How to eat Dairy Free!
Paige was re-tested for her Milk allergy in December and unfortunately it hasn't improved. Actually she's had some big food reactions this year on a couple of occasions and the lab results from December showed an increase of the allergy.
To be honest, its been a relatively small adjustment to meal planning....frankly we cook more "real" food than we probably would if she didn't have special food needs (ie. its easier to wash, peel, cook, and mash a potato than it is to look for allergen free instant mashed potatoes).
That being said, we are not the only ones who feed her. Friends, family, and her daycare family have a lot to say about what she eats. I feel bad burdening *real* people with the task of reading and re-reading labels, asking for ingredients lists at restaurants, and preparing/packing "special" food for Paige.
*Mike and I don't count as *real* in this scenario because as parents you do whatever your kid needs and its not extraordinary (even if its difficult) because you were always going to do it....because your kid needed you to....does that make sense?
THAT being said, food labels are kind of fascinating to me now....
Food manufactures are required to list the "big 8" allergens that are present in their packaged foods or MAY be present in their packaged foods. That includes: MILK, EGGS, PEANUTS, WHEAT, SOY, TREE NUTS, FISH & SHELLFISH.
THAT being said, milk (and milk PROTEIN) are hidden in a lot of packaged foods. Things like cooking spray, Carmel color (like in syrup), even hot dogs (if casine or casin are listed as ingredients) may be sneaking dairy in where you didn't expect it.
The most fascinating parts of food label are the Kosher symbols. They are (well....they were) kind of cryptic and mysterious, but have been VERY helpful!
Any foods that contain the above symbols indicate that the food was prepared in accordance with Jewish Dietary Laws. The symbols each represent a different Jewish organization that monitored the process, facility, and the food itself.
Most often we see the "circle U" or "circle K" symbols. These are okay for Paige.
We also look for food labeled "pareve", "parve" or "parev". These foods contain no meat or dairy!
The kicker..... a "P" in Kosher symbolism stands for "passover"....NOT parve (or pareve or parev for that matter)
ALSO! if you see a "D" next to the "circle U" or "circle K" symbols, it DOES contain DAIRY!
(so....D for dairy, but P for passover....not parve....)
ALSO! You might come across a "DE" after the "circle U" or "circle K" symbols....this means the food was processed on "dairy equipment"
Like I said, I think its kind of interesting....makes grocery shopping a little more like a treasure hunt than anything....frustrating at times, but an interesting challenge!
I've pictured some food labels below to help clarify a few things....
This is okay for Paige. Wheat and Soy are two of the "big 8" listed here....but not milk. A quick look at the ingredient list looks good too!
Circle U and Pareve. Both good!
Nothing in these potato chips that can hurt her! Well....the carbs....and the sodium...but that's not really what were talking about right now.....
Circle U. This is a good symbol for her (stands for Orthodox Union by the way).
Kosher, Parve, Yummy!
Circle K= good Circle K +D = bad
This one lists MILK....one of the big 8.
Can you spot the dairy allergens listed above? There are 3 that you actually should recognize...(by that I mean regular people don't know what the heck disodium guanylate is).
Answer will appear at the end of this post!
Here's another shot of that pesky "D".She can eat marshmallows and we buy parve butter. We can turn ANY dairy free cereal into "rice krispy" style treats! She drinks gallons of vanilla soy milk (which I HIGHLY recommend). You can even warm up a mug of vanilla soy, stir it with a candy cane, and have "Hot Cocoa".
She eats tofutti cheese and has dairy free CHOCOLATE ice cream! A lot of great "junk food" is dairy free and on her list of favorites (namely, fruit snacks & skittles).
Some "normal" food we've eaten recently includes Ham, turkey sandwiches, meatloaf, spaghetti, hot dogs, chicken drummies, all kinds of fruits and veggies, baked beans....we just don't eat a lot of pizza and mac & cheese...
ANSWER: Whey, Cream, Butter
5 comments:
Just starting to learn about this process with Meredee. Very helpful info. Any more you have throw our way!
The Niznicks
What about lactic acid or calcium lactate? Those sound dairy-ish to me. It's been a while since I've had to read labels for those pesky "milk" words! Bless your hearts!
And what a beautiful cake!
^^^Oops, Dan was logged in. It was actually me. :)
Very interesting post. There is a lot to learn and Paige is very fortunate to have parents that will make life pleasant for her with all or the research you do. We love this little girl and thank you for your diligence. Love, G & G
It's nice to know that their are others out there going through the same thing. Our daughter was born 3 months ago. I am breastfeeding her, but we found out that certain foods I would eat would keep her up all night screaming. The doctor told us she had a milk protein allergy. It honestly wasn't a huge deal for us. I just switched from Lactaid Milk to Almond Milk, and hit the specialty shops for a chocolate (non-milk treat). A huge help was this web site http://www.godairyfree.org/Table/Dining-Out/Fast-Food-Restaurants/ . It gave a list of fast food resaurants that carried Dairy Free food, it even has a list of the ingredients for each meal.
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