Any no-dairy folks here?

Parent Cafe
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<p>I have just spontaneously developed a severe allergy to dairy. I went from drinking a quart of milk a day for 20 years to not being able to have any dairy whatsoever apparently overnight. Not lactose intolerance, but an actual allergy. I vomit for days upon consuming any dairy at all. Dairy, in one way or another, made up a huge part of my diet and cheese was by far by greatest joy in life (I know, sad) so now I am trying to find replacements. I am wondering if there is anybody here with similar dietary needs, whether due to allergy/intolerance, or veganism, or whatever, who has some suggestions.</p>

<p>So far, I think silk is disgusting. Too sweet. The chocolate is acceptable. Almond breeze milk may be good enough, the taste is okay but I am still not emotionally over the fact that it is obviously not milk. I have tried ice cream made from coconut milk and it was gross, I don’t like coconuts apparently. I have “so delicious” brand soy ice cream to try and I believe some rice dream or something, but I haven’t tried those yet.</p>

<p>But what about butter and cheese? I haven’t found any non-dairy spreads yet, much less any that will taste even kind of like butter (or margarine, I am accustomed to both), and so far I have not read anything encouraging about soy cheeses. If I have to go my whole life never having another grilled cheese sandwich I’ll just die.</p>

<p>And what about for baking? More than a few bites of milk chocolate gives me a stomach ache, and I don’t like dark chocolate anymore. I really want to bake some brownies but I don’t know what substitutes I can use to pull it off. Maybe I can never have brownies again. :frowning: I don’t know.</p>

<p>I have a whole foods by my school, other than that I don’t know if I have any other places to shop. My local chain grocery stores have pretty much nothing but lactaid, which is not non-dairy.</p>

<p>Anybody have any guidance?</p>

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<p>Have you spoken with your GP? He/she might have some ideas.</p>

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<p>You might try investigating vegan products.</p>

<p>My brother and his wife recently adopted a vegan diet, and I believe they have found some good cheese substitutes.</p>

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<p>In our organic/natural food section of the grocery store, there is a small refrigerated case where I find “Earth Balance” spread for a relative of mine - he can also eat some Kraft shredded cheeses. I’ve also found nondairy chocolate chips there. </p>

<p>I don’t know about brownies, but I would think that there must be some vegan or non-dairy recipes online these days. </p>

<p>Good luck - sorry I can’t be of more help.</p>

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<p>I’m vegan as is my now college D and there are many good substitutes but it will take some time before you find some you like. My tastes did switch and now there are many things I really like that at first I didn’t. </p>

<p>Earth balance comes in sticks and spreadable and is a butter substitute - they even have a spread one in a red container that is soy free that we love too. My whole family now eats just earth balance instead of “real” butter even though 2 are omnis and one is vegetarian (we’re a mixed bunch!). Great on toast, pasta, bagels, etc.</p>

<p>Tofutti makes some good cream cheese and sour cream substitutes but these can take some getting used to - use them in small amounts until you enjoy them, but they can satisfy many cravings!</p>

<p>Daiya cheese - shredded, melts, come in both “cheddar” and “mozzarella” styles - we use it on nachos, grilled cheese, lasagna, quesadillas, etc, Also, Whole Foods has some sliced vegan cheese in their cheese section that is great for grilled cheese too.</p>

<p>I had no problem giving up dairy but it was harder for my D, who unlike coming by veganism by choice as I did, she was battling many dietary issues that seemed to all stem from animal protein - she felt so much better after going vegan that she stuck with it.</p>

<p>We do like silk but I don’t drink it straight, I use the plain for cereal and in baking or cooking. I also like almond milk for the same. But experiment with different brands and different containers - I like the shelf stable versions better than the ones in the dairy section cartons.</p>

<p>Also, we love Whole Soy yogurt - by far my favorite yogurt and they also do a frozen yogurt dessert. Tofutti’s Vanilla Almond Bark is also really good but I haven’t found it in stores. We had to experiment with different brands/flavors to find what we liked.</p>

<p>Feel free to PM me with any questions or ask them here and I’d be happy to help! Also, what school are you at? I know some can be much more dairy-free friendly than others! </p>

<p>Also, I have the best non-dairy mac and cheez recipe that receives rave reviews whenever we serve it to vegans and omnis alike - and it involves no cheese or cheese substitutes. [Macaroni</a> & Cheese](<a href=“The Best Vegan Macaroni and Cheese You’ll Ever Make | VegNews”>The Best Vegan Macaroni and Cheese You’ll Ever Make | VegNews)</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>I had no idea non-dairy chocolate chips existed, so that is a major help. The idea of giving up chocolate for good at age 21 is just too much to handle! Maybe I can find some of this kind of stuff online or something.</p>

<p>I don’t actually have a GP that I see regularly, we don’t have very much insurance coverage these days. I am having all kinds of tests done because I seem to be developing a lot of problems all the sudden so I do intend to bring this up with someone, but I am not really getting any consistent care at the moment. </p>

<p>The good news is that the city I live in during the school year is extremely vegan friendly, so even though my access to major grocery stores will be severely limited I may be in better shape there than at home anyway. I am just spending an awful lot of money on these expensive soy products just to try it and find it’s inedible.</p>

<p>ETA: Thanks shillyshally, that is exactly the kind of info I was hoping to come across. I attend umich, so my area is in general very vegan friendly but I am not sure where kids get their groceries from. I am only aware of a meijer and a whole foods on the bus route. I’ve never been to whole foods and in light of this am planning to make a trip. Meijers offerings are scant. I had no idea that milk is in SO MUCH stuff, I can find NOTHING I can have in my parents house. And with how many products dairy is snuck into, I don’t even know how I’ll ever go out to eat again. It seems like nothing is safe.</p>

<p>The non-dairy mac n cheese recipe is enough to bring me to tears. The thought of never having this stuff again is SO SAD. I am glad I only waited a couple days to ask around!</p>

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<p>Sympathies from another cheese addict. I’ve never had a substitute that actually reproduced the taste and texture. Let us know if you find one.</p>

<p>I like soy ice cream very much. It is close enough to the real thing for me. Try it!</p>

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<p>What brand of soy ice cream do you eat? I just tried So Delicious and I think it would be sufficient for the occasional fix, but I didn’t think it was great. If that’s as good as I can do I think it would be okay. I have soy dream in the freezer too that I haven’t tried yet.</p>

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<p>OP - my D (who flirts with going vegan but hasn’t quite made the leap permanently) made this chocolate cake last week - it was amazing! [Magic</a> Chocolate Cake Recipe | ChooseVeg.com](<a href=“http://www.chooseveg.com/vegan-chocolate-cake.asp]Magic”>http://www.chooseveg.com/vegan-chocolate-cake.asp) I had made brownies earlier in the day, usually my family’s favorite, but as soon as that cake came out of the oven the brownies were forgotten!</p>

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<p>I had my daughter on a diary free diet for years. She’s fine with dairy now. To make a long story short, I learned that some people tolerate dairy after a period of abstinence. Some people tolerate it better when taking lactase enzymes with dairy. Some people tolerate it better if it’s organic. For milk some tolerate it better if it is in glass bottles. Some people tolerate goat milk better than cow milk (e.g. my husband).</p>

<p>If I were you, I’d abstain for 2 months, then begin experimenting with these options. You might also try taking regular digestive enzymes with your other food now, like papaya enzyme, to help your gut heal. No need to assume you can never have the stuff again. Good luck!</p>

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<p>You know, I don’t eat ice cream of any kind very often. I don’t remember the brand name of soy ice cream I’ve eaten; I did buy it at Whole Foods and I thought it was quite good. Sorry I can’t be more specific.</p>

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<p>Oh, if you can find it at whole foods - the Amy’s frozen products - one of their new ones is a Gluten Free/Dairy Free Mac & Cheese that is actually quite good (make sure to check the back of the box and it should say <vegan> at the start of the ingredients but it satisfies my D’s craving for quick mac and cheese - she was very dissapointed the local whole foods didn’t have them so we’ll have to try and get her some at school.</vegan></p>

<p>Yep, many dairy free chocolate chips that are great (and can be melted for chocolate covered strawberries, put in cookies, etc). </p>

<p>I know it can feel so overwhelming at first but it will get easier as you experiment with new things and find what you like/can handle.</p>

<p>Hang in there! My D felt very similar to you at first but once her stomach finally stopped hurting after years and years she found it much easier to change her eating, although I know it was easier for her because I was already vegan and was cooking vegan.</p>

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<p>I’m not dairy-intolerant, but I have a family member with severe allergy to spicy foods (pinpointed to hot peppers - you really don’t want to know what this person goes through if a microgram of that stuff gets into their stomach), so I know how painful it could be to read the ingredients lists on each and every food item I buy. Cooking from scratch and limiting eating out to Japanese restaurants solved a lot of problems in my house.</p>

<p>I love cheese and milk, but if I were to develop a sensitivity to it, I’d be OK without the stuff, because there are many other foods I enjoy. Ema, I think Mother Nature gives you a chance to radically change your diet. Instead of wasting your money on overpriced fake versions of the products you can no loger eat, spend your hard earned $$ on quality produce, fresh fish, lean meats, eggs, whole grains. A cup of soy yogurt here and there is OK, but adding too much soy to your diet is probably not good for you, as many studies have shown some connection between phytoestrogens and nasty health problems. One can eat great without diary (says this former ice cream lover) - but you have to learn to cook from scratch and embrace new tastes. You don’t have to become a vegan unless you discover that animal-derived protein is something you cannot tolerate, too. You can bake scrumptious cakes and pies without butter (veggie oil and margarine work just fine and cocoa powder does not have any dairy in it), and you’d be much healthier without pizza and cheese sandwiches. One thing you will have to add is a good calcium supplement. Hugs to you.</p>

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<p>Ema, do you like Asian kitchen - many Asians are lactose intolerant, and therefore real Asian dishes do not have dairy ingredients. Chicken Pad Thai - yummmmm…</p>

<p>Here is an interesting fact about humans and milk:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.foodnavigator.com/Science-Nutrition/Scientists-identify-lactose-intolerance-mutation[/url]”>http://www.foodnavigator.com/Science-Nutrition/Scientists-identify-lactose-intolerance-mutation&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>I have had IBS for two years, so I have got all sorts of problems. I am having a colonoscopy next week to rule out other issues. There are very few foods I can tolerate anymore. Dairy has always been fine, but just this summer suddenly it is not. It started out very inconsistent, sometimes I would get sick and other times I would feel fine, but now I have a VERY bad reaction every time. I tried lactaid pills and tried just sticking to cheese with very small amounts of lactose to begin with, but the reaction was so severe that I may as well have eaten a quart of ice cream for how sick it made me. I just hope since it came on so suddenly that means it can go away suddenly, too.</p>

<p>Though, so far it only seems to be to straight milk, cheese, and ice cream–and a bit of a reaction to chocolate. Margarine has been okay, I think. Breads that say they contain milk also seem to be okay. I am trying to go totally dairy-free just so I don’t rock the boat while my system is not prepared to handle it. I get sick every third day when I don’t knowingly put something tummy doesn’t like in my body. Now that I am going to be on a meal plan at school and the only foods I supply for myself are little supplemental things, this is going to be extremely difficult. I really don’t get that much control over my diet. On a list of 10 foods the cafeteria is serving on any given day, I can only eat one or two of them anyway-- and that was before this.</p>

<p>I am presently having all kinds of tests done to see if I have hypothyroidism, so I am hoping that if that’s the case they can level things out and maybe some of these problems will go away. In the meantime, I really just want to be able to get a taste of my favorite foods once in a while. I don’t typically chow down on ice cream regularly, but grilled cheese and mac n cheese are my all time favorite comfort foods-- that and potato buds, which are also prepared with milk. Even though I think my digestive system has been trying to kill me the last few years, I am generally a very healthy person. I don’t eat sweets, don’t like salt, don’t drink or smoke, I don’t like to snack, I exercise, I make good choices-- I just want my freaking grilled cheese!</p>

<p>ETA:</p>

<p>The only asian food I have yet tried is Chinese food, which I actually only just recently tried. Fiance would LOVE it if I were willing to start eating more asian food, that is practically all he eats-- and, coincidentally, he is lactose intolerant. I am trying to adjust to it, there are a lot of flavors in there I am not used to. I am typically one for a very bland, dry diet-- everything asian is not. :P</p>

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<p>Ema, you may do well to try adding some Ayurvedic info to your world. Googling will lead you to lots of info. Ayurveda is the Indian (from India) traditional system of medicine and deals with diet and elimination as the primary focus to wellness. It’s a nice addition to regular medicine - not a replacement - but could help you figure out what’s going on with your digestion. One good website to try is called Joyful Belly. Googling will get you there. Lots of recipes and info - do not despair; you can find comfort food fixes and yummy food. </p>

<p>Also, I have learned that gluten intolerance can lead to IBS and lactose intolerance because if your body doesn’t tolerate gluten (wheat, corn, oatmeal, barley) then your intestines get injured when you do eat those foods. It is the intestinal lining that produces lots of the digestive enzymes, so if it’s injured, problemo! with digestion. Switching to rice based products (flour, pasta, breads) can help with that and there’s a whole world of info on gluten intolerance and lots of brands even in the supermarket that are ok to eat.</p>

<p>Good luck with your journey! And if you’re hypothyroid do not walk but run to the bookstore or Amazon to get Mary Shomon’s book to learn about the ins and outs of that condition. There’s lots to know to get good care. You will work this all out! And then you will be one of the wisdom people. Rock on!</p>

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<p>I had considered gluten intolerance and had all but ruled it out, but it’s back on the table now. When I do get sick I pretty much survive off of crackers and bread until the wave passes, so it doesn’t seem like it would make sense, but I am not ruling anything out. It is intriguing to me that casein is often mentioned in the same breath as gluten, and I strongly suspect casein may be at least part of my problem with dairy. I have always been mildly allergic to cheese-- it caused migraines, but I loved it so I ate it occasionally anyway-- generally the white cheeses didn’t bother me. </p>

<p>Man, if I can’t have gluten or dairy I am going to starve on the meal plan this year.</p>

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<p>You sound a lot like my D did in MS and HS - periodic but then more frequent attacks that couldn’t be pinpointed to any one thing. We had her tested and they thought it was similar to IBS but not the same in that the usual treatment methods didn’t work as well. We though it may have been celiac as well but she too was surviving with no issue on crackers and bread when she would have attacks from everything else. We tried no dairy but then meat gave her issue, she tried vegetarian and then milk/cheese gave her issue. It honestly was not until she went vegan that she got any relief and we are fairly certain it is simply an intolerance to animal enzymes and protein. We could do more tests but she has her life back now after being vegan for a year and a half and that alone has made it easy for her to adjust. Again it helps that we are a very vegan friendly household since I am vegan and all baked items are vegan and most foods. It did take her a bit for her tastebuds to adjust but now she eats again with a vengance and fortunately has found great options on her campus (UVA). Personally I went vegetarian first and then vegan and it was after fully giving up all dairy that I saw the most changes in my tastebuds and how I felt.</p>

<p>Tip - whole foods has chocolate chips labeled as vegan but their store brand ones are also usually vegan - same with Food Lion’s house brand of chocolate chips.</p>

<p>And Mashed potatoes with earth balance and salt/pepper will satisfy most comfort needs :)</p>

<p>Hang in there - I hope you find what works best for you!</p>

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<p>If I go vegan I will have to immediately move out of my parents house. Which I suppose I was close to doing anyway, but if I had to make that extreme of a dietary change I would not be welcome here anymore. My mom is WEIRD about food and already won’t let me use any of the extra room in the fridge for a carton of almond breeze (because it’s “WEIRD!”), nor will she let me bring my mini-fridge in from the garage to use. She is trying to starve me! My dad used to buy vegetarian chicken nuggets (chik’n?) when I was a kid and my mom would get really angry about it. She is just so strange.</p>

<p>I only started introducing vegetables into my diet in the last year or so. I never ate them as a kid or as a teenager, so now they do not register as food and I have a really hard time eating them. So I have been trying to find less offensive ways to prepare them so I can sneak them into my diet, now that I am away at school most of the year and have more control over what food I keep in the fridge. I can’t eat most fruits due to allergies and because they give me stomach aches. I can’t imagine what I would eat if I had to transition to vegan. I am pretty much eating nothing but saltine crackers at the moment because I can come up with nothing in this house I can have.</p>

<p>I just heard back and next on my list is to see an endocrinologist-- I was seeing an internist who did a bunch of bloodwork and ordered a thyroid ultrasound, and now I am on to the specialist. Colonoscopy is next week and I need to schedule a consult to accompany that as well and then probably more tests. I can see I am going to be missing a lot of school this year.</p>

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<p>I hear this from time to time and it just blows my mind. Even among meat eaters, vegetables should be a foundation of the diet for multiple reasons. As the wife of a colon cancer patient, I’ve heard him beat himself up verbally over his lifetime of eating red meat, pork, and processed meats and too few vegetables and grains. I did what I could for years to balance his diet, but you can only do so much with a full grown adult.</p>

<p>I hope you can tolerate the vegetables. I commend you for trying to break with your past and introduce them into your diet. I’m so sorry you are not getting the support you need at home-how terribly frustrating that must be.</p>

<p>Good luck and keep us posted on how you are doing.</p>