New to the veganisms! :-)

MsWhiteParks

Hi, so I have just discovered that my little one has a Lactose intolerance, and as she's breast fed (7weeks) I have made the decision to cut dairy from my diet rather than attempt to give her a soya based formula! But alas it's much harder than anticipated! I had NO clue that almost EVERYTHING I loved had dairy ingredients or traces! Thank god I can still have humus! :-)

Any good tips on replacements as I need to try to be as balanced nutritionally for Lucie's sake as much as my own!

Thanks

X

claram5415

That is hard! If you drink soy milk, is that like giving her a soy based formula? You might want to try rice milk for your cereal, etc. I too am lactose intolerant, soy I sympathize with Lucie!

MsWhiteParks

I am absolutely fine to have soy milk in my diet :-) I just mean I don't want to be giving her formula feeds of any kind, I would rather have her breast fed as it's better forget health! (helping to drop the lbs too )

X

speedy001

You can buy soy based cream cheese, yogurts and sour cream and with these you will pretty much be able to make anything you currently like that contains dairy. It is a challenge but I have found since going dairy free for a year what started off as feeling super hard is now really easy.

gingerb85

Congratulations on your decision to continue breastfeeding your little girl. I nursed all mine past a year. They were (and still are) super healthy. We would go years between visits to the pediatrician.

You don't need dairy products to make milk. But, yes, you will find many process foods have dairy in them in some form or another.

There are many non-dairy sources of calcium. Leafy green vegetables, blackstrap molasses is an EXCELLENT source, almond milk, tofu, sesame butter and other nuts/nut butters.

I am vegan and use Earth Balance soy-free margarine instead of butter (completely dairy free - most margarines are not) and they even have sticks for use in baked goods. They have coconut milk based yogurts that are yummy and I prefer over soy milk ones. There are non-dairy sour creams, cream cheeses, and even regular cheese but I must admit that (with the exception of the non-dairy sour cream) I avoid them because they are pretty highly processed.

NGMama

Hi! Well done to keep b-feeding! I nursed both of my kids until 2 years and it was such a good thing for all of us!

ITA with GingerB. We're all dairy free in my house. When we had to take my son off dairy at age 2 he was devastated because he loved yogurt. They've finally started selling So Delicious coconut milk yogurt in Canada. It really is delicious. He liked it so much he got up at 5am to ask for more! :laugh:

Just as an aside, calicum from animal products actually contributes to osteoporosis. Animals products create an acidic environment in your body. Our bodies require alkalinity so people who eat a lot of dairy have an issue. Their bodies adjust to this issue by leaching calcium from their bones to re-alkalize their blood. I only say this because the reaction we got to taking our children off dairy was about the same as if we have suddenly decided to strap them to the roof of the car instead of using a carseat. Knowledge is power!

Daiya makes a reasonably good cheese alternative too.

Hope that helps!
Amy