Dairy-Free Meals

A few years ago, we discovered that our youngest daughter Bethany reacts to milk and dairy products with an eczema type-rash. Poor baby! :(  So to this day, at over 2 years old, she still does not consume any dairy products. We discovered this when I was nursing her, so that meant that I had to cut out all dairy products at the time too. I found a great resource of friends on Facebook that also had kids with no-dairy diets. I've had to alter some of the recipes that we make, so this is a post all about what I learned and do for Bethany now.

One of my friends gave me a link to a hidden dairy "cheat sheet" that you can print out and keep in your wallet or one your refrigerator. (I did both!) It is very handy to have when you are in the grocery store and you need to know if certain ingredients are milk related or not. She also explains kosher labeling well on the card. It is business card sized, and you can find it here. The Kellymom.net has other great resources too, if you have time, you should check it out! She is a lactation consultant and has lots of great articles. 

Bethany in her pre- dairy-free days, itchy skin!

Bethany still drinks soy milk, when I weaned her, she went straight to soy milk. Our favorite brand is Silk, and you can check out their web site and info about them here. We buy cases of three half-gallons at Sam's Club, and it lasts us a week or two. My hubby and I drink it too, the chocolate is yummy for hot chocolate and in coffee! You can even get a coupon on their website to get you started!

We use Silk in our recipes that we make for the family that have milk in them. These include pancakes, waffles, french toast, corn bread, muffins and more. It works well and you can hardly tell. The Vanilla soy milk adds a little extra flavor that is delicious!

One of my favorite websites for recipes that I found is godairyfree.org. They also have a lot of vegan  nut-free, and soy-free recipes too. One blog that I found that has some good recipes is here. Most of the time I can alter a recipe slightly so that Bethany can have a part with no cheese. When we make chicken enchiladas, hers has no cheese or sour cream. When we make desserts, sometimes I have a piece of cake or pudding just for her, and we buy her soy ice cream. We also buy chocolate graham crackers for her for a sweet. One of my friends makes dairy free cake mix (one of them is, can't remember if it's Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker) and freezes cupcakes for her kids. I think she even frosts them with powdered sugar & dairy-free cream cheese frosting! 

I found some tips here about going dairy-free while nursing your baby. 

 I found this recipe for dairy-free cream soup:

"To make a 1-cup "condensed" serving, melt 3 T margarine (or oil) in a saucepan. Whisk in 3 T flour, 1/4 tsp salt and a dash of pepper. Cook over medium heat until bubbly, stirring frequently. Slowly add 1 ¼ C hot milk substitute (or half-and-half milk sub & chicken stock for cream of chicken), stirring with a whisk to prevent lumps. Cook until thick, stirring constantly. You can add sautéed vegetables (i.e., sauté ¼ C chopped mushrooms and 1 T minced onion in the margarine before adding the flour for cream of mushroom; sub celery for the mushrooms for cream of celery), vary the liquid used (i.e. tomato juice for tomato soup), add herbs and spices, etc." She also says that Imagine sells a brand of "creamy" soups that are dairy-free. I may have to try them!

Here is another recipe for condensed cream soup: http://www.econobusters.com/?s=condensed+cream+soup It would work best with diary-free margarine, and the only one is Smart Balance Light. We also like Fritos corn chips, we buy those for birthdays!

I have a recipe for dairy-free cake found on my blog here.

AND did you know that Oreo cookies are dairy- free? I wish I'd known that earlier!

Oh, and I tell Bethany now that she can't have certain things to eat, and she'll ask why. I usually say that it has "itchy milk" in it. She seems to understand that, and will even ask me, "Itchy milk Momma?" :(

It was an adjustment for us, as I am sure that it would be for you too.

I hope these tips and links have helped!

If you have any questions, let me know. I am happy to share what I've learned over the past few years!