Dairy-Free Mom

an update from us!

2011-06-14T10:18:00.000-07:00

Hey all! Sorry I haven't updated in a long time. We are no longer a dairy free household. My son has recently been cleared of allergies and after a stomach scope with biopsies, he is now cleared of other gastrointestinal issues.

Thank you for your support through our journey and I have been working on a different blog that is more focused on family and life in general. I post easy recipes, deals and do reviews and giveaways. I love working with crafters and small businesses to feature fun items and giveaways. Currently, I have a handmade dog toy and a kids' shirt or baby onesie up for grabs.

You can check out my new blog [here]

Easy Dairy- & Egg-Free Pancakes!

2010-09-02T21:49:00.000-07:00

If I had to pick a favorite food, pancakes would definitely be high on the list.

We've tried and failed with a couple of different DFEF pancake recipes before finding the simplest and best so far.

Out of the blue one day, I decided to make pancakes for breakfast. Our cabinets were a little bear but I was determined. This recipe has literally two ingredients: Bisquick baking mix and soy milk. Seriously, that's all.

Now, I don't have measurements or anything, just mix the two together until you get a nice pancake batter consistency and make them like you would any other pancakes. A little bit of Smart Balance (Light is dairy-free) and fry up some sausage or bacon. YUM!

So fast and easy. And good too =]

Its always so satisfying to figure out a way to share something I love with my little guy!

To say "its been a while" would be a huge understatement.

2010-06-24T14:51:00.000-07:00

My apologies. It has been crazy. My health has had some radical turns and I have just been busy.

My little guy still hasn't made it to the allergist. He was supposed to go on June 1, but had a tummy bug and fever for several days before so we rescheduled. We go in July. Hopefully for real this time.

Reacting to something... AND a spider bite!

2010-05-17T20:34:00.000-07:00

Lately, my little guy has been getting really red, swollen feet. He takes Allegra for seasonal allergies. He used to get one dose a day but his doctor had us up it to two doses a day. It seems to be helping, but still a couple of times a week those puffy, red feet show up. We're just waiting.
He was set up to go see the allergist on June 1 anyway. I am VERY excited to get things going but not looking forward to that visit. My poor guy - they said to expect it to last 2 hours.

Also, last night we noticed a spot on my little guy's inner right thigh. It looked like a spider bite but didn't seem to be bothering him too much. We kept an eye on it last night and this morning it looked worse and his right eye was swollen halfway shut! My husband got him in to the doctor this morning and they've got us watching the bite and think the eye was seasonal allergy related (idk). We'll see how that all goes.

Allergies and the babysitter...

2010-04-23T18:47:00.000-07:00

My kids haven't been to the babysitter in a while. They will be starting back Monday and I am a little nervous. When he was there before, he was still eating mostly pureed foods or easy things I could prepare and send pretty easily.

Now that he's older, it is going to be trickier. This woman is wonderful, and I am sure would help out in any way needed when it came to his dietary needs, but I don't feel it is anybody else's job to check labels for him. [And I'm nervous if anybody but my husband and I do it LOL]

So I will be spending the weekend brainstorming things that would be easy to prepare and transport there and also any info I can give the babysitter that may be helpful for her. I'll be a busy girl!

Pennymint Patties

2010-04-19T20:13:00.000-07:00

http://allergiesandme.com/_webapp_2907052/Pennymint_Patties_-_2010_Grand_Prize_Winner_of__Recipe_Contest

Check out this recipe. A dairy-free peppermint patty! We have not gotten to try this recipe yet, but can only imagine it is as delicous as it sounds! Hope to try it soon, I just wanted to share!

Dairy Sensitivity Information - check out this site!

2010-04-19T19:36:00.000-07:00

I recently discovered a new website - dairysensitivityinfo.com

This site is full of all kinds of wonderful information. It talks about dairy allergies and sensitivites, alternatives to dairy, lactose intolerance, recipes and more.

Check out her dairy-free carrot cake recipe, it looks amazing! Of course mine would probably suck because I haven't had a ton of luck with replacing eggs in cakes, and my little guy can't have eggs either.

I highly suggest you check out this website!

http://www.dairysensitivityinfo.com/

Milk Allergy and Eczema... thoughts please?

2010-04-19T19:17:00.000-07:00

When my son's doctor first brought up the possibility of a milk protein allergy, I did a ton of research. I vaguely remember seeing things about its relationship to eczema but didn't pay much attention because that wasn't an issue with my son. I've learned that milk allergies can be genetic.

My 4 year old's skin gave us a ton of problems her first few years. We switched to fragrance- and dye-free everything (laundry detergent, soap, lotions, etc.) and slathered her in Aquaphor many times a day, but we still struggled to keep her from breaking out. I have exchanged a few Facebook messages with the woman who runs dairysensitivityinfo.com that got me to thinking. Could my daughter have possibly had a milk allergy or sensitivity unbeknownst to us? Obviously if so, it was not like my son's allergy.

We don't struggle with her eczema so much any more. But I'm curious if the two had a connection. Can anybody get me some good info on the connection between eczema and milk allergy?

My new product review blog! PLEASE CHECK IT OUT!

2010-04-10T13:51:00.000-07:00

http://interruptingcowreview.blogspot.com/

Please check out my new product review blog!

I will be posting product reviews (I've already got a couple up!) and some great deals (like the Babies R Us deal I have on there now!) and in the future hope to have some contests and giveaways as well! The more readers I have, the better it will be for everyone!

It would make my heart super happy if you passed this link on! ♥

http://interruptingcowreviews.blogspot.com/

Sooo... I haven't posted in a while.

2010-04-09T21:17:00.000-07:00

Things have been a little crazy around here with my health taking a little dive (don't even get me started on that one, I am WAY too young for what they've got me doing!) and I just have been pretty lazy.

Aries has his first appointment with the allergist in June. It will be nice to get that stuff going. His doctor just did some blood work and the results were less than desirable. Still some mild blood loss in the tummy, so he goes in next week for more tests. All is pretty well around here. Aries will be walking in no time. He has the ability, but lacks the confidence. Finally got some words out of him! "Momma" and "Peggy" (the dog) - my poor husband, LOL! Brook has been a little turd, she is 4 and definitely pushing boundaries. Oh, and work... wow, work has been stressing me out! Anyway, just thought I'd post something even though I have nothing of value to contribute at the time. I'm thinking of starting a product review blog - would anybody be interested in reading? =] Anything you guys want to see on my blog - either this one or my maybe-in-the-future-product-review-blog?

Convenience

2010-03-25T20:39:00.000-07:00

I saw a post on Milk Allergy Mom's blog about convenient food. It reminded me of one of our favorite things to give the little one when we're feeling lazy. Banquet Pot Pies. The beef ones are OK for him to eat. He loves them and if we feed them to him they aren't so messy... Sometimes we just let him loose with one. Definitely needs a bath afterward!

The Easiest Guacamole You Will Ever Make

2010-03-23T18:09:00.000-07:00

Make guacamole in a matter of minutes from start to finish. I won't tell you this is delicious. I don't like ANY avacados or guacamole... My husband and son LOVE it though. It never lasts around my house when I make it. Make a little or as much as you'd like. Double, triple, whatever - to make as much as you'd like or need.

Ingredients:

1 avacado
1 to 1 1/2 tsp chunky salsa
1/2 tsp lemon or lime juice
garlic salt to taste

Slice avacado open and scoop into bowl. Add other ingredients and mash with fork. Play around with the amounts until you find something perfect for you. This is what works great for my family. My husband likes to add a little habanero sauce to his because he likes the spice.

There is nothing special about this recipe, other than the fact that its uber easy and I hear its very tasty. Enjoy!

Vegan French Toast!

2010-03-20T11:09:00.000-07:00

I made some vegan french toast today. This was my little guy's first taste of it. I'm glad I have started getting more adventurous with my cooking instead of just avoiding recipes with milk and egg.

I'll start off by saying - If you go into this expecting something "french toast-y" you will likely be disappointed. I am not saying it isn't delicious. It is indeed fantastic. But not your traditional french toast. It looks like and has a similar texture to french toast, but obviously isn't going to taste like it. This is kind of like eating warm banana bread. Its a little crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. I had some plain, some with butter and syrup (I'm not the one who can't have butter =]). They were wonderful. My 4 year old and 1 year old (the one with the allergies) loved it. I made theirs french toast sticks. I looked at several recipes and got some ideas and came up with this...

Ingredients:
2 ripe bananas
1/2 c. soy milk (we use Vanilla Silk)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon (I added a little bit more)
and just a little nutmeg (maybe 1/8 tsp)
bread
dairy-free margarine(I use Smart Balance Light)

I put all of those (except bread and margarine) into my blender and mix it up. This is when my 4 year old said "Ooooh... We're having banana soup for breakfast?!?"

This is where its all pretty similar to regular french toast. I poured some of the mixture onto a deep plate and dipped the bread in it on both sides.

I melted some Smart Balance in the skillet (about medium heat) and started cooking! Check it often, it cooks pretty fast. I also experimented with my Crisco Spray, but the Smart Balance worked better for me.
I even sliced up the bread first to make french toast sticks for the kids!

This is where I stopped with the pictures, oops =]
The kids ate theirs plain. I topped mine with butter and syrup because I CAN! My husband wasn't a big fan (he finds what he likes and sticks with it) but he said it wasn't bad, but "its not french toast".

Overall, thumbs up from our house!

Birthday Cake (no milk and no egg)

2010-03-19T22:59:00.001-07:00

Lets start off by saying - I'm lazy. If there is a shortcut, I want to take it.

This is my son's birthday cake. He has a milk protein allergy and a possible egg allergy. His birthday was 2 months ago, but I did some baking today (he can't have any, its full of milk and eggs) and I got to thinking about his cake.

He is a HUGE Muppets fan. The big Kermit cake is not his. That was a delicious chocolate cake that he couldn't have. I made him cupcakes though =]

I started off with a lemon cake mix (check labels, I don't remember if it was Pillsbury or Betty Crocker but it was free of milk and eggs). I made it according to box directions, only I replaced the egg with banana. 1 banana = 1 egg. The lemon-banana cupcakes were delicious, but they didn't really rise like I had hoped. I've used the banana/egg substitute very successfully in cookies, but didn't have as much luck with the cupcakes. However, once they were frosted, they were fine.

And what did I frost them with? Canned cream cheese frosting! Once again, check labels, I don't remember what brand. I would have assumed cream cheese frosting would have some dairy in there, but it did not. I should have known better than to assume! Added some green food coloring - OK, a lot of green food coloring - added marshmallow eyes, and there you have it. Kermit cupcake. Maybe Kermit looks more like Oscar the Grouch as a cupcake. Either way, my little guy loved it.

And of course, Brook had to get frosting on her face after she saw everyone talking about how cute the baby was.

Another strange point. We froze leftover cupcakes. They did not freeze. Still mushy, not hard. Any thoughts on this?

Aries' First Grilled Cheese! (made with vegan cheese, of course)

2010-03-19T10:29:00.000-07:00

We made Aries his first grilled cheese today! And I must say, this vegan grilled cheese was pretty awesome.

We started out with just some plain white bread. We usually eat whole grain bread around here, but our grocery budget was tight this week and we went with plain white. Also, make sure you check your bread for milk ingredients. Some with milk allergies can tolerate it if its cooked into something - not my son. He can't tolerate it at all and bread is one of those things where some have it and some don't.

Next, we spread on the Smart Balance® (see my last post for a coupons =]).

And sliced off some Vegan Gourmet® Mozzarella Cheese Alternative from Whole Foods.

It says it right there on the package that "it melts". We didn't have much luck the other day making his pizza with it (it did not melt), but it melted fabulously on the grilled cheese.

After his was done, we made our very not-vegan grilled cheese sandwiches. I didn't think to take a picture of Aries' sandwich before I gave it to him, but here is a picture of mine!

Please note: the non-dairy grilled cheese cooks faster than our regular ones did, so watch it closely =]

Why We Love Smart Balance! and coupons!

2010-03-18T07:57:00.000-07:00

When I first found out about my son's milk protein allergy, I was still nursing. Giving up milk and milk products was hard, but I did not want to stop breastfeeding, so I sucked it up and dealt with it. I was sad that I would have to give up my butter, but after checking many many labels at the grocery store I found this Smart Balance Light. Not all Smart Balance spreads are dairy-free, just FYI. Make sure you check.

We use this on a lot of things now. Even though I am no longer nursing, we use it for cooking with little difficulty. My only complaint is that when you melt it, it separates. Completely. Clear liquid and a buttery looking liquid. It will not mix together. If you are melting it, I would suggest only melting it long enough to make it soft. Other than that, we think Smart Balance is WONDERFUL. It tastes great and makes cooking dairy-free that much easier! Get Smart Balance coupons here. And remember. Smart Balance LIGHT is dairy-free. It is the one pictured above.

Smart Balance Coupons

Silk Soy Milk - $1.85/half-gallon!

2010-03-17T18:13:00.000-07:00

We normally buy soy milk at Sams because I can get a 3 pack there for 6.69 (I believe). I found some coupons on the Silk website for $0.75 off one half-gallon. Hit your back button and print another.

At Dillons you can get a 2 pack of Silk for $5.69 and they will let you use two coupons (since technically its two half gallons). The coupons double (up to $1) so that is $2 off! We got Silk for $1.85/half-gallon.

Sign up on Silk's website for this coupon here.

An Allergy Aware Household

2010-03-17T16:18:00.000-07:00

Let me start out by saying... I HATE FOOD ALLERGIES!

With that being said, I will also say things have gotten easier since we first became aware of my son's milk protein allergy. Checking labels is second nature now. I have learned better than to assume that something isn't made with milk. You CAN NOT think "surely this isn't made with milk" about ANYTHING.

Also, I would like to point out that I am nowhere near being an expert when it comes to food or nutrition or allergies. I am simply a mom of a child with food allergies. I've learned a few things here and there.

Also, I do get frustrated having to tell people repeatedly that my son is not lactose intolerant. Milk does not just upset his stomach or make him puke, it also makes his stomach bleed and he doesn't absorb a lot of the nutrition of the food that he does keep down. It took a while for us to figure out what was wrong with him. I was nursing at the time so giving up milk was really hard for me but I did it. I hated watching my husband and older daughter eat ice cream while I was stuck eating my rice milk ice cream (its WAY better than soy ice cream, but lets face it, its not ice cream). My son also got soy formula but he was still getting sick. We started checking labels on EVERYTHING for milk. We realized he was still eating a lot of food containing milk and drastically changed our cooking and eating habits. We began to see an improvement. He wasn't throwing up all the time like before. HALLELUJAH, he was gaining weight!!!!

Almost 8 months after discovering his milk protein allergy, he is in the 4th percentile for his weight!!! Hey, he was under the 1st percentile for a long time. This was pretty major =]

He also has a possible egg allergy so we get to check labels for eggs and milk. I'm not complaining. After a while, it has gotten pretty easy to manage. We make sure he has enough food to last him if he goes anywhere without us. I don't feel it is somebody else's job to check labels for him. I hope to share some recipes and other info on here. Let me know if you would like to see anything in particular =]

Here We Go!

2010-03-17T16:17:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my new blog! This will mostly be about my son and his milk allergy and dealing with that, but you may get a little bit of everything. I've got an amazing husband, a 4 year old drama queen and the youngster with the milk protein allergy. He is 14 months old and could walk if he wanted to. He's got a very cautious personality =]

I also LOVE coupons and great deals, so you might see a little bit about that on here too along with some recipes. We do a lot of dairy free cooking here. Also, we make a lot "double" meals (a larger portion and a smaller dairy free portion).