Share your tips for living with food intolerance with a2 milk - £300 voucher to be won NOW CLOSED

[JustineBMumsnet]

Whether you have experience of living with your own food intolerance or your child’s, it can be a difficult and confusing experience that you’ve probably now learned a lot from, and a2 milk would like to hear the tips you now have for living with a food intolerance. Maybe you’ve found foods which are surprisingly okay for you? Or sneaky foods which you thought would be fine but weren’t? Perhaps you know about places to eat out which are especially accommodating? Whatever your tips for living with food intolerance, share them with a2 milk below.

Here’s what a2 milk have to say: “If cows’ milk doesn’t agree with you, you might be astonished to learn that not all cows’ milk is the same. a2 Milk™ is healthy cows’ milk with a difference. Gentle on tiny tummies, easy to digest and less likely to trigger symptoms of milk intolerance. Our milk looks the same and tastes the same but there is one important difference - it is naturally free-from the A1 protein found in regular cows’ milk that can cause problems from bloating to indigestion to wind and even eczema. It’s 100% natural, delicious and nutritious that’s why we say ordinary on the outside – extraordinary on the inside!”

All those who share a tip for living with food intolerance with a2 milk below will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher from the store of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!

MNHQ

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Brands and companies that produce and promote foods that are free from things and suggest that there is no other way to live with an intolerance other than eating pre packaged and jarred food normally filled with sugars and other nasties lead us to believe that having an intolerance is hard work, expensive and fiddly.

This is really not true most natural foods can be included in a diet of someone living with an intolerance, since finding out I had a glutton allergy we as a family eat much more healthily and together more often...I also food plan now too which saves on the pennies and organises me so we are not all eating separate meals!

I love to create original recipes which are egg free as my friend's children have egg allergies so I use either yogurt or cream as a replacement. I also use olive oil instead of dairy products sometimes in my baking for people with dairy intolerance

Both of my children have dairy intolerances from birth. They also have gluten and soya allergies. The thing i struggle with the most is ensuring they have a variety of foods still and a range of meals. Annabel Karmel receipes are amazing and i also research on the internet for more receipes that suit my children. I find supermarkets tend to have the same sort of free from foods. Therefore for my children i order a months worth of foods from holland and barrett. There is more of a variety especially for snacks. I find foods that are free from dairy tend to include more sugar so therefore i try to replace snack foods with plenty of fruit and veg rather than biscuits. I feel its important that children are aware of their own intolerances because i have found numerous times people have offered my children food they cannot have. Luckily they were able to say they couldn't have it. My 6 year old now asks if it has dairy, soya or gluten in :-) I also tend to make a lot of homemade pasta sauces with plenty of meat and veg and blend it up. This will be served with pasta and more meat - therefore they are getting freshly made food as well thats also nutritious. Finally ... going out places tends to be very difficult as no where can guarantee completely dairy free. I tend to take the kids own food like sandwiches etc.. and because i have always done it this way, they don't ask for any different. Sorry for the use essay haha I'm so hot on food intolerances and have so much advice. To sum it up - its about being aware of what they can and can't have and as a parent checking the ingredients of all food before giving it to the chid. Trying to improvise so they don't feel left out is the key. It involves a lot of homemade cooking but then you know your child is getting nutrients, no processed things full of sugar and just because they have an intolerance doesn't mean they have to miss out on treats either :-)

No one in are household has food intolerance but we chck when people come over to eat .

Make everything from scratch then you know exactly what ingredients are going in. Tastes much better too.

I let all my friends know and if we're going to someone's hime for dinner I sometimes take my own food to make life easier for the host

Try to go back to basics. That really breaks down everything and makes managing intolerance easier

There is so much information and advice on the internet that you can find all sorts of alternatives that can work for you and your lifestyle. It can be really hard to adjust, but you'll get there!

Always check ingredients as I have to eat everything gluten free, check packaging.

living weith a food intolerance is a pain. In supermarkets you are constamtly searching for then reading ingredient lists of products that you can eat without any side effects, they do often cost more too

I try to cook everything from scratch and always check the ingredients of items in the supermarket

I have tried Actimel, Yakult, Pre-biotics and Probiotic tablets to enable me to continue to enjoy all the foods I enjoy with variable results. Sometimes the intolerences get worse, particularly when feeling a bit stressed, so will try to eat less when that happens

Check all food labels
Cook from scratch
Shop at the larger supermarkets as more choice
Involve your children in the cooking and baking!

My son is lactose intolerant and it took ages to get it diagnosed. I would advise keeping going back to the doctor until they help, and get the health visitor involved too. I also keep a spare change of clothes with me at all times, just incase something doesnt agree with my son when were out.

It takes a lot of getting used to but if you have time to make things from scratch at least you know what you are using. I also find joining forums with others who have the same intolerance you can pick up a lot of good tips and recipes

My husband has many food issues and we find that eating natural foods the best option rather than buying 'free-from' foods as they have so many ingredients in them. We eat lots of organic meat, fish, vegetables and also naturally probiotic-rich foods such as sauerkraut and kefir.

The only dairy and soya free cheese that DS will countenance eating raw is Wilmsburger. Sadly available only from Vegan X by the looks of things, but freezable and a little goes a long way.

The internet is awash with recipes and advice, so you can adapt almost any recipe circumventing foods that you're intolerant too.

My daughter is coeliac and dairy I tolerant. I tend to cook from scratch as gf/wf products are very expensive and no longer available on prescription. I cook things like shepherds pies, risotto etc that need no wheat/dairy. The sad thing is she gets excluded from many things. I think the epi pen scares people off

I think I must have a slight intolerance to dairy - as a child I refused all milk (ok with cheese and yoghurts) and was the one kids who had a bottle of water at break time (that was in the days before Margaret Thatcher 'snatched' the free milk away from children!!). Now I tend to use a rice milk substitute for things as if I have too much dairy it definitely makes me very bloated and I can even feel sick at times! My DDs - one loves milk and dairy like her dad, and the other is less keen. Thankfully neither have severe 'intolerances' of any kind, but I will be cautious about their milk intake because of my experiences as a child.

there are so many great smaller independent stores online these days with some fantastic tasty foods

Easier now with more awareness

the only way to be sure of what my little one with a dairy intolerance is eating is to cook everything from scratch. I don't trust labels and there are no short-cuts.

DS1 had a dairy intolerance from birth, although it took a long time until he was diagnosed, despite being bottle fed.

I would have loved to have found a suitable milk for him. He has grown out of his intolerance now but for many years I had to cook for him from scratch as I didn't trust the labels on prepared food.

Anything you're doing to help is great news.

My youngest is intolerant to dairy and soy protein, we make our own bread as well as most things and substitute a dairy and soy with coconut and rice milk