Milk Allergy - Ballwin,MO

I once had a BIG problem with milk and tried different types of milk from soy to rice milk. My favorite that tastes very close to cows milk is almond milk.

Our son was diagnosed with his milk allergy on his first birthday - he had a really bad reaction to whole milk. He did outgrow this particular allergy at about 7. He still has other food allergies. We liked Vance's Dairi-free for substitute milk. It comes in a powdered form and in different flavors. The chocolate tastes just like cocoa. The plain is good for milk substitute when you need it for a recipe. You can get it at nutrition stores. He also liked the "coffee" flavored Silk soy milk and at Christmas, they have a good soy egg nog. Since our son was also allergic to eggs, we used to make his birthday cakes from a vinegar chocolate cake recipe which does not use milk or eggs. If you want the recipe, let me know and I will get it to you. Tofutti is the best brand of ice cream. Their ice cream sandwiches tastes just like the regular ones. You can also get egg free and dairy free waffles at dierbergs in the health food section. The only truly dairy free creamer is found in the frozen breakfest food section of the grocery store. I can't recall the name but it comes in a frozen milk carton (like the school milk cartons) has a blue top and a white/red bottom to it. We did not have any luck finding a good cheese substitute - although soy cream cheese isn't too bad. Let me know if I can be of any help. You will become very saavy about what different products contain very quickly. I lost 25 lbs cutting milk out of my diet while I was nursing my son between 12 and 18 months so there are benefits :) BTW Oreo cookies are milk free and so are most Poptarts.

My daughter and my nephew have milk allergies but his is more severe than my daughter. That being said, the things that they can and cannot have are the same. His reaction is just more severe when he has milk. My daughter breaks out in hives and her eyes get puffy and red. Although she is getting better. Recently if she accidently gets milk because I miss something on the label, she might get a little blotchy. Remember soy milk, fruits and veggis and meats are all okay. Processed foods or lunch meat need to have their ingrdient lists carefully examined. This website was a huge help: http://www.foodallergy.org/allergens/milk.html
You'll start to get the hang of it soon and start to know what things you can and can't buy. Trips to the grocery store are going to take longer, but it'll get easier and easier! A little tip: Oreos don't have milk--I know, surprising! And you can keep a stash for those times that other kids are having treats around your's!! Good luck! I'll be praying for you! I remember how hard it was when we first learned about the allergy. Take care!

My daughter was also diagnosed with a milk allergy and a soy allergy. The doctors gave me a list as well on foods and other items to avoid. I don't know about you, but I am not a doctor and can't differentiate on what they can and cannot have. This went on for about 6 months (rice milk, back to formula, everything). After about 6 months of playing with my daughters foods and milk, I figured out that she could drink organic milk. It does not have all the antibotics, additives, growth hormones, etc in the milk. I do have to limit her on yogurt, ice cream, cheese, but for the most part, it was just the milk itself. I do give her non-organic milk (but that is when I am desperate to give her something and I don't have the organic on me). Hang in there, it does get easier. Try the organic milk. You can buy it almost anywhere (Target, Walmart, Hen House, HyVee, Price Chopper). Good luck.

I have been dealing with my son's milk allergy for about 3 years now. My son is also allergic to eggs, corn and peanuts, so it gets tricky. With milk it can be very tricky because the severity can range so much. Milk causes my son to have breathing problems. Some milk can be minor like lactose intolerance, to mild stomach issues. Do you know what your sons severity is? That plays a big part in what types of foods he can have. Milk of some sort is in almost everything. I can help anytime just send me a message.

I may be too late with responses, but I have recently become an advocate of coconut milk, since I discovered my son's allergy to milk about 4 months ago (he is a year old now). So Delicious makes an awesome line of dairy free stuff --- coconut milk (original, vanilla, unsweetened), coconut milk yogurt, ice cream, ice cream bars, etc. I also alternate with Rice Dream rice milk (the original isn't very good but the vanilla tastes great). Silk Milk is the best tastng soy milk if he is not allergic to soy. --- the chocolate milk is awesome.

Snacks-wise, diced dried fruit (gerber makes these), cinnamon maple li'l crunchies, cheerios, earth's best crunchin' blocks (graham, very vanilla, oatmeal raisin).

Also, anything vegan (since they don't use milk, eggs, etc).

Ezekiel bread is excellent (it is in the freezer section). And for cake/pancake/brownie mixes, check out Cherrybrook Kitchen's stuff. They are pretty good for being "everything-free"

Hope this helps

My DD was diagnosed with a dairy allergy at 1. She outgrew it by 2 so hang in there. We did the organic soy milk and veggie cheese. Luckily for me though, she was not severely allergic so I didn't freak out about her having it cooked into things...

How old is your son?
There are lots of foods your son can eat, as long as milk allergy is his only allergy. Think about all fruits, veggies, plain rice, plain pasta, unprocessed meats etc. Cook from scratch as much as you can, since processed foods often have milk added to them.
Depending on how severe of an allergy it is, you can start experimenting with processed foods. There are quite a few processed foods that are milk free, but a child with severe allergies might react to them, if there has been any kind of cross contamination at the processing plant.
My son has a milder milk allergy and he's fine with milk free processed foods.
He is two and a few of his favorite meals are:
Chicken fried rice
Sweet salsa chicken
Vegetable & beef stew
Spaghetti with meat sauce
Spaghetti with meatballs
Mashed potatoes with hot dogs
..just to give you some examples.
I know it can feel like there's NOTHING out there he can eat, when you've just found out he's allergic.

For milk, my son drinks soy milk and he loves the soy cheese (he's never known anything else). There's also a nice selection of soy yogurts out there. Just be careful with soy (or rice) cheeses and soy yogurts. Some of them contain milk.
We use smart balance light for spread and try to stick with oils for cooking. For ice cream we use sorbet, but there too you need to read the ingredients carefully.

I'd be happy to give you the brands/names of the products we use, if you want them. Just let me know.

I need a little more info. My son was lactose intolerant. Milk and yogurt made him very sick. The doctor suggested we try lactaid and eventually he may grow out of it. Because of his allergy we took it very easy on the milk based products, but didn't totally get rid of them. A bite of ice cream on his birthday. A little cheese every now and then. Lactaid was the best for us because we could use it in all of our cooking too. He has recently grown out of the allergy. He is now 2 and drinking skim milk just fine. Yogurt and cheese are no problem anymore either. I still keep an eye on his consumption though to make sure it isn't too much in a day. If your child is simply lactose intolerant please write me a private email and I can answer more specific questions. There are lots of ways around it if your whole family makes the change.

With my first daughter, I had to cut out all dairy while nursing. It was terribly difficult at first, because casein and whey are in so many things (like most breads!). Those ingredients tend to be closer to the bottom of the list of ingredients (except where it is obviously a dairy product) so I recommend when you pick something up to read the label to start at the bottom and work your way up. It will save you a lot of time, one tiny little bit at a time.

I'm sure it's overwhelming now, but in a month or so you'll be a pro and be able to shop mostly without looking at labels.

Best of luck to you! Keep that chin up.

There are soy and rice alternatives to everything. Depending on how sensitive he is, that will determine what you need to cut out. Milk is in everything from bread to crackers and cereals. But you shouldn't have trouble finding things to replace it. Especially if he does ok with soy products.

For my youngest (as of now), she thrives on rice products. But she's severely allergic to pretty much everything. Rice products are my life saver. They have rice bread, milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, crackers, cereal, pasta, etc. etc. (She can only eat about 10 foods and is still on elemental formula at 17 months.)

We found out about our son's allergy when he was 8 months old, and he's almost 3 years old now. I don't know if your child still has milk allergy, but I know it can be very limiting.

Here are some of his favorite foods:
--Eggo mini waffles and french toast sticks (only have whey in them)
--unfrosted Pop Tarts
--Earth's Best mini meatballs
--chicken nuggets (Earth's Best, Banquet, Perdue Simply Smart, Great Value, etc. (check labels for other brands))
--kidney beans (yep, plain kidney beans)
--honey-roasted peanuts
--popcorn
--chips
--vanilla wafers
--fish sticks (check ingredients)
--Nature's Bakery fig bars (best value is at Sam's Club)
--raisins
--Annie's graham bunnies
--fruit snacks (I usually buy Mott's Medley's (made with fruit and veggie juice))
--graham crackers
--Lance whole grain cracker and peanut butter sandwiches
--different kinds of crackers
--Veggie Sticks (the crunchy kind you can find near chips at Walmart, local grocery stores, at Sam's Club, etc.)
--Great Value honey buns (just the glazed ones)
--cereal (usually give him off-brand cheerios)
--oatmeal
--yogurt (Silk yogurt and So Delicious yogurt)
--fries
--hamburgers
--fruit (grapes and clementines especially)

I haven't bought any for him yet, but Oreos are all milk-free.

If you're struggling with veggies, try fruit and veggie smoothies (banana, frozen fruit, spinach, a spoonful of orange juice concentrate, and a nut-based milk (or rice milk))