kids, 3 and 4 have severe, anayphalatic shock like, dairy allergies.
I have several friends going through the same experience as well.
There are plenty of great substitutes out there. It takes some work, well quite a bit to be honest, but it can work. We work with the cooks at the day care in reading the labels and teaching them how to make substitute meals, we question every wait staff person at a restaurant.
My husband and many friends, have mastered cakes and cupcakes without milk so the kids are not left out at the many birthday party celebrations. You can buy egg replacer at the store and smart balance is a butter substitute. Apple sauce is used as a substitute in some meals. We live by Rice Dream. The "milk" and the ice cream. Tyson chicken is fabulous, the chicken dinosaurs have no milk and they are baked, so breaded little chicken nuggets that are milk free. Pillbury croisants are dairy free, Duncan Hines white cake is as well.
My son experienced stuffy nose and cold like symtoms for months before we associated it with the Milk allergy. He eats Soy and was able, we thought, to tolerate some levels of dairy, but the stuffy nose or constant cold like symtoms were all dairy related.
As you can tell I am passionate about the topic and would not mind chatting further should you have interest.
Ingredients to look for that contain milk protein:
Butter, Casein, Caseinates, Cheese, Custard, Chee, Half and Half, Lactalbumin, Lactoferrin, Lactulose, Mougat, Pugging, Rennet casein, Sour Cream, Whey,Yogurt. Some luncheon meats and caramel candies and definitely tootsie rolls do.
Do know Calcium lactate, Calcium stearoyl lactate, Coaca butter, Cream of Tartat, Latic Acid, Oleoresin, Sodium Lactate and Sodium Stearoyl Lacaylate usisally do not contain the milk proten.
All the best,
D.
Hey R.!
Did you know humans are the only animal which drinks the milk of other animals? Strange, no? It is a fact that all people are lactose intolerant by nature, but we desensitize ourselves to it. People of color rarely adapt to milk and will still present signs of intolerance.
Dairy free can be easy. Does your child have a lactose allergy or is it casein too? If its just lactose, you might try almond cheese, I believe it has casein in it still but it's the closest to cheese you can get. You can still make quesadillas, pizza, etc. with it because it melts.
I will tell you vegan cheese is heinous. It's gross, waxy, I can't stand it!
Pizza without cheese is good if your little one likes veggies and other toppings. There is an amazing vegan Parmesan which you can get at any health food store. You really have to watch labels closely.
Check out vegweb.com. It's a meat and dairy free site, but I think you could get some ideas from that. You can also use the recipes with meat if you are an omnivore family.
If you need anything more specific let me know, I'd be happy to share some recipes.
Good Luck,
K.
are you asking for substitutions? I have a sensitivity to milk, so i drink soy milk instead.
I like the "Silk" brand, I drink the "light", but the regular is good... they also make vanilla and chocolate flavored if that would make it more palatable for your child.
rice or almond milk are also a good alternatives, I started drinking rice milk first and then switched to soy. I have not found a cheese alternative that is good, so I just eat it sparingly. just watch the sugar content in some brands of soy milk... so are worse than soda.. though i must admit, unsweetened soy milk is pretty strong tasting.
as a suggestion, instead of just giving your child a big glass of soy or rice milk, I'd just put it on her cereal or something like that... work up to drinking it straight. I know you probably need to eliminate all dairy for 4 days, but for what its worth, while i still cannot drink milk (give me a terrible stomach ache and well, let's just say unpleasant digestive side effects)... I can tolerate yogurt and cottage cheese just fine. Regular cheese is o.k. as long as I don't eat too much... and ice cream can be o.k. too, again in moderation. so perhaps you'll find your child is more sensitive to dairy in different forms?
good luck!
Dear R.,
Allergies present themselves in what we call the asthmatic Triad from top to bottom.
Ezcema
Ear & nose problems
Asthma
So if your little on had ezcema that is the first sign, then it travels & they have ears & nose issues, finally if the allergen is not removed it becomes asthma.
Our daughter was 4 mo. old when we found out she had a severe milk allergy. Only because she had milk spilled on her & broke out in hives. MILK ALLERGY IN A STRICTLY breast fed baby! Anyway I went on a dairy free diet for over 10 mo. to avoid her having any further reactions. As of about the last month we re-introduced it a bit in me, not in her & I see symptoms surfacing. So I will be going off of it again. I really suggest your little one going on a dairy free diet. It will take more than 4 days. It can take weeks for those proteins to be flushed out of the system. It is a life change but it is so worth it. Let me know if you have anymore questions. It is really hard when you have alot of kids & only one has the allergy. But my kids are really great about making sure baby doesn't get into food she cannot have. There are also wonderful Dairy free products out there. Whether it is food or personal products. Josies allergy is why I started my business. Take care & please let me know how I can help. G
Soy milk has been a big thing in our home. We get the unsweetened kind so there is no added or extra sugar... but why I am really writing is to take this all one step further and get your child a full allergy screening!
Most doc don't seem to want to suggest this- mine sure didn't. So I took it upon myself to do it!
National Jewish is where you should turn. Finding out what your child is allergic to will open up a whole knew world for the both of you...
Get online and fill out their pre-registration from. They will contact you within a few weeks and get you set up to come on in.
Good Luck.
I don't have any suggestions on recipes, etc., but we used to deal with this, and you have to read labels very carefully if you're to avoid it completely. Look for whey and other obscure milk products. It pretty much means only fresh and from scratch if you can't do any at all. I hope you find the cause of all the problems soon. Just a thought, our son had chronic ear infections, etc., until we started him on nasal rinses and Nasonex. I don't like the meds so much, but the rinses are amazing. His issues are environmental. GL!
R.,
My children are the same way...we put our daughter on goats milk when she was under 12months and at that time put our son on rice milk. His sinuses cleared up immediately and she didn't have a single ear infection for 6 months (until allergy season hit), at that time we put her on a daily allergy med and hasn't had an ear infection in over a year. Neither of the kids have been sick enough that they have had to go to the doctor or needed an antibiotic. They still get coughs and runny noses once in a while but they don't last but a couple days. They do eat cheese and yogurt it just isn't in such large amounts as when they are drinking a gallon of milk every 2 days. Best of luck and if you are looking for prices go to your local vitamin cottage because especially for rice milk it is cheaper per carto and if you buy a case you get an additional 10% off yes it is more expensive than milk but saves time and money when it comes to going to the doctor and getting medicine.
N.
