Figuring out my fussy baby-eliminate dairy first?

[texasfarmom]

I don't want to get overwhelmed...that is why I have been so hesitant to try an elimination diet so far. I am really struggling with how fussy DD is though. She is 4 months old and EBF. I thought it might be acid reflux, but she has been on meds for that for about 12 days now, and I don't think I've seen a difference.

So, to keep this short, I think I should try to eliminate dairy in my diet. The only reason why is it seems I've heard that it is a culprit pretty often. WHERE DO I START? I have no idea! What do I need to know...do you have recommendations for books, websites, recipes? I've heard there can be hidden dairy in a lot of products. How do I find all the hidden dairy?

Oh boy...this is going to be tough! I LOVE dairy too!

[tanyalynn]

I think at first it's easiest to choose meals that are naturally dairy free, whatever is familiar to you that's w/o dairy.

For me, some of the list would be: chili; a basic dinner of a meat (roast chicken, roast beef are easy) plus a starch and a green veggie; stir fries, even familiar stuff like hamburgers + sweet potatoes + green veggie.

For breakfast--eggs and fruit, oatmeal with coconut milk instead of cow's milk; we like bean burritos.

For me, figuring out different sources of fat and/or protein was helpful, and since I'm omni, I switched to more meat and I deliberately added more fat to my meals (instead of steamed rice, make it pilaf-style with the rice sauteed in fat to start with).

Most of the recipes in this forum are dairy-free. I'd suggest you don't substitute in soy for cow's milk, soy and dairy are really cross-reactive.

As for hidden dairy--the ingredients label will become your friend. I *think* things are supposed to explicitly say milk if they contain dairy but I still read all the way through, look for things like whey or casein or lactose (or words that start with those).