michele31
LIF Adult
Member since 5/05 3372 total posts
Name:
Michele
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Re: Dairy free bf'ers...
kellymom is great resource. Can her allergist help you with a food list?
What about trader joe's...they have many dairy free proucts.
Here is some things I found for you
Once you've committed to living dairy-free (for now), what's on the menu?
First, there are still plenty of things you can eat, like:
Any plain fruit or vegetable
Any plain (non-breaded, non-coldcut) meat (Note: Check the label for casein on cans of tuna!)
Eggs
Pasta with garlic & oil or red sauce (Note: If you don't make your own sauce, read labels carefully -- many jarred sauces contain cheese)
Any margarine without casein or whey in it (see below for more info on margarine)
Just about any product marked with the word "Parve" or "Pareve" as its Kosher certification (More on Kosher)
Most spreads and dips like mayonnaise, hummous, salsa, apple butter (and most other fruit "butters"), jams and jellies
Most bagels, tortillas, pitas and soft pretzels, and some breads (see below for more on bread)
Luna Bars
Hershey's chocolate syrup (but not Hershey's chocolate, not even the dark chocolate)
Many canned soups (except cream soups, of course)
Subs (aka Hoagies, Po'Boys, Grinders, etc.) without cheese
Hot cereal made with water or a milk substitute
Milk substitutes (soy, rice, oat, almond milk) -- great as ingredients, not so wonderful in a glass, if you're expecting "milk," although Silk and 8th Continent are probably the richest and most dairy-like. An excellent comparison of the nutritional content of milk substitutes may be found at http://www.kjsl.com/~imacmom/milk_subs.htm. You can make your own rice milk-like drink by blending infant rice cereal and water in a blender until smooth. Experiment with added sweetener and vanilla extract to your taste.
Goat's milk and goat's milk products (although rarely a baby may react to goat's milk as well)
Some store-bought cookies (Note: Read labels carefully!)
Some store-bought cake mixes (Note: Duncan Hines changed their mixes in 2005; they are no longer non-dairy. A good substitute is available online from Cherrybrook Kitchen)
Junior Mints candy
Rice, couscous, bulgur wheat, etc.
Just about all authentic Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, and other Asian food
A lot of snack foods (potato chips, pretzels, nuts, corn chips) but not nachos or buttered popcorn
Areas where you must tread more carefully:
Bread -- often the best bets are "ethnic" breads like Italian or French. Thomas' English Muffins have dairy in them, but some store brand English muffins are "clean," as are Wonder brand (no longer dairy-free) and Sara Lee Sourdough English Muffins. Natural Ovens breads are Kosher Parve, as are some from Cobblestone Mill. Tortillas, pitas and bagels are almost always dairy-free, but do check labels before buying. Orowheat Whole Wheat bread is dairy free.
Ice cream -- ice cream itself, of course, is right out, as is sherbet (which is milk-based), but many sorbets are "clean" (including Haagen-Dazs sorbets, even the fantastic chocolate flavor, although the label cautions that there may be trace amounts of milk protein present), and there is a bounty of delicious ice cream substitutes out there like Tofutti (See note on Tofutti), Rice Dream, Soy Delicious, etc. You'll find the best selection at a health food store, but even my local grocery has started to stock a few of them. My absolute favorite non-dairy treats, so good that I even eat them when I'm not dairy-free, are the Rice Dream Pies -- chocolate, vanilla, mint or mocha Rice Dream sandwiched between two oatmeal cookies, all covered in chocolate. Utterly delicious! You can also make your own sorbet sort of thing by freezing fruit, then putting it through a juicer or food processor. Peaches, plums and nectarines work really well, and bananas give an almost ice cream-like result.
Cheese -- to be honest, I have not personally found many supposedly "dairy-free" cheeses out there that don't contain casein, and the ones that are completely clean are usually pretty depressing. Nothing melts or gives a creamy mouth-feel like actual cheese. Some people swear by Soyco Veggie Singles or Tofutti's casein-free cheese substitutes (Tofutti's cream cheese and sour cream substitutes are also supposed to be quite passable, but see note on Tofutti), but I personally found it easiest to just give up cheese or cheese pretenders for the duration. A nice parmesan substitute for the top of your spaghetti is toasted seasoned fine dry breadcrumbs. (If you are desperate for something like cheese, you should check out The Uncheese Cookbook.) Non-cow-based cheeses like chèvre or pecorino (or some kinds of feta) may or may not bother your nursling -- if you like them, you may want to try eating a bit and seeing if your baby reacts.
Pizza -- you can find dairy-free frozen pizza at a good health food store. Alternately, you may find that you can continue to eat your regular pizza (either homemade or ordered in), if you just leave off the cheese. Most pizza crust is dairy-free (although you should probably double-check with the guy at your local pizza shop), and if you put on enough sauce and toppings (and maybe a nice generous drizzling of garlicky or herb-flavored olive oil), it's delicious and dairy-free. By the way, the little tubs of Papa John's garlic sauce that come with the pizza are dairy-free!
Cream of... Soups -- if your favorite casserole recipe just won't be the same without that red and white can of cream of something, don't give up hope! These soups are basically very thick and highly seasoned white sauces. 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. Alternately, any soup can be made creamy by blending in a package of soft tofu. Another option is to blend 1/4 cup almonds in a blender, add one cup water, 2 T corn starch, blend, pour into sauce pan, heat until thick, stirring frequently. If all this sounds too much like work to you, Imagine sells a line of "creamy" soups that are dairy-free. My local grocery store stocks these, and they're not bad!
Milk in recipes -- Non-dairy "milks" (soy milk, rice milk, oat milk, etc.) can usually be easily substituted for milk in recipes, but some dishes (especially certain baked goods) are finicky and will only work with, say, oat milk but not rice milk. Sometimes a little experimentation is called for! You can make your own rice milk-like drink by blending infant rice cereal and water in a blender until smooth. Experiment with added sweetener and vanilla extract to your taste.
Evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk -- Make your own by buying powdered soy milk and mixing it at double or triple strength for evaporated milk. Add sugar for sweetened condensed milk. More detailed instructions may be found at the vegsource.com boards. You can also make a sweetened condensed milk substitute by blending 14 oz of soft tofu with 5 1/2 tsp of sugar.
Yogurt -- there are soy yogurts out there. I found them to be absolutely vile, but of course your taste may vary. (I hear Silk's soy yogurt is decent, and that Trader Joe's, Wildwood, and WholeSoy also make good yogurts, but I'm scared to try them.) Some claim that you can blend up silken tofu with fruit and sweetener for a yogurt substitute but I can't vouch for that as I'm too cowardly to try it. Of course, this kind of substitute doesn't provide the health benefits of "active yogurt cultures," but you can buy lactobacillus supplements at your local health food store (they should be in the refrigerated section).
Butter -- there are very few margarines that are totally dairy-free. I personally use Fleishmann's unsalted sticks (the salted stuff is NOT dairy-free -- go figure!) for baking and Benecol tub spread for spreading on things like toast. Shedd's Willow Run Spreads and Sticks are 100% dairy-free. You'll find many more dairy-free choices at a health food store, but those are the ones I can get at my regular grocery. Some grocery stores carry Nucoa margarine, which is certified free of lactose and milk solids. Earth Balance Buttery Spread has been recommended in the most enthusiastic way by several readers. Smart Balance Light and Spectrum Spread are also dairy-free. Note: 100% butter is, by definition, 100% fat, and actually contains very little milk protein (in reality, though, no butter is truly dairy-free unless it has been completely clarified). Therefore, some nursing mothers can continue to consume small amounts of real butter (i.e. in baked goods or on popcorn) without noticeable effect on their nursling. Similarly, when you're ready to start slowly adding dairy back into your diet, butter may be one of the first things you can add. As with everything, your mileage (and your baby) may vary.
Chocolate chips -- Nestlé Toll-house Morsels are not dairy-free, but Ghirardelli's incredibly delicious semi-sweet chips and their fantastically fabulous double chocolate chocolate chips are "clean", as are Tropical Source and many store brands.
Coffee creamer -- most "non-dairy creamers" contain dairy. So what do you put in your coffee? Well, Silk makes a "Soymilk Creamer" -- it's sold in little refrigerated pint cartons. Westsoy makes "Crème de la Soy," a shelf-stable creamer that comes in original, amaretto and french vanilla. Some people like to use goat's milk. You can just stir straight soy milk into your coffee, but sometimes the heat makes it curdle (which doesn't affect the taste but does look rather unappealing). Some have found that the curdling can be prevented (and creaminess added) by stirring in a spoonful of dairy-free frozen whipped topping (see below) along with the soy milk. Another method is to heat a mug of milk substitute (soy milk or whatever you prefer), then stir in some instant coffee. If this all sounds too complicated, you can always whip up some hot chocolate instead -- In the bottom of a microwaveable mug, stir together 1 T unsweetened cocoa powder, about 2 T sugar, pinch of salt and enough soy milk (or other milk sub) to make a smooth paste. Heat this in the microwave for 20 seconds or so, and stir again. Then fill the mug with soy milk, add a dash of vanilla, stir well, and heat again until hot. Amounts of cocoa, sugar, salt, and vanilla can be adjusted to taste.
Pudding -- unfortunately, you can't always just substitute soy milk or rice milk for cow's milk in your regular pudding recipe (even if your recipe involves a box of instant pudding and a whisk) because it might not set up. Some homemade recipes do adapt well to non-dairy ingredients, so you might be able to experiment. There are some good pre-made soy puddings available at health food stores (my favorite is made by ZenSoy), and Mori-Nu makes a pudding mix intended to be blended with silken tofu. I also have a fabulous chocolate pudding (or pie filling) recipe that I use a lot: in a blender, combine 1 carton silken tofu (drained), ½ c melted chocolate chips, and ½ c nut butter (peanut, soynut, almond, etc). Blend, chill and serve. You can tweak this by using different flavored chocolate and different nut butters, and you can also add a little rum or some vanilla or almond extract. If it turns out too thick, you can thin it with a little soy milk. Alton Brown has a similar recipe on the Good Eats site.
Whipped cream -- Cool Whip contains dairy ingredients, but Equality brand and No Name brand whipped topping are "clean," as is NutriWhip. (Note: in some cases, only the low-fat versions are confirmed to be dairy-free. In others' experience, the converse is true. As always, check the labels!)
Cream cheese -- Tofutti has a pretty decent line of fake cream cheese spreads which are nice on bagels and such. (See note on Tofutti) If you want to make cheesecake, there are a great many recipes on the web for vegan cheesecake using tofu; Vegweb alone has about a dozen "cheese"cake recipes.
Sour cream -- There are several dairy-free brands of sour cream substitute "out there". By far the best, from what I've heard (I don't like sour cream myself), is Tofutti brand. (See note on Tofutti) Alternately, you can make your own. For baking, you can usually substitute soured soy milk (1 T vinegar or lemon juice added to 1 C soy milk and left to stand for 5 minutes = 1 C soured soy milk).
Convenience foods -- A good health food store will offer many kinds of frozen dinners and other convenience foods that are dairy-free (and labeled as such). Amy's Kitchen, for example, makes some yummy frozen entrees with no dairy. (Note that not every Amy's Kitchen is dairy-free, but those that are will be clearly marked.)
Cold cuts and hot dogs -- Many of these contain casein or whey ingredients. Read labels carefully!
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