Going Dairy Free (DF) – Part Three: Making a DF Diet Work For You

Going Dairy Free (DF) – Part Three: Making a DF Diet Work For You

So you have tried a dairy free diet for two weeks and determined it made a difference for your baby. Now you are facing a commitment to go dairy-free longer term. Going DF is not all that hard. All you have to do is remove all dairy from your diet. It is that simple, right? Yes and No.

Please discuss your dairy-free diet with your doctor and your pediatrician. There may be a reason why it is not appropriate for you to go dairy-free for your own health. Your baby may also need a treatment for reflux in conjunction with your dietary changes.

Most meals would look fairly bland and empty if you just removed dairy from your normal diet.  And while it might work for a short time, this approach would leave you dissatisfied and resentful over the longer term. A DF diet is also unlikely to work for you if you change it up completely, by replacing with nutritious, but sanctimonious whole foods or exotic sounding ingredients you really have no idea of how to cook.

Success will be found, not in just removing dairy, or changing your diet to something you don’t even recognize as food, but in finding acceptable dairy-free substitutes.

Find a good milk replacement – oat, rice, almond, coconut or soy if your baby can tolerate it (Soy tolerance can also be common in babies with a dairy intolerance). Most baking recipes work well enough with an appropriate milk alternative. You might have to add a little more fat depending on the milk. 

Find a good DF margarine/spread. Usually they are olive oil based, and can be used in place of butter or margarine unit for unit, especially if the amount needed is small.

Find a good creamy textured DF mayonnaise. This can be used as a sauce base in pasta or noodles, on salads to give a decadent creaminess, or as a dipping sauce/topping in place of sour cream.

Find a good DF dark chocolate. When you do, buy in bulk. This needs no further explanation and will save your sanity at all hours of the day or night.

Making Substitutions:

Take a good look at your diet, and identify where the dairy you miss the most used to be. Then work out how to incorporate the most appropriate substitute.

For example: Breakfast.

My hot drinks were my trickiest substitute, especially that first morning tea. I would then have another 5 or so over the day. Soy milk didn’t cut it, because of the potential for cross-intolerance, and because the nutty soy taste works better in coffee than tea. Rice, almond, oat and coconut were worse than no tea at all. For my first two babies, I couldn’t stand black tea either. So I started drinking green tea, with the occasional hot fruit drink. I also tried the apple cider vinegar and hot water cleanser drink for a while, but have since moved to black tea with sugar.

 

When I’m not DF, a toasted muesli cereal with yogurt and dash of milk is my preferred breakfast, and I have found that a tablespoon of chilled coconut cream and a splash of water  works to replace this. Porridge is great made with water and topped with soy, almond or coconut milk (with plenty of brown sugar.) 

Of course, you could just eat toast with a DF margarine, and spread like peanut butter, and that is a great everyday breakfast, but sometimes you just need that cereal option. If a replacement makes you feel deprived you won’t be able to stick with it, even with the best intentions and motivations.

If you don’t already meal –plan, now is a good time to start. A week’s worth of meals can be converted to DF far more easily and creatively than a meal put together at the last minute.

Baking:

Another potential obstacle can be snacks and treats. I won’t lie to you, most of the easy-to-grab, at eye-level treats usually have dairy. You can replace them with fruit, nuts, vegetable sticks or DF crackers, but when you need something more decadent, you may need to try some DF home baking.   

The advantage of this is that you know exactly what went into your food, and you can change it up to your tastes. Have a play with your favorite recipes and expect a few failures, but your successes will be worth it! I have found my DF banana bread and chocolate cake so good, I prefer to use them even when I’m no longer DF. If you’re lucky, I may even share them with you!

Common DF substitutes that work in baking:

DF margarine can be used instead of butter. When you get over 1 cup, you may need to reduce the amount of margarine a little. Coconut oil or vegetable-based oils also work, especially if the recipe calls for melted butter, but you may want to add a bit more salt.

Fruit purees work as a great substitute, especially apple or banana, but they do add a different flavor and you may need to add a little fat – oil or coconut cream. Avocado is another great substitute and doesn’t need additional fat.

Milk can be substituted with any of the common milk replacements – soy, rice, almond, oat or another liquid and a fat. 

Cream can be replaced by coconut cream. If you leave the container to settle in the fridge overnight, then take out without shaking or stirring, thick cream forms on the top that can be easily skimmed off. You can also use this to replace yogurt.

 

If you don’t fancy this trial and error approach, some wonderful DF recipes can be easily found on the internet. Sharing is caring, and someone else will always have been in the same place as you are now, and put their solutions online. A few days ago I wanted a DF caramel sauce. A quick Google search resulted in at least four different DF approaches.

Eating out:

At some point in your DF journey you will find yourself needing to eat out, either by choice or necessity. While I recommend you avoid this in the first two weeks, while you are establishing whether DF works for your baby, you can most certainly remain successfully DF while eating out if you follow some simple guidelines.

Be Vigilant

Smell, look and taste carefully. You are relying on someone who is possibly busy, stressed and can make mistakes. I have often sent back coffees that were supposed to be soy, but were made with milk instead. All the apologies won’t make up for the discomfort your baby will endure because of their mistake.

Be Clear and Memorable

Tell everyone responsible for your food that you are DF- the server, the waiter, the chef, even the owner!  and spell out clearly what this means. Explain to them the consequences for you and baby.  No matter how earnestly your waiter assures you something is DF, you have to trust their ability to read labels correctly, and in their understanding of what being DF means. No, sir, eggs are not dairy.  But do this politely and with consideration, you may well be causing them inconvenience and you do want the staff on your side.

KISS

Keep it simple sweetheart. Don’t order the most complex dish on the menu, as the potential for error is far greater, and the ability of the chef to convert it to DF more restricted. Stick as close to whole foods as you can. Look for the simple protein and vegetable/salad option. Usually the risk of dairy is greatest in the sauces, dressings and accompaniments.  A simple protein dish will mean you can easily ask for no sauce or a DF sauce instead. Be aware of the cooking method as well. A piece of fish may be poached in butter or milk for example.

Don’t be Shy

If nothing on the menu is appetizing without dairy, or appears difficult to convert to a DF version, ask the waiter what the chef can do for you, off the menu.  “I’m dairy-free due to intolerance. What can the chef do for me” Practice this phrase and you might be pleasantly surprised. I have been. 

Go DF (Dessert-free)

I’m sorry, don’t hate me please. The reality is that the very nature of restaurant desserts are creamy decadent dairy-filled recipes and unlikely to be able to be converted. You might be lucky with a sorbet or berry fruit salad type option that is dairy-free, but in general you will be better to wait until you get home and delve into that supply of DF dark chocolate. 

Be Vigilant.

I can’t say this enough. Assume every waiter is lurking around the corner ready to slip some milk into your coffee or butter onto your bun. They most probably aren’t, but this way you won’t be taken by surprise.

Going on a dairy-free diet doesn’t mean missing out on the good stuff in life. You just have to get creative, plan ahead, put in some time, be vigilant and if all else fails, there’s always that DF dark chocolate to come home to.

 

Check out the entire Going Dairy-Free series:
Part One - The Essentials
Part Two - My DF Journey
Part Three - Making a DF Diet Work for You

Coming soon: Hidden dairy and other possible pitfalls, the science of going DF and my favorite DF recipes

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Have you made the decision to go dairy-free?  How did you find it? Did it make a difference to your baby’s well-being? Please share your experiences with us....