Favorite non-dairy substitutions
We're cutting dairy as of Monday, DS has mucousy poop and with the gas/fussiness problems, both the LC and pedi suspect a dairy intolerance. The LC told me to use the weekend to get my act together, do some shopping, and start fresh on Monday.
We're going to cut obvious dairy first, leaving soy in for the time being. If the poop issues are still present after 3 weeks, we'll go soy free too. Milk and butter I'm set on, a few friends have given me their favorites to try, but what about substitutes for cream cheese, sour cream, and cottage cheese? I do most of the cooking in the house and I'm going to try to make DH "normal" meals and make a second for me (so if we're having something with cream cheese in it, just split it into two pans, one w/ the sub, one normal). Part of this is so we aren't so wasteful with everything we already have in our fridge, and part of it is so DH doesn't have to suffer with me since it's my choice to continue BFing.
Any other advice would be appreciated. I'm a bit overwhelmed right now with it all.
Re: Favorite non-dairy substitutions
We recently confirmed that DD has a milk allergy, her and her twin brother are 10 months old and eating lots of table food, so we've been trying a bunch of substitutes for milk based products lately. The Tofutti "cream cheese" is a really good substitute, rice "cheese" seems to be a good substitute for melting, soy yogurt (one brand that I know of actually has milk in it - I think it's Stonyfield, but just check the labels well) or the babies like Ricera rice yogurt. Also, you might want to try plain soy yogurt as a substitute for sour cream.
I eliminated all dairy when I was bf-ing, but I was able to bring back all dairy but milk itself...and DD had no problems. We did supplement with soy formula, so maybe it was because there was only trace amounts that she was getting. (But, the pedi actually suggested this, so maybe it has worked for others).
Good luck!!
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Diaya is the best cheese sub I've found IMO. It tastes great and melts well and it has been approved by my DH and many of my dairy eating friends and relatives. We like the Tofutti sour cream (also DH approved), but I cannot remember my fav brand for cream cheese off hand. As far as cottage cheese goes, there is no sub you can buy. You can do a make-your-own version with tofu, but we haven't tried that yet.
Like PP said, I would just start by making meals that don't require dairy ingredients for you and your DH. We didn't really start looking for subs (other than milk/butter), until my DS was diagnosed with an actual dairy allergy and then we just decided to go the diary-free route as a whole family (and have been for 5 1/2 yrs now). We never made seperate (sp) meals.
I won't make the separate meals all the time, I will at first though because we have probably almost $100 worth of groceries in the fridge that I'm not willing to waste. Since I'm still on maternity leave, I have a bit more time (although not much) to make separate things for him.
We can find Diaya at our Giant Eagle. I think it is getting more mainstream.
If you are looking at the toffutti brand, check the label. For some reason they make two kinds of sour cream and cream cheese - one has partially hydroginated oils in it and one does not. Not sure if that matters to you or not..
RE: cottage cheese. I have tried making fake ricotta cheese, and while I liked it, DH gave it the thumbs down.
I agree with using up your groceries - we did that too. DH stll buys cheese and has it when we make things like burritos or pasta or pizza. But I think that time is coming to an end now that LO is interested in what he is eating...
I find it easier to just make stuff not requiring a substitution. Examples are chili, roasted chicken and potatoes, quinoa with vegetables, baked sweet potato fries, stir fry, grilled or broiled lean protein, brown rice, oatmeal etc. Aside from almond milk and coconut milk products, most dairy subs are ... Not great.