Milk Allergy - Downers Grove,IL

L.,
Try Soy milk. My son, now three, had bad milk allergies when he was an infant. We gave him soy milk and what a difference! We started with soy formula and when he was about a year moved to regular soy milk (8th Continent). I was worried that he would never be able the tollerate dairy but with slow transition, by the time he was a year and a half he was able to drink whole milk. Good luck!!

D.

We chose to supplement Rice milk because of the hormones and antibiotics and whatever else they might be putting into milk these days that isn't needed. I have recently switched to Almond milk.the brand we prefer is made by Imagine foods. Blue Almond is second. I was told Almond is the best by a few chiropracters at Planet Chiropractic. I haven't had much success with the cheese sustitute. There are soy cheese and yogurts but soy is harder to digest and causes inflamation. But that's another subject. Have you called Whole Foods Or Fruitful Yield to see what they might carry?
Good luck, M.

This might sound crazy but there is a product called Hemp Milk or Hemp Bliss. A couple friends, who's children have milk allergies, were talking about it at play group. They are interested in it because it has naturally occuring calcium, omega threes and protein (I think). My one friend did two hours of research to see if there was anything wrong with it, and was going to try it with her daughter. Of course her husband joked she would be the "most popular mom on the block":)

Another thing to be aware of is that some soy yogurt is grown on milk cultures. If your child is severely allergic this can be a problem. you can call the company to check.

Also, if you use benedryl to treating a reaction, my friend likes the benedryl strips as they are so easy to carry around and administer.

Our son has a milk allergy, too. It can be challenging, but you will learn what things you can get and how to substitute in time. I like the Silk Live yogurt. It is completely dairy free and you can get it at Whole Foods and Fruitful Yield. There are also soy ice creams that are pretty good and you can get some of these at regular food stores. Just be sure you check the labels, because sometimes there is some dairy (whey or caesin) farther down on the label on these products. We also use Flieshman's unsalted margarine in place of butter and that has no dairy as well. The web site godairyfree.com has a list of dairy ingredients that you can download so you know what to look for when you are shopping. It will get easier. Good luck!

My 3-year-old son has been allergic to milk, eggs, wheat, peanuts, barley and tree nuts. We found out about his allergies after he was tested when he was just about one year since he was having many reactions to foods I tried to introduce. He will drink rice milk and that has worked very well. I buy Rice Dream. I have even found it at Wal-Mart where it isn't as expensive as Jewel or Dominick's. I'm not sure where you are located, but Whole Foods carries MANY foods that we can buy for him. They sell many brands of yogurt that are dairy free.One brand is Stonybrook Farm. I've tasted it and it is pretty good. You can also get ice cream made from soy milk from Rice Dream and, honestly, it tastes very good. Whole Foods is a little expensive, but they have a huge variety and are very helpful. Plus if you get something and your child doesn't like it, they will take it back, no questions.

If he does have a milk allergy, kids often will outgrow them. So far we have had annual blood tests, and no luck yet, but my son is so used to his diet that we function just fine.

The Food Allergy Network site also has good resources including recipes and other good info. http://www.foodallergy.org/

Whole Foods will also have food fairs from time to time targeting specific food allergies.

Good luck with everything. I felt pretty hopeless when we first found out about his allergies, but we have found many foods he can have and once you deal with it, it just becomes a way of life.

Hi Laura!
My son loves the almond milk with vanilla. For yogurt we substituted the Trader Joe's organic for Goat's Milk yogurt with Vanilla -- we buy at Whole Foods. He likes it very much and people allergic to cow's milk do fine on goat's milk...go figure. For cheese -- Whole Foods carries rice and almond cheese. Both melt like regular cheese. My son likes the cheddar style better than the mozzarella style. I like both. Good luck!
S. in Lisle

My stepmom is allergic to milk, so she drinks lactaid and uses it to bake and cook with and eats it on her cereal. She also loves Tofutti, that tofu ice cream? There are so many products made with soy, soy cheese, soy everything! You shouldn't have an issue finding stuff, it's such a common allergy. Good luck!

My son was diagnosed with a milk allergy at 1 year. Your best bet is to shop at a Whole Foods if there is one near you. Otherwise, I have noticed Meijer carries more soy based products than they used to. Finding a good soy/rice cheese is difficult. They all stink and don't taste very good. I learned how to make ricotta cheese from scratch - I used this when I made lasagna. If you'd like to know how, let me know. Pretty much everything you could want also comes in a soy based product - ice cream, yogurt, etc. The Amy's brand makes soy cheese pizza, which is actually pretty good. I've seen that at Meijer.

The biggest thing is to make sure you check the ingredients on everything. Things you would never think have milk in them actually do - bread, cookies, crackers, etc. The more you can avoid milk the more likely he will outgrow the allergy (my son finally got the all clear last summer - it made life so much easier!!!).

We buy 8th Continent brand soy milk and LOVE IT! Also, check out Trader Joe's. They have a wide variety of soy products that are quite delicious.

Hi L.,
By choice, I have (for the most part) removed cow's milk from my 3 yr. old son's diet (he's never had a glass of milk). Like your son, he loves yogurt and cheese. He has tried different soy yogurts but didn't care for them (different ones from Trader Joe's and Whole Foods). The one non-dairy yogurt that he loves is actually made from brown rice! I know it sounds kind of strange, but he just loves it. It's called Ricera and is finally carried by Whole Foods again.
Whole Foods also carries a raw, unpasteurized goat cheese (I buy the white cheddar) and he enjoys this. (I heard goat milk is the only "universal" milk--meaning other animals can survive on it--not sure how your son's milk allergy would respond to goat's milk, though).
Also, you can find dairy-free recipes for mac n' cheese online (many use nutritional yeast which my son has yet to acquire a taste for), but there's also a box mix by Road's End Organics (also carried by Whole Foods). My son enjoys the Whole Wheat pasta cheddar style.
I use organic rice milk and soy milk in my cooking and baking.
I'm vegan and have found many recipes online for dairy-free cooking.
I hope this helps! I know it's hard to find alternative foods for your child, especially if they, like many kids, have a limited menu already.
Take care!

I'm a singer and can't have dairy cuz of my voice.

Silk Soy milk is the only soy milk I like (the others are chalky) and another idea is Lactaid. There is also lactose free ice cream. Not bad!

My son had milk sensitivity when he was 1-2. My chiropractor recommended almond milk which he took to right away. I prefer this to the rice based on the ingredients. It's now available on the shelf at Jewel & Dominick's. Soy Silk is good too if the soy does not bother him (digestion/inflamation) - the chocolate is yummy. My kids also like the Tofutti Cuties ice cream sandwhichs & bars - Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and Fruitful Yield (fox valley mall area). I do know they make soy yogurt but we have not tried. Fruitful Yield also carries cheese substitutes but we have not tried these as my son has outgrown his sensitivity. Good luck.