Milk Allergy and Mac and Cheese

1- Great cheese substitutes - Cheddar Style "Chreese" by Road's End Organics is great for making Mac n Cheese. That comes in packets. Also, we love Daiya Cheese which is found in the refrigerator section.

2 - There is good reason to avoid foods even if the allergy is not real bad. I got hives from some things, so I avoided those, but the allergy was not as obvious to others so I ate them in small amounts then ended up with eczema. It can also cause some subtle inflammation which can affect joints, brain, cause headaches, etc.

3 - One of my kids was like she was addicted to milk and cheese. And bread. She also could have lived off of milk products and loved loved loved mac and cheese. Wouldn't you know she had a really bad problem with Dairy and gluten. Life is ironic. btw - the problem did get worse as she got older until we found the problem and she avoids them now!

Stay way from the box stuff. My son had a milk allergy. Hubby and I decided he was allergic to the protein. He would have horrible hives and breathing problems if he had the box stuff, but when I made it from scratch, he was OK? Why? Because the milk was slow cooked and the protein changed its form enough that it didn't bother him.

I like the Barefoot Contessa's recipe. I don't know if your son will eat it. Some of my daughter's friends that only do the box stuff will eat it without the breadcrumbs on it, other's won't.

The only thing that worked for our son was to go cold turkey for a couple of months. He would not accept milk substitutes until he was off milk and cheese for awhile. We just didn't have it in the house. It was very tough at first. Our meals were a protein, a starch (rice or potatoes) and a vegetable. Whole Foods carries many forms of dairy free cookies and brownies.

The good news is that now (5 years later?) he seems to tolerate dairy products more.

Good luck.

My husband has a similar problem with artificial cheese. Regular cheese and dairy is fine, but he gets severe problems from the artificial stuff. You might try making the mac and cheese from scratch, using "Natural Cheese" instead of "Made with Real Cheese" or even "Real Cheese" products. The enzymes they use to make the products are different. Same with pizza (beware cheap pizza restaurants, too - they don't necessarily use Natural Cheese, either, because artificial cheese is cheaper), and beware when buying cheese that it is not "cheese food product." My husband doesn't eat yogurt, so I have no experience with what types of enzymes are in that - if there is an "artificial" equivalent or not - but you might double-check what yogurt he's eating, too.

Just an idea! Hope it helps.

My friend who doesn't do milk well eats mac and cheese all the time since it is inexpensive.

She started out just putting some water in the measuring cup then adding her milk. Then she went to half water and half milk.

She now uses only water and no milk added at all. I can't really tell much difference in the taste, it's just the tiniest bit less creamy. Not gritty or anything like that, just less creamy.

Lactaid? My niece has problems with lactose and is able to eat pizza and other dairy if she takes lactaid. She also drinks the lactaid milk you can find in the store when she really wants milk.

Have you tried making the boxed mac and cheese with milk free margarine and soy or rice milk? If your 5yo can tolerate a little dairy, can he tolerate one serving of cheese powder if you don't add more milk or butter? You might also try using only 1/2 of the cheese powder. My kids make it that way anyway because the powder is so strong-tasting and salty.

My milk allergic daughter says that soy cheese tastes disgusting. But I know another mom who used to make pizza for her kids with it.

Unless your pediactric allergist tells you something different, you should probably avoid milk entirely (and any milk protein including whey, casein, etc..) My kids love Whole Soy & Co. soy yogurt from Whole Foods, or the Trader Joe's brand. Their favorite foods are soy yogurt, edamame, and the chicken sausage you get at Trader Joe's (forget the name but it's precooked - the apple and mango flavors are dairy free) Whole Foods has dairy free chocolate chips, boxed cookie mix, cakes and other desserts... When my kids want pizza we have a local place that makes it without the cheese (just heavy on the sauce, dairy-free pizza dough and sausage).

I am VERY concerned by the poster who said she "decided" that her son was allergic to dairy based on hives and breathing difficulty. Whenever your child has breathing difficulty do to a food allergy you should IMMEDIATELY call 911 and get your child to an ER, as that is an anaphylactic reaction (swelling of the throat, which can lead to being unable to breathe at all). Anyone with a severe food allergy should be diagnosed by a pediatric allergist, educated about allergies, and carry an epi pen everywhere. Children die every year due to anaphylaxis, not to mention that a full-blown allergic reaction is extremely unpleasant, painful and scary!

I agree with the other posters that soy cheese is generally awful - there is also rice cheese but my kids won't eat that either. Good luck!!

I agree with Nancy. Make the mac and cheese with soy milk or rice milk (BTW, in my opinion, rice milk tastes and looks better than soy, you might try it for your son since he's put off by the look of soy milk). And buy soy margarine.

You can buy soy cheese, but in my opinion, it tastes terrible. When I had to avoid all dairy, I preferred to go without cheese rather than use the soy cheese.

Look up some Vegan mac and cheese recipes they are always dairy free. You do have to use some extra weird ingredients, but I suppose once you familiarize yourself with them they would become a pantry staple.

I layer cooked elbox mac and shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese.
Easy peasy.
Top with crumbled Ritz crackers you've browned in butter in a skillet.

If you like the packaged mac and cheese, why don't you just make it using the silk milk.

Also, are you sure it's an actual allergy. What your describing to me sounds more like a lactose problem, or possibly a combination. Hard cheeses like cheddar, do not contain lactose.