Dairy Free?

kellfire

I'm new to MFP, but not to calorie counting, etc.

I am cutting dairy from my diet entirely starting tomorrow. I have a sneaky suspicion that it's the cause of some weird health related issues I've suffered from my entire life & some current issues that have surfaced recently.

To put it simply, I have a dairy addiction. I love milk, cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, butter, mayonnaise...all of it. I crave a glass of milk at night. I crave cheese on EVERYTHING. I take a calcium supplement, because I thought that maybe my body was craving it because of a calcium deficiency. Nope - just plain old addiction. So, this weekend I tore through our pantry & most of our fridge and got rid of most temptations (within reason - as we have a 2.5 year old daughter).

If you have experience in lactose intolerance or Dairy Free living, I would greatly appreciate any tips, advice, alternatives you'd like to share with a newby to this lifestyle.

Thanks in advance,
Kelly E.
Cleveland, Ohio:happy:

Jaedynmoon

I'm dairy free as of the 1st of the year due to my horrible lactose intolerance! I wasn't a big dairy person in the first place...just ate cheese but I got sick of all the intestinal issues and pain! HIGHLY recommend checking out the site godairyfree.org and purchasing their book. I loooove their book! TONS of information and lots of yummy recipes. I'll friend request you If you need any help or anything just ask!

Jaedynmoon

And be sure when grocery shopping...check cereals, granola bars...anything that has an ingredient list on it. You'd be surprised by how much stuff has dairy/whey proteins in it.

Trishkit

And be sure when grocery shopping...check cereals, granola bars...anything that has an ingredient list on it. You'd be surprised by how much stuff has dairy/whey proteins in it.

Agreed -- whey and casein seem to be the biggest things that manufacturers try to slip into just about everything.

As far as tips go, I'm a big fan of almond milk. It only has 60 calories per 8 oz, which makes me happy. Not too big on soy milk. The only non-dairy milk I'll actually drink is oat milk; it has enough of a flavor to really hold its own and tastes like, well, oats! I find chocolate hemp milk to be absolutely delicious (so rich!). Rice milk is pretty neutral so it's good for cereals that don't have a big flavor, but not all that great for cooking, since it's so thin. I use hemp or almond milk for cooking/baking.

As far as dairy-free "cheese" goes, don't bother with most of them. I'd suggest waiting a while before trying anything, that way you can taste the "cheese" for what it is, and will be less likely to compare to regular cheese. I'm a big fan of Daiya, both the cheddar and mozzarella types. It's not meant to be eaten plain (not heated), but melts nicely on pizza (oh so good!), nachos, and makes a mean grilled "cheese." It has its own flavor though, which I like, but some others don't. If you want to check out what it tastes like without totally committing, Amy's Kitchen makes a dairy-free, gluten-free macaroni and cheese which uses Daiya for the cheese sauce. Tastes just like the stuff you get in the package, and I've made homemade stuff from the packaged stuff.

I also have the low-down on the best non-dairy ice creams, if you're interested. :-)

trinityj1

My only advice (I've gone vegan before, not for lifestyle or ethical reasons, but as a diet and convenience living on my own at university) is never to try to substitute "imitation" dairy for the real thing. Just change your eating habits and eat things that already lack those ingredients. Fakes will only exacerbate cravings by not living up to the real thing (and they are generally not as good for you anyway).

Chocolate soy milk does make a good snack, however. Just be careful. it's easy to get too much processed soy and that is detrimental to health.

Marbar

I am also dairy free. I had some health issues that I was battling with. Ranging from skin irritations to nausea and vertigo, being dizzy. Eliminating dairy was difficult at first, but stick to it and you will begin to feel better!!!

kellfire

Thank you all for your suggestions & advice!!!

Day 1 went very well. Although I'm low on my calorie count. Not exactly sure how that happened, but I'll add some other fruits or veggies in to help with that.

One other question - Do you have a good substitution for yogurt??? I love getting lots of fruits & veggies into a smoothie for myself & my daughter. But I have not found a yogurt that is completely dairy free. I'm not sure it even exists. I may just use the Almond Milk instead of yogurt.

Also, I wasn't even looking for whey proteins, so I'll be sure to go through everything again & check for those. I want to do this 100%!!!

Thank you so much for your help!!!

ajbeans

My only advice (I've gone vegan before, not for lifestyle or ethical reasons, but as a diet and convenience living on my own at university) is never to try to substitute "imitation" dairy for the real thing. Just change your eating habits and eat things that already lack those ingredients. Fakes will only exacerbate cravings by not living up to the real thing (and they are generally not as good for you anyway).

Chocolate soy milk does make a good snack, however. Just be careful. it's easy to get too much processed soy and that is detrimental to health.

I agree with this. A little fake dairy once in a while is all right, but it's all processed more than any food should be, and eating too much soy can be detrimental to your health.

You can buy soy yogurt, I know, and you can make it yourself using soy, rice, almond, or coconut milk: http://funkyfoodallergies.blogspot.com/2009/02/allergen-free-yogurt-recipe.html You will need some kind of a starter, so if you can only find dairy yogurt, it'll still be present. But if you can find some soy yogurt (Silk brand makes one), use it as a starter. You might find something else at a whole foods store.

I'll give you a warning that I didn't see anyone else say here: if you're that addicted to dairy, it's going to be HARD for the first 2 weeks. Day 1 is ok, day 2 is all right, but you may find yourself in dairy withdrawal. I did when I went dairy-free a couple of years ago. It was awful. But if you can stick it out for a couple of weeks, with absolutely no dairy (even the little bit that hides in bread! It counts!), all the dairy will be processed out of your system and you'll be able to manage the cravings better. Just hang in there. Just be patient with yourself, and keep learning. That blog that I linked to has some good allergen-free recipes that you might want to check out.

Aokark

I used to go crazy with dairy... I would drink about half a gallon of milk per day. For breakfast I'd have one of those big 34 oz packs of yogurt.

I just tried to cut it down a little at a time, and so far it's going well. I don't think I will be dairy free though, but we will see

Good luck though!

val118

Thank you all for your suggestions & advice!!!

Day 1 went very well. Although I'm low on my calorie count. Not exactly sure how that happened, but I'll add some other fruits or veggies in to help with that.

One other question - Do you have a good substitution for yogurt??? I love getting lots of fruits & veggies into a smoothie for myself & my daughter. But I have not found a yogurt that is completely dairy free. I'm not sure it even exists. I may just use the Almond Milk instead of yogurt.

Also, I wasn't even looking for whey proteins, so I'll be sure to go through everything again & check for those. I want to do this 100%!!!

Thank you so much for your help!!!

val118

It might sound gross, but soft tofu is a good sub for yogurt in a smoothie. It takes on the taste of the fruit, and adds protein and thickens it up bit.

swisspea

I get quite bad skin irritations from dairy. I tend to go for low fat soy milk when I really have a milk craving (and I put it in my coffee). Some people have a problem with soy's estrogen mimikers and the fact that soy production requires an over-use of water, so it's up to you how much you want to use. There are almond and rice milk options as well! I find light soy milk SOOO tasty!

As for cheese, that's tough. I didn't really start to cut that out until I realized just how bad it is for our bodies! I haven't cut it out completely though

Trishkit

As far as yogurts go, there are some good soy ones. Whole Soy & Co and Silk are the big ones. I have a couple of flavors that I prefer from each brand, so I usually mix and match. So Delicious also makes one which uses coconut milk, if you're trying to avoid soy. Their "Passionate Mango" one is SO good!

Purplegal

My DD is dairy free so I use a lot of alternatives...for yogurt the So Delicious coconut milk yogurts are YUMMY. And so is almost everything they make...the unsweetened coconut milk is great for baking, I make mashed potatoes with it and everything and you cannot taste a difference. The coconut milk ice cream is AWESOME...so yummy. Oh and if you are a coffee drinker the coconut milk creamer (plain, vanilla, or hazelnut) are SO good and only 20 cals per TBL, no artificial sweeteners.
I also use unsweetened almond milk for chocolate milk, protein drinks, etc.

Cheese- we have not found one cheese that tastes good. I had high hopes for the Dayia (sp?) cheese, but I didnt like it, although it was better than the others.

Good luck!

milaxx

Adding to the chorus. When you go dairy free you have to read labels . As for milk substitutes, I prefer rice or almond milk. As a special treat i will even buy the chocolate almond milk. I use olive oil or organic coconut oil instead of butter. I used the daiya cheese, but I like the taste and will even occasionally sprinkle it on a salad. The only things I haven't found a substitute for are yogurt and sour cream. There is a coconut yogurt, but it taste horrible.

Talieowl

I'm lactose intolerant, but I can still eat some dairy occasionally--not milk, though--and I tolerate goat and sheep cheeses just fine. But, I don't eat them often on my eating plan. I use Almond milk most often, but you will want to play around and find what you like best. There's hazelnut milk, coconut milk, rice milk, oat milk, and soy milk. Some are flavored or have added sugars (which I neither need nor like the taste of). If you try one and don't like it, I suggest trying a different brand before giving up on a nut/bean milk. I made this mistake with soy milk--in general the ones in the refrigerated section taste better and have a better texture rather than the aseptically-packaged ones.

As for butter, if you want that taste every once in a while, try earth balance spread. My husband actually likes it more than butter.

By the way, you mentioned mayonnaise--and while it's not great for you, it's also not dairy. In it's pure form, it's made out of eggs, oil, vinegar/lemon. When it's packaged and put in jars to be shelf stable, other things are added.

Good luck on the switch.

Lyadeia

Wow, I knew that some people were lactose intolerant, but I didn't realize that there were so many different people with so many weird reactions to dairy! I enjoyed reading this for info purposes in case someone I know personally has a question. I'm just glad that I am blessed to not have those issues. Good luck to all of you!

mandster

Hi

Some good recipes on this site: http://www.puredairyfree.co.uk

I've made various recipes including bread, scones and biscuits without dairy, using pure and they all tasted great. I love cheese and butter but my sister and nephew couldn't eat dairy for a while so I made stuff for them.