I have to cut out dairy. Oh shit...

[KnickedIt]

DS is 6 weeks old and it's likely based on his horrid symptoms he has an issue with cows milk or dairy.

I need to cut out dairy, cold turkey, and this weekend has been a struggle. No advent calendar, no pizza with DH and DSD, no nice butter, no Christmas biscuits etc. It's so hard! I've gone cold turkey and will continue but I'm hating it.

Any advice? Do babies grow out of it? Or am I doomed for no chocolate for the next two years?!

I'm mainly dairy free (for ethical reasons) and agree it takes a little getting used to.

Agree with other PPs that it's best not to try to substitute vegan versions (eg vegan cheese on pizza). Most dairy free 'copies' are pretty rubbish I'm afraid. It's better to find ways to make food interesting without substitutes as you will mainly end up disappointed otherwise. Vegan website have loads of ideas and advice for dairy free living.

Notable exceptions to the 'no substitutes' rule are:
Coyo yoghurt is ace
Booja Booja chocolates and ice cream are amazing. Rich and creamy. You would never know they are dairy free.

Pure Dairy free sunflower spread is acceptable (just don't expect anything vegan to taste as good as butter)

Hope you have success at managing the symptoms!

The proteins in soya and other animal milks are very similar to the cows milk protein so can still trigger reactions.

DS had allergies to cows milk, eggs and a soya intolerance. It wasn't identified until he was 12m and nearly weaned off the breast anyway so I didn't go completely dairy free, but catering for his needs significantly affected my consumption. He weaned back on to a regular diet at 2-3 years. I realised that my digestive system improved when he was on the exclusion diet and deteriorated as he weaned back so keep a reduced dairy and soya diet.

Cheaper brands often swap butter for palm oil, so we couldn't buy standard apple crumble, but could buy the economy version.

Seeded breads are often soya free.

Oatly milk is a great substitute. Canned coconut milk is great for something more creamy.

I couldn't find a decent (or affordable) substitute for cheese. (I am very grateful that I can tolerate modest amounts of cheese)

Vitalite sunflower spread (many sunflower spreads have some dairy content)

This is the hardest stage, working out what you can buy and where from. I remember being heavily pregnant (with SPD) with DS2 and life revolving around going to 4 supermarkets to buy the range of food required and rarely having enough volume to justify the minimum spend for online shoping.

Once you know what to get and where from, it does get easier.

Thank you knitting. Apologies I didn't mean to give the wrong advice.

Swedish glacé is still fab though

My son grew out of CMPI (son intolerance, not allergy) very quickly, some babies just need to flush their system of it and gradually re-try. I failed abysmally to cut it out (he was older, over 6 months) so we switched to the formula and by 1 we safely reintroduced, he's had zero issues since (now 5!)

Nigella Lawson's oil cake is your friend, as are Tesco bourbons! (Although check labels in case it's changed in 4 years!)

You may also need to drop soya as 50% of people with dairy issues are affected by soya, that was actually a tougher one for me to kick as it's in bread and all sorts, they usually recommend dropping both at first.

Careful with soya too. There seems to be a correlation for many. Not sure how or why but it was certainly the case for my daughter.

Oops...didn't refresh page...glad I wasn't wrong though!

Thanks all. I'm not a fan of soya and have been having almond milk. Soya I've heard isn't very good for you?

Definitely going to look in to some of these amazing sounding things!!!

I have made dairy free cakes for friends and family - i use Vitalite ( or as we call it Vitashite) for making cakes and it's actually really great.

Unfortunately soya is in a lot of food like bread so you'll need to check labels.

Yep, soya is in more than you realise along with milk. You soon learn to read labels like a pro.

I’m lactose intolerant & have gone dairy free for 2 EBF babies & will probably have to for my third in Jan.

Morrison’s have loads of dairy free spreads especially for baking, not expensive either.
Most own brand pastry is dairy free too so you can make things with that.

Own brand biscuits/cheap
Biscuits are dairy free too.

Jus roll is dairy free but not soya free so pain au chocolats etc.

Moo free is the best chocolate, they also do an advent calendar.
Aldi have an orange & almond chocolate bar that is lush.

Oatly make creme fraiche, vanilla custard & cream which are all great to cook with.
Their chocolate milk is so nice for hot chocolate as well.

Bjooja bjooja is dairy free too & their truffles are lovely. Hotel Chocolat also do vegan chocolates.

The soya thing is a load of crap just misunderstood but a lot of health visitors seem mislead over it.

DD had to go diary free a couple of weeks ago. Asda do a cheddar like cheese which she says is the best vegan cheese she's tried. Also in Asda, dairy free chocolate mousse and chocolate pudding , all their own make.
Goodfellas do a vegan pizza which is the same price and, size as their other ones. It's falafel.
I got a dairy free liqid chocolate in Holland and Barrat, she uses it for her hot chocolate and I squirt it over fruit

Most JusRol pastry is dairy free, and for pizza I can’t recommend mozerisella highly enough- it’s what they use in Zizi and Pizza Express. You can get it on amazon but I bulk buy from our local heath food shop (they order it in for me) then freeze it. There’s also a vegan pizza in Waitrose (white rabbit is the company I think) which also uses it.

Plus - you can now get vegan Ben and Jerry’s!! Chunky monkey, choc fudge brownie and a peanut butter one too!

(Check first because ingredients change) but on the treat food side
Morrisons doughnuts
Jus Rol bake at home croissant/pain au chocolat
Oreos
Bourbons
Raspberry sorbet

Pizza without cheese is actually good, I add a bit of pesto at home for that salty hit.

You're lucky this year is the year of mainstream vegan products. Cornetto do a really good vegan ice cream, you can get good vegan pizza in most super markets. Asda have an amazing dairy free honeycomb chocolate bar and really good cheese. Honestly, I'm sure it's hard now, but once you look around and start trying things you'll find it's not so bad.

Oatley barista is the best dairy free milk, coconut collaborative choc pots, the flavoured cheeses such as chive and onion are better. Look in all the supermarkets as they all do different things.
I’ve been dairy free due to breastfeeding my DS who has a CMPA for over a year now, I realised he had it a 4 months. I was told to cut out dairy by GP etc. You should have a children’s dietician appointment, and calcium tablets. I was prescribed the formula eventually but he’d only take it once a day from someone else, after a few months he refused it completely. I think you can give oatley from a year if you want to wean, the dietician will give you all the info. It’s easy once you get into the swing of it good luck

Me and DH tried out all the different milks and we both think oat milk is the best in tea. It is also great for making sauces, pancakes, yorkshire puddings. Doesn't work in custard though.

Vegan icecream is delicious

Are you sure you need to go dairy-free? Have you been advised by a paediatrician? My breast-fed DD had regularly blood in her nappy for months and the internet was saying I needed to cut out dairy. The paediatrician checked her over and said he’d discuss it at a follow-up appointment. In the meantime the blood disappeared and never came back. The paediatrician said that lots of mums were unnecessarily cutting out dairy for a problem that would go away by itself and if I’d cut out dairy I’d have assumed that was the cure when the blood went away.

mydogisthebest sorry you don't like oatly custard, it's our preferred option after first trying soya - yuk! Didn't like the taste; rice, didn't like the way the custard glowed! Then we went on to oatly. (Auto correct to Italy! )

knittingsister, do Oatly make a custard? We make our own but find it just doesn't seem to work with oat milk

My DD is nearly 5 and still can't tolerate milk and soya (apart from soya lecithin) but lots of things are accidentally dairy free. Some chocolate biscuits/cookies contain dark chocolate chips. Red packs of mini cookies from lidl for example, angel cake from aldi. Supermarket versions of dairy free chocolate like bars and buttons are the only reason I use the free from aisle. Occasionally buy oatly light blue as the organic is not fortified but there is a barista version for hot drinks.
Search on Facebook for cmpa and breastfeeding with cmpa there is masses of information there. Mainly just check everything there will be lots of surprises and also annoyances like when you think why the hell have they put milk protein in ham! Lots of ham is fine but check everything, labeling is much clearer these days. Good luck it's simple once you get the hang of it x

I'm sorry mydogisthebest I didn't explain that very well, no we make our own custard using oatly milk. Oatly does make cream tho. We use bird's custard powder.

Oatly do make a custard. It's not easy to find though!

OP I had to go dairy free for 2 years while bfing my DS. He's still very allergic to milk at nearly 12 years old.

Thankfully there are lots of good substitutes these days. Cheese is the hardest one to substitute as most vegan cheeses are vile.

Violife is acceptable in a toastie or on pizza, but I'd rather go without!

Oatly make a custard?! Well that's a revelation! I shall go and look.

Ok so my mother (grandma to my 3 year old) has been critically ill and is now home however has been having serious epileptic fits that last over a minute. These fits scare me so i dread to think how my little girl will react the first time she sees one her self. I obviously need to try and explain what is happening to my little girl but i don't know where to start. Has any one found them selves in a simillar situation? What was the best approach?
Thanks John