Dairy free food ideas

[AnxiousAnnnie]

Hi

DS(1) has had a lot of tummy issues over the last few months, alongside eczema. Has seen a paediatric consultant who ran a number of test to rule out coeliac and thyroid issues etc - all fine. We have been referred to a dietitian as they are suggesting doing a dairy exclusion diet to see if this helps, so I’m wondering if people would mind sharing the foods they feed their dairy free 1 year olds? Also, we have tried DS on dairy free formula but he’s having none of it - obviously if we weren’t planning to avoid dairy we’d be moving him on to cows milk. What do people do with their dairy free little ones? Use soya or nut milk? Oatley?

Any advice greatly received!

You might consider cutting out soya as well since that often goes along with dairy issues. Otherwise it just involves reading a lot of food labels. For things like biscuits, often the supermarket own brands are dairy-free where the big brands aren't.

Oatly Barista / Oatly Foamable (the grey carton) is the best milk alternative since it has a fat content comparable with cows milk. You can also get Oatly Whole Milk in the fridge section of some supermarkets. If I can't get hold of these then I mix blue carton Oatly (which has calcium unlike the brown carton Oatly) with a little carton of Oatly Cream.

If you're avoiding soya then it can be hard to find bread. Some wholegrain breads are dairy and soya free. I ended up buying a breadmaker and making my own - which has the benefit of tasting much nicer than supermarket bread. Lots of bagels, crumpets, muffins etc. are soya free.

There are dairy-free yogurts made from soya, almond or coconut milk. They tend to be expensive though so only worth it if your child will actually eat them.

DS is allergic to DS and soy. We use oatly barista for cereal.

For meals we do jacket potatoes with tuna mayo (Hellman's full day is dairy free), fried riced with chicken strips, pasta with veg and oatly cream, fish with mash.

The dairy free butters are fine and lidl simple white bread, Waitrose own brand white and Tesco do a soya free bread.

It's actually really easy once you get used to it. Just need to read a lot of labels.

Jacksons bread is dairy and soya free. Koko yoghurts in various flavours from Tescos or Morrisons. I used almond milk although Oatly is also nice. Pure sunflower or olive oil spread. Sainsbury do quite a lot of biscuits and other things that are dairy and soya free, you just need to read the label on the things you like. My daughter loved Ella's kitchen baby food pouches most of the choices are 'free from' although some have dairy in it. If you planning giving him dairy milk substitute ask doctor/dietitian for neocate food supplement as otherwise he may not be getting enough vitamins, nutrients and most importantly calcium as toddlers still need hight amount that substitutes do not provide. Unfortunately it is the case of reading lables on everything you buy