Milk Substitutes

[Nic]

There is a strong possibility that my son Jacob has another food intolerance other than Celiac. I am so worried that it will be milk as he loves milk. I was wondering if anyone has found any good milk substitutes that children have liked.

Nicole

[HawkFire]

One of my favorite subjects is dairy. We are a dairy free family. Here is what we use in place of dairy. Rice milk, almond milk, coconut oil *for butter and oil* and that's it. I get the chocolate flavored almond milk for my kids. Rice milk is individual. Try out several brands to see if your child likes one. We just don't really use them anymore. We drink water, eat cereal with almond milk, bake and cook with water for the most part. I have found mashed potatoes require some plain rice milk because water simply isn't as good for that one dish. We use a lot of fresh young coconuts and make smoothies with the milk from them. Something most Americans don't know is that no where else in this world are people consuming dairy the way we are. Most don't have it at all. These people do not suffer from osteoporosis, hip fractures, bone breaks and dental problems the way we do. The protein in dairy competes with the calcium! How shocking. The more dairy you consume, the less able you are to absorb calcium. You simply must consume your calcium along with a vitamin C source. That is why a green salad is so much better for your bones than a glass of milk. However, the sad truth is that change is difficult and battleing the lies of the dairy industry with my small voice is impossible. But that goodness if he does have a dairy issue. It is a blessing rather than to continue consuming dairy.

Coconut oil on toast is very good according to my children. I do not enjoy it. I add a shake of salt for them as the oil is not salted. Also, a bit of jam is the way I prefer it. It has a tropical taste with the coconut oil and jam.

[Mango04]

I know kids who like soy milk and rice milk. Hemp milk is good too. It's much creamier than other milk substitutes.

[jerseyangel]

My favorites are

Vance's Dari Free (Potato based)

Pacific Almond

Pacific Vanilla Almond (makes killer pudding--just reduce amount of milk used)

[Juliebove]

My daughter loves the Vance's Dari Replacer. She loves the chocolate, heated in a mug and topped with marshmallows. I also use the plain, dry powder in baked goods. Seems too sweet for cooking. On cereal, she uses rice milk, either plain or vanilla. We also use rice milk for making smoothies.

In cooking, I find most of the substitutes are too sweet so I use broth.

Daughter loves mashed potatoes and I had a heck of a time getting the flavor right. Then I finally hit on what I had to do. I cook the potatoes as usual, then drain off most of the water the water and save it. Then I use a concentrated broth such as Better Then Boullion or some other brand (I've forgotten which kind) that comes in little pouches. It's a thick liquid. We have additional food allergies so there might be some other kind you can use that we can not. I tend to make a lot of potatoes at once because they are so well liked and I like to have leftovers for daughter's lunch. So I usually add at least two spoonfuls or pouches. I also add a bit of parsley and/or chopped green onions to the mix and some freshly ground black pepper. I mash the potatoes well, then add some light olive oil and additional cooking water as needed to get the right texture. I then taste and add salt and additional seasonings as needed. Sometimes I find I need to add more broth. But I usually use less salt than I would have had I used milk because the broth is salty.

Rice milk will work for some cooked things but it's quite watery and doesn't always work. To make a cream of mushroom type soup mix for casseroles and such, I use plain rice milk then add some mushrooms, a bit of celery and some onion that has been chopped into tiny bits in the food processor. I cook up the veggies in a bit of olive oil or light olive oil until soft, then add some sweet rice flour, cooking for a minute or so, then slowly adding some rice milk until I get the right consistancy. It will be runnier than cream of mushroom soup from a can and the flavor's not quite the same, but I do the best I can with it. I also find that using dried mushrooms that have been soaked to rehydrate gives a better flavor but I always add some fresh mushrooms as well.

For cheese, you can make vegan nut cheeses. One that is easy to do is to combine 2 cups of raw cashews, 1 red or orange bell pepper, hot peppers to taste, a bit of salt in the food processor. This makes a nacho type cheese that is very good. Or you can buy the Road's End Organics Nacho Chreese sauce in a jar. They also make a faux mac and cheese as does Namaste Foods.

Also, nutritional yeast has a cheesy flavor. My daughter loves in on popcorn. It can be sprinkled into a variety of foods or added to foods that need a cheesy flavor. She loves it in stuffed potatoes. I bake some large potatoes, let cool slightly, then cut off the tops, carefully scooping out most of the insides and leaving about a 1/4" shell. I always bake a few extras because I tend to mangle a few of the shells, plus I like to overstuff them. I then take the potatoes and mash them, mixing in several spoonfuls of nutritional yeast, plenty of chopped green onions, black pepper, salt and olive oil. I then add enough plain rice milk to make a soft mashed potato. I then pile this back into the shells, sprinkle with more chopped onion (bacon bits are good too) and Sweet Hungarian Paprka. Pop them back in the oven until heated through and the tops are browned. You could swear there is cheese in them!

[Anonymousgurl]

Hi Everyone...

I've been using Pacific Rice Milk. I use Pacific for everything, it's a great brand.

BUT im getting tired of it. LoL.

So I was considering using Vance's substitute but i was wondering if it was natural and organic? Or if it had any oils in it?

[JennyC]

If your daughter can have soy, the Silk Very Vanilla soy milk is really good. It's the only one that my son would drink. He calls it ice-cream milk. The Vanilla in it makes it quite sweet. He doesn't even mind drinking it at daycare while the other kids all have regular milk. I can't vouge for any dairy free cheese...he thinks they're yucky. I HIGHLY recommend getting allergy testing done. They can do a simple blood test and most importantly it takes the mystery out of everything!!! Before my son was diagnosed with Celiac disease, two weeks ago, I thought that he was allergic to milk, so I tried to replace all dairy, except cheese, with soy. He continued to have problems, so I thought I was not being diligent enough with his milk free diet. I turns out that he has Celiac disease. HE IS NOT ALLEGIC TO ANYTHING! I cannot tell you enough how good if feels to know what his issues are, and most of all what they are not. After his intestines heal, assuming that he is not lactose intolerant, he can have regular milk again!

[Nic]

He did have an allergy test (RAST test) and all came back negative. But I don't believe that covers intolerances.

Nicole

[JennyC]

Allergy testing doesn't cover intolerance. It's possible that your child is lactose intolerant, especially if this is a new diagnosis. I'm in the early stage with my son, so I give him soy products when possible. I do give him dairy cheese, but I give him half of a Lactaid first. This seems to work well, and he's less deprived of the foods he loves. I've been told that there is a breath test for lactose intolerance. I plan to have my son tested after he has been gluten-free long enough for his intestines to heal.