Dairy Free

Hugs!

First off - it does look daunting in the beginning (especially because there are milk solids in heaps of stuff you don't expect!)..... but once you've got your head around the whole thing, it's actually easier than it looks.

Secondly, it took me 3-4 weeks of being off dairy (and other food) for it to make a difference with Nat (although that was allergies rather than wind/colic) - but the specialist said that dairy tends to hang around your system for a while after you stop consuming it, so just be prepared that there may not be an instant improvement.

Here is a link to the manufactured foods database, which you can search for whether items contains dairy or not.

I found easy substitutes were soy milk and yoghurt (the cheese however is ), and just having really 'plain' made from stratch meals - like stirfrys, basic pastas with a tomato base, lots of salads and things like that. If you stay away from processed foods, it's much easier to avoid the milk solids (including things like casein). The good thing about it being summer is that you can get away with easy foods like BBQ stuff (there are some quite nice sausages out there without milk in them too), and just plain salads and breads (most commercially produced bread doesn't actually have milk in it). Olivani is the only spread without any milk solids in it, but it tastes fine and is no doubt healthier anyway!

I know you did dairy-free with Jackson for a while, so hopefully you'll have some idea about things you can eat? (like the Nice biscuits! ).

I'll have a think and see if there's anything else I can remember that I ate heaps of, but in general I just tried to keep the food as homemade as possible, and that way it wasn't a huge issue figuring out if there was dairy in it or not.

A hint is that oat milk is way nicer if you want milk on your cereal.

I'm completely dairy free if you want any hints on substitutes.

I've even made lasagne and it was yummy. My most fav meal is pasta with creamy sauce & I've found a great substitute there as well.

For me, the key was rather than trying to substitute things and ending up with copies that were never as good as the real thing, I just changed what I was eating.

Lots of fruit, hummus/relish/dairy-free mayo instead of cheese etc in sandwiches. Baking is fine as someone else said - also I found apple juice a good milk substitute in cakes too.

Dinners - stirfries, mashed veges with mayo not milk/butter, tomato-based sauces, salads

Just try it - it's not so hard once you get to grips with it.

Thanks guys. I never went dairy free with JJ, he was on formula by the time we tried that.

Haven't started yet - still overwhelmed!!

Hi there

there are some great resources available through the Vegan Society (we vegans being diary free and all :) )
http://www.vegansociety.co.nz/
There are even diary free cheeses available.

xxx

cheese was the hardest thing for me to cut out - but goat's feta is pretty yummy, especially if you're using it in salads and pasta . Plus countdown have it on special every couple of weeks for around $5 so not toooo expensive!

Oreo cookies are good for a chocolate hit.

Stay clear of any fast food - McD's, BK and the like all coat their fries in milk solids. I got a list from KFC of what allergens they had in their food and the ONLY thing dairy free on their menu is the gravy

good luck!