Dear Elizabeth,
Trying to learn to shop dairy free is time consuming, but worth it! My
first dairy free grocery trip took 5 hours!
The major piece of advice I have for you is: Read EVERY label- EVERY time-
no matter how long you have been buying a product. I found this out the hard
way when my son was small. I bought his favorite snack food and gave him
some without looking at the label. He said" yucky mommy" and promptly threw up.
I looked at the box and the snack had DAIRY in it- after 3 years of NOT !
The label reading gets easier with time. Learn for YOURSELF and always
always trust your instincts. Everyone learns by trial and error, but for some
kids/adults - error can be deadly. I am lucky- my son is now 21 and can eat
anything labeled "non-dairy" ( this labeling is a misnomer- it can still have
2% dairy in it...) without too much intestinal distress.
My son grew up not eating dairy when it was a LOT harder to find non dairy
foods. His classmates and teachers all knew about his milk allergy and helped
him keep track. At his 4 year old birthday party one of his friends asked
where the ice cream was. I reminded him that J was allergic to ice cream, so
we weren't serving any. He said "Ok, I guess that has milk in it. We don't
want him to get sick." The wisdom of children. No problems with other kids
making fun of him. Only 1 teacher who told me she "made" him eat the pizza
because there is no milk in it- only cheese...........
If you learn the Kosher labeling laws you will be popular on field trips
from school! everyone who kept kosher was ALWAYS in My meal group.
It is a hard initial adjustment, but is second nature now. We travel to
many countries, and find that we LOVE american labeling laws. But even in other
countries, you can find "safe" food, you just do your homework before you
leave and pay very close attention.
It used to be at Mcdonalds- buns with seeds (big mac) had milk-- buns with
no seeds had no milk-- easy to fix by ordering the unseeded bun.
We use LOTS of rice milk for cooking- it substitutes just fine in anything I
have ever made for TASTE, but it will not thicken sauces or soups (think
hollandaise). Even our friends and neighbors LOVE our eggs benedict and always
want the recipe--they are shocked to find it completely NON DAIRY!
Keep lots of the "safe" foods on hand-and you will never be without a meal
for your child. On international trips we have a group of 4- we each order a
different meal, and we have sometimes had to choose from ALL of our plates to
let my son eat a "meal". You make friends this way--people near us hand over
food they weren't planning to eat anyway...
Lufhansa (spelling?) had the very BEST kosher meat meals I have EVER seen.
My son ate like a KING. In fact on our return trip we changed some of our
orders to the kosher meat (be specific or you could wind up with nothing BUT
dairy) meal. He always has crackers and his favorite standby cookies in his
carry on. He wont starve to death before we get somewhere we can find him
safe food.
Wisconsin was the HARDEST PLACE EVER TO find non-dairy food. Something
about food with milk can't be taxed, so EVERYTHING had milk- soda, gum, bread,
crackers, cookies, same brands you buy here (AZ) with no dairy here had dairy
there! Be on your toes, or a vacation can be ruined by trips to the ER. Poor
kid!
It gets easier, I promise......
Stefanie
My 1 year old son has been diagnosed with a milk allergy I am learning how
> > to cook not using milk dairy. I am finding it very hard if anyone has
> >
> > Any good recipes that a little boy might like please send them this way,
or
> > if anyone has any helpful suggestions with substitutes please help.
> >
> > Thank you for your help
> >
> > Elizabeth
**************Looking for a car that's sporty, fun and fits in your budget?
Read reviews on AOL Autos.
(http://autos.aol.com/cars-Volkswagen-Jetta-2009/expert-review?ncid=aolaut00030000000007 )
|
