Eliminating Dairy from Child's Diet--Help!!
 smellyvegetarian
Wed Feb 22, 2012 4:44 pm Food.com Groupie
Hi everyone,
My 17 month old daughter has had horrendous eczema for quite some time, and today the pediatrician suggested that we might want to begin experimenting with an elimination diet to see if it is caused by a food allergy. I figured I would jump right in and try dairy first.
My kids eat a fairly well-balanced diet, but it is FILLED with dairy (cheese sticks, pizza, milk, yogurt, kefir, mac and cheese). Any advice for good substitutes and/or easy dairy-free recipes that I might use? I picked up some coconut milk, almond yogurt, and rice and soy cheeses today but I am completely at a loss as far as knowing what is comparable in flavor/texture, etc.
Thanks!
jessi (smellyvegetarian)
ps I'll probably be back in a few weeks to ask about wheat, too 
 Lalaloula
Fri Feb 24, 2012 2:51 am Forum Host
Hey Jessi,
first off: Im very sorry to hear about this. How terrible!  I really hope that your kiddo will be healthy again very soon and that this is not caused by a major food allergy! 
Im not a vegan and I eat a lot of cheese and dairy, so I cannot help you with notes about the best vegan cheese subs etc., but I have tried quite a few vegan recipes that I loved and so Ill just share those with you here. I hope it's ok that they include wheat, if not, just ignore the baking recipes. To me it seems that everything apart from cheese is easily substituted with vegan alternatives. Oh and I could not get a decent pudding with non-dairy milk, but other than that I never had a problem subbing in vegan alternatives.
My favourite non-dairy milk is oat milk, because it is thicker and sweeter than soy milk and also soy-free. However rice milk is cheaper (at least here) and works just as well. When baking I always use vanilla versions as they tend to be more similar to regular milk.
Ive tried these home-made subs:
Banana Milk (Raw, Dairy Free)
Sesame (Tahini) Milk (Dairy Free)
Nut or Seed Milk
30-Second Nut Milk (Raw Food)
When it comes to cream Ive tried oat, rice, spelt and soy cream and found the spelt cream to be the sweetest, so it's better for baking than for cooking. Ive yet to try the coconut milk whipped cream sub, but it sounds promising (find a recipe here: Coconut Whipped Cream).
I don't know if that is a concern, but there are several great egg subs for baking out there. Ive tried flax, psyllium husks, banana and applesauce and love them all! Flax adds chewy, nutty goodness, bananas and applesauce up the sweetness and bring fruity flavour and psyllium has amazing binding powers with a more neutral (or sometimes mushroomy) taste.
I just realised that most of these recipes are either sweet or snacks/sides. I hope someone else will be around to share kid-friendly mains with you.
As for pizza, I know it tastes wonderful without the cheese as well and daya cheese is supposed to be a very good vegan sub. Prose raved about it on her blog lately.
I just rememebered that Sharon has a recipe for tofu mayonnaise. Im sure that's worth a try: Tofu Mayonnaise.
Reviews:
Halloween Jack-O-Lantern Pasta Dinner (this so brought out the inner child in me lol)
Savory Cheddar Cheese and Rice Cheesecake
Butternut Pumpkin Pie With a Brown Rice Crust (Im the only one who ever tried this and to this date I dont get that as it is perfect! So yummy, so healthy, vegan, gluten-free!)
No-Bake Easy Energy Bars
Aunt Jennie's Pie Crust (With Oil) (just use non-dairy milk and you have a great dairy free pie crust)
Banana Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding (Vegan)
Peanutty Carrot Sandwich Spread
Brown Rice Pilaf
Walnut Chocolate Fruit Dip (Raw Food)
Banana Sorbet (Raw Food) (I have used this to make chunky monky ice-cream, pb swirl, cookie dough, caramel and nuts and also very successfully in wafflewiches)
Super Simple Vegan Banana Pudding
Vegan 'cheese' Spread (nope, it doesnt fool you, but it sure tastes good)
Banana Bread - Lightened up - Spelt & Vegan
Vegan French Toast With Coconut Milk & Banana
Coconut Tofu Snack Cake (Vegan
Sweet & Savory Vegetarian/Vegan Soup (not sure if this is kid-friendly)
Carrot Cornbread (Vegan)
Vegan Tomato-Rosemary Scones (With Gluten-Free Option)
Vegan Chickpea Crackers
Bananas With Carob Sauce (Raw Vegan)
Banana Crunch Popsicle (Raw Vegan)
My recipes:
Potato-Pizza-Buns
Easy Vegan Spice Thins (No Chill Time)
Pasta Veggie Casserole (Can Be Vegan)
Sweet Oven-Baked Risotto (Vegan)
Vegan Rocky Roads
Vegan Choc Chip Blondies
Vegan Cowboy Cookies
Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Super Easy, Super Tasty Vegan Waffles
Vegan Cocoa Tofu Brownies
Mango Sorbet
Tofu Chocolate Pudding
Munchy Mix (Healthy and No Nuts)
Yummy Almond Butter With 3 Variations
Rote Grutze (Red Fruit Jelly)
Peanutty Carrot Sandwich Spread
Silky Carrot Hummus
These are blogs that offer amazing vegan choices:
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2012/02/beetballs-a-vegan-gluten-free-soy-free-sausage-recipe.html (sounds so good!)
http://viveleveganrecipes.blogspot.com/ (amazing collection of vegan recipes for kids and adults)
http://veganrockergirl.blogspot.com/search/label/comfort%20rood (great for seeing what vegan options others use in comfort food etc.)
I also happen to have the cookbook "Pasta for all seasons" by Robin Robertson which features many veganised classics such as Mac and Cheese, lasagna, fettucchine alfredo, etc. If youd like me to type up and email you any of those recipes, just let me know via zmail and Ill get back to you.
HTH and let us know how things are developing! 
Loula
 I hate coming up with handles :)
Wed Feb 29, 2012 5:46 pm Experienced "Head Chef" Poster
Jess, first off, my sympathies on dealing with health issues. I also want to tell you about some pitfalls. Double check the cheese substitutes, many of the older varieties do actually have milk protein (whey,casein or caseinate) in them (go figure). Actually, double check all processed foods, you'd be surprised. Try Daiya, Sheese, or Vegan Gourmet. In my opinion, there is no good vegan cheese substitute, just some that are better than others.
For plant-based milks, I use a non-fat soy, because it's non-fat and higher in protein than the other milks. All of the ones I've checked are fortified with calcium and B12, at least in BC. The overall easiest way to eliminate dairy is to go whole hog and eat no animal source products at all. That eliminates eggs, too, for your elimination trial.
For dairy-free margarines, Becel has a vegan product, Fleishmann's lactose-free has no dairy, and of course the standby is Earth Balance.
There's lots of great recipes here on Food.com and there are some good blogs out there. I direct you to www.fatfreevegan.com because she does no animals, has many gluten-free recipes, and has a whole section on kid friendly.
I'd love to try the almond yoghurt, but that's not available where I am. I've heard that there's also coconut yoghurt, and there's soy yoghurt. There's also a tofu based dessert from www.sunrise-soya.com.
 UmmBinat
Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:51 pm Food.com Groupie
 Rita~
Fri Mar 02, 2012 6:17 pm Forum Host
I feel for you and pray your DD is going to get over this very soon. Do your research. Follow all she eats and drinks keep track of results as well.
I believe in raw milk!!!!
Check out on line all you can find here is one I just brought up for you.
It makes me crazy that we can`t choose to drink what we want.
A quote from the link "If there are individuals out there that are suffering from Eczema they need to look into the benefits of raw milk. I have personally witness the healing of eczema the the consumption of raw milk. I don't understand why none one has researched this phenomena. "
http://baumfarm.com/rawmilk.html
Rita~
Fri Mar 02, 2012 6:19 pm Forum Host
Ok I have to go on
http://www.realmilk.com/raw.html
"Raw milk has been used as a therapy in folk medicine — and even in the Mayo Clinic — for centuries. It has been used in the pre-insulin days to treat diabetes (I've tried it — it works), as well as eczema, intestinal worms, allergies, and arthritis, all for reasons which can be understood when we realize just what is in milk — such as the cortisone-like factor for allergies and eczema."
Rita~
Fri Mar 02, 2012 6:27 pm Forum Host
UmmBinat
Fri Mar 02, 2012 6:57 pm Food.com Groupie
Rita~ wrote:
I feel for you and pray your DD is going to get over this very soon. Do your research. Follow all she eats and drinks keep track of results as well.
I believe in raw milk!!!!
Check out on line all you can find here is one I just brought up for you.
It makes me crazy that we can`t choose to drink what we want.
A quote from the link "If there are individuals out there that are suffering from Eczema they need to look into the benefits of raw milk. I have personally witness the healing of eczema the the consumption of raw milk. I don't understand why none one has researched this phenomena. "
http://baumfarm.com/rawmilk.html
Oh my God I don't think we can get it raw here either (Canada) unless of course we live on a farm.
UmmBinat
Fri Mar 02, 2012 7:02 pm Food.com Groupie
Very interesting.
Rita~
Fri Mar 02, 2012 9:19 pm Forum Host
UmmBinat wrote:
Rita~ wrote:
I feel for you and pray your DD is going to get over this very soon. Do your research. Follow all she eats and drinks keep track of results as well.
I believe in raw milk!!!!
Check out on line all you can find here is one I just brought up for you.
It makes me crazy that we can`t choose to drink what we want.
A quote from the link "If there are individuals out there that are suffering from Eczema they need to look into the benefits of raw milk. I have personally witness the healing of eczema the the consumption of raw milk. I don't understand why none one has researched this phenomena. "
http://baumfarm.com/rawmilk.html
Oh my God I don't think we can get it raw here either (Canada) unless of course we live on a farm. No you can`t But Michael Schmidt is trying hard to change that! Hi spoke at a class I went to he was great!
Check this out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUV_UGhG6YQ
I hate coming up with handles :)
Fri Mar 02, 2012 10:04 pm Experienced "Head Chef" Poster
This is getting off the topic of the OP.
UmmBinat
Sat Mar 03, 2012 8:56 am Food.com Groupie
If it helps allergies isn't still on topic?
 magpie diner
Thu Mar 15, 2012 1:35 am Food.com Groupie
How's it all going Jessi? Eczema is so awful to deal with...I was put on an elimination diet as a child too (older than yours are mind you, but similar reasons).
Curious to know how your dairy alternatives are working out, if you have found any favourites yet.
My children don't have to avoid dairy, but they have never been milk fans. Their faves are almond milk, Daiya cheese (in moderation) and tofutti "cream cheese". And our new favourite is the coconut milk ice cream. Super expensive here but a fabulous treat.
And if you do go down the no wheat road anytime soon...as you may know, Trader Joe's has some excellent brown rice products (I seem to recall you're in the US..so maybe one is close by).
Gingersnap in Midwest
Thu Mar 15, 2012 7:35 am Food.com Groupie
If you google vegan recipes, none of them will have any milk or cheese products in them. This site has quite a few good recipes to try that eliminate cheese and milk. Daiya cheese comes closet to real cheese for me, but there is nutritional yeast which isn't like Brewer's yeast or the bread yeast. It has a nice cheesy flavor for things like mac and cheese. You can use Daiya on pizza and in sandwiches. The other cheese is Follow Your Heart cheese and that's a good substitute as well. Fatfreevegan.com is a great site and you will glean some great recipes from it. Also on zaar, you can find vegan gluten free (wheat free) recipes as well. I cook vegan and gluten free for my son and I have a truckload of recipes I've collected over the years, many of them from sites like this. You may find by cutting out animal products like this that you like it and feel better. Of course, meat is still gluten free and milk free though. Good luck in dealing with your child's eczema.
 KissKiss
Wed Mar 28, 2012 8:55 pm Food.com Groupie
Just wanted to mention that Vanilla Almond Milk is a great drinking millk. We tried lots of different kinds and found that this works best for drinking (straight and cold, hot with chocolate added, mixed in a smoothie, and over cereal). If you do add it to cereal, pick a less sugary cereal as the almond milk can be on the sweet side.
Sorry to hear about the eczema and allergies. I hope you can get to the root of the problem quickly.
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