https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Tue, 19 May 2026 04:57:10 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-about-eliminating-dairy#post-2506959 Fri, 25 Mar 2016 17:44:08 +0000 creativemomma15 2506959@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>First off, thanks for all of the info, ladies! Sorry for the super late response... It's been hard for me to find time to sit down on the laptop and respond to everyone. As for an update for DD2... She had her well check yesterday and her Dr isn't concerned about mucous in her stools as long as she is happy and not too fussy. He basically gave me the go ahead to relax on being strict with no dairy... So, last night I had some cheese in a potato casserole someone made us and cheese was in the meatloaf they made too. Today, DD2 is fussier and not settled and spitting up more. Stools are the same. Now I can't decide if it is definitely related, because of her getting a shot yesterday or just by chance. Ugh... I wish she could just tell me for certain! Who knew baby #3 would throw a bunch of new curveballs our way.</p> <p>If you accidentally had dairy, how soon did you notice a change in your LOs health/behavior?</p> <p>@Adira: This is great info! Thanks for all the label info to look out for too. I didn't even realize lunch meat and hot dogs have dairy?!?</p> <p>@catlady: Thanks for the info... I didn't even think of eating out at all! Glad to know there are still some options out there. I saw at Target that Ben &amp; Jerry's makes dairy free ice cream now too! </p> <p>@Anagram: Great meal ideas! I am glad to hear dairy substitutes work well for cooking. We do a lot of cheese/cream soup things sometimes. I wasn't sure how to make a roux dairy free, but that chicken pot pie sounds yummy! I wish we had a TJ close to me, but I think the closest one is 1-1.5 hours away. Also, I did make a chocolate cake this weekend with almond milk and dairy free dark chocolate... I've been eating it all week. And Oreos were $2/pack at our grocery store this week... Clearly dairy free can be unhealthy too! </p> <p>@MrsADS: Thanks for the info! I am not too concerned about soy at this point but will keep it on my radar. I am feeling encouraged that this can be doable! </p> <p>@fussygal: I think the hardest part for me might be remembering/being strict about food at other people's houses. I know family and friends will understand but it will just be a total change from just showing up for dinner!</p> <p>@Dahlia: Chilis and soups are a great idea! I've been feeling like I should eat more vegetarian meals anyway to help with some high cholesterol issues I have. Maybe this is the push I need to do that some! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-about-eliminating-dairy#post-2500008 Fri, 18 Mar 2016 16:32:11 +0000 Dahlia 2500008@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I've been dairy, soy, egg, nut, and (mostly) gluten free for months now. Oh, and I've been a vegetarian for 10 years. It was a pain at first, but I've found some good options and now I don't mind. Plus, LO seems to be outgrowing it and I've been able to have occasional small servings of everything but soy (at 8 months). Here's what I like:</p> <p>Breakfast: Van's ancient grain waffles, baked oatmeal made with coconut milk</p> <p>Lunch and dinner: chili, soups and stews, fajitas on corn tortillas w/o cheese or sour cream, homemade curries, etc. The blog Oh She Glows has some really good options. </p> <p>Dessert: Coconut Bliss Salted Caramel Ice Cream bars. These are so amazingly good I plan on eating them even when I can have real ice cream again. </p> <p>Eating out is definitely the hardest part. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-about-eliminating-dairy#post-2499868 Fri, 18 Mar 2016 14:36:22 +0000 fussygal 2499868@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The PPs have great suggestions and info! I would agree with MrsADS: that eliminating soy as well is a good idea. It's like you're ripping the bandaid off all at once. You can always slowly try to reintro soy to see if it's really an issue. Soy was much harder to eliminate from my diet than dairy (it's in so SO much!), but all in all it wasn't too bad. I read lots of labels to find the best snacks to make sure I wasn't missing out and I was able to make a dairy and/or soy free version of just about anything.</p> <p>Another big issue was making sure that everyone who took care of DD (or prepared food for me) knew what to avoid. Like @catlady: we had a few family members who didn't really understand what was considered dairy and I ate it by mistake and those little slip ups made LO show symptoms :bummed: But for the most part I tried to never rely on others and always brought our own food to people's houses - no one ever minded! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-about-eliminating-dairy#post-2499800 Fri, 18 Mar 2016 13:57:47 +0000 MrsADS 2499800@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I've been dairy free (also soy free, nut free, gluten free, etc.) since September. If you are eliminating dairy be aware you may have to do soy as well, I think I read that 50% of babies reacting to dairy also react to soy. </p> <p>And you should probably cut out everything - although I suppose it depends on the sensitivity of your LO! Mine is extremely sensitive so I read labels obsessively, do not eat any food I don't cook myself (with a few small exceptions) etc. Like @anagram said, I have been burned BAD once with food someone else made and swore there was no dairy. 3 days of screaming, projectile vomiting, blood in the diaper and no sleep for my 3 month old was enough to convince me... and the memory of that is definitely enough to keep me off dairy!</p> <p>@adira has a great list of all the types of hidden dairy.</p> <p>It is really not as bad as it sounds! There are many substitutes available, and once you get used to it it's no big deal. You just have to get used to reading labels. </p> <p>@anagram also posted some great meals! I think having some go - to meals and snacks is necessary. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-about-eliminating-dairy#post-2499668 Fri, 18 Mar 2016 12:54:12 +0000 Adira 2499668@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@catlady: Oh yeah, sourdough bread in general is usually safe, but always check the label!</p> <p>Oh, another thing! McDonald's fries have milk. Wendy's fries do not.</p> <p>Also, Enjoy Life makes some dairy-free chocolates (including a rice-milk milk chocolate).</p> <p>American Flatbreads makes a good vegan pizza.</p> <p>Earth's Best makes dairy-free frozen waffles.</p> <p>Oreo's are dairy-free! :D </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-about-eliminating-dairy#post-2499617 Fri, 18 Mar 2016 12:34:40 +0000 Anagram 2499617@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Similar to Catlady--I don't like to feel like I'm missing out, so I just made sure to make something delicious and dairy free to take to gatherings and holidays. I've made dairy free versions of just about everything--cakes, cookies, pumpkin pie, appetizers, you name it. When you have good options to eat at a party, you don't feel tempted to eat dairy stuff. And I also didn't trust other people's cooking. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-about-eliminating-dairy#post-2499611 Fri, 18 Mar 2016 12:33:13 +0000 Anagram 2499611@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>For me, it was easy enough to avoid dairy when reading labels--it was avoiding soy that was super hard, because I was avoiding all forms, including oil and lecithin.</p> <p>I think at first, it's overwhelming for anyone who normally eats dairy--I used to snack on cheese and drink milk and eat a lot of baked goods with dairy and made a lot of casseroles with cheese or condensed soups, etc. But once I came up with about 20 go-to meals, then it became very easy.</p> <p>My LO is still 95% dairy free at age 2.5, and I was dairy/soy free from when she was 3 months to 13 months. Even now, I eat way less dairy than I used to because I found I lost the cravings for it (and I never would have imaged that before).</p> <p>Adira already mentioned the Earth balance butter--you can use that in baking/cooking, etc. Any recipe that calls for butter will turn out about the same using Earth balance in the red tub. For baking, I find that almond milk is the best substitute, and it's also what we use on cereal now. For cooking, I tend to use coconut milk or coconut cream in place of milk.</p> <p>You can literally make almost anything in the world dairy free and I've found there is almost no difference. I just made a chicken pot pie using coconut milk and flour for the roux and there was no coconut flavor--it just tasted like regular old chicken pot pie.</p> <p>There are tons of prepared foods that are dairy free, too. I could give you a list if you have a specific category you are having trouble with. Trader Joe's has tons of prepared foods that are dairy free.</p> <p>My typical go-to foods are:</p> <p>breakfast:<br /> -eggs and toast<br /> -dairy free pancakes (make my own or buy the TJs dairy free)<br /> -oatmeal<br /> -cinnamon rolls from a can on special occasionals (TJs are dairy free)</p> <p>lunch:<br /> sandwiches, there are a handful of DF Smart Ones frozen dinners, leftovers from lunch</p> <p>Dinner:<br /> -pasta with red meat sauce<br /> -salmon, potatoes, and veggies<br /> -chicken a million ways with veggies<br /> -curries (both indian and thai)<br /> -dairy free homemade pizza<br /> -DF fishticks, sweet potato fries, broccoli</p> <p>Snacks: fruits, hummus and pita chips, carrots, there are a lot of nutty "granola" bars that are DF, </p> <p>junk food/ sweets: there are tons. Lots of dairy free cookie brands, lots of candies, even baking chocolates in some stores are DF, so you can easily make chocolate chip cookies or whatever. Coconut milk ice cream, popsicles, most non-cheese flavored chips are DF. You can definitely gain weight eating DF--Dairy free is not synonymous with healthy. I mean, candy like Skittles are dairy free. </p> <p>=) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-about-eliminating-dairy#post-2499582 Fri, 18 Mar 2016 12:13:59 +0000 catlady 2499582@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Adira has good info on the "hidden" names and substitutes. We also liked coconut ice cream by Coconut Bliss (better than So Delicious). For breads, I was able to eat the sourdough loaf at whole foods. We like almost and coconut milk more than hemp, but I think hemp is better for you.</p> <p>For me, no dairy meant reading every single label, never eating at a bakery or restaurant unless I was 100% certain there was no dairy, and I had to totally stop eating at people's homes. I know that sounds extreme but my LO reacted to any amount of dairy and both times that I was exposed by accident, it was by family members who promised me that the thing they had made was dairy free (my cousin apparently thought butter was not dairy...sigh).</p> <p>On my elimination diet, I had to eliminate alot of other stuff as well (soy, eggs, nuts, corn) so I was more limited, but my go-tos for eating out were Chipotle (burrito bowl with no cheese or sour cream is fine) or plain sushi. Very boring but safe. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-about-eliminating-dairy#post-2499573 Fri, 18 Mar 2016 12:06:31 +0000 Adira 2499573@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I haven't cut it out for myself, but Xander's allergic to milk, so he's on a dairy-free diet.</p> <p>Substitute milk: Hemp Milk (Tempt)<br /> Substitute butter: Earth Balance<br /> Substitute yogurt: So Delicious<br /> Hotdogs/Sausage/Lunch meat: Applegate</p> <p>Key words that mean it contains milk: Butter, Casein &amp; caseinates, Cheese, Cream, whipped cream, Curds, Custard, Dairy product solids, Galactose, Ghee, Half &amp; Half, Hydrolysates, Ice cream, ice milk, sherbert, Lactalbumin, Lactate solids, Lactys yeast, Lactitol monohydrate, Lactoglobulin, Lactose, Lactulose, Milk, milk fat, Nisin preparation, Nougat, Pudding, Quark, Recaldent, Rennet, Simplesse, Sour cream, Whey, Yogurt </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/tell-me-about-eliminating-dairy#post-2499550 Fri, 18 Mar 2016 11:56:02 +0000 creativemomma15 2499550@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I tend to eat a lot of dairy and have just started cutting back in hopes that it solves DD2's issues. But I am wondering if I need to cut it out completely. </p> <p>What did it look like for you to cut out dairy completely? What do I need to look out for dairy to be "hiding" in? Any good substitutions you've found? </p> <p>It's a little overwhelming to think about cutting out dairy completely for me because my family eats a lot of it!</p> <p>Any tips? </p>