dairy allergy and NT

[snugglebug14]

We found out my son is allergic to dairy so neither of us can eat it now. I was really getting into all of the NT stuff right before we found. Can I still do NT? it seems like all of her recipies call for buttermilk, or whey or creme faiche or somethign else dairy. Thanks

[toraji]

Yes indeedy. NT is very dairy-based but it is also based on traditional principles. Not all traditional societies had dairy in the diet. You can ferment with just salt instead of whey (traditionally sauerkraut and kimchees are made with just salt, no dairy), and use something sour like vinegar to soak flours/grains.

I actually don't cook the recipes out of NT, just used it to get basic concepts which I then applied to other recipes. Once you get the hang of it, you can pretty much convert any other recipe out there.

But if you're interested in a "cookbook" then you can get The Garden of Eating Diet http://www.thegardenofeatingdiet.com which is not only dairy free but also grain-free (more of a paleo diet).

edited to add that I am doing a dairy-free, grain-free nt-style diet at the moment.

[Siana]

Would the cookbook still be very useful for someone who doesn't eat much fowl, eggs and any red meat? It sounds like it from what I read from the site, but just checking since you have the book (my library doesn't have a copy yet otherwise I'd check it out myself )

[toraji]

Dang, I just realized that I did not answer this...my apologies!

Siana, I do feel that it is important reading but that is from my own biased perspective. I have no idea what your diet is, but to someone who fully believes that a low-fat, low-animal product diet is the healthiest, then NT will not be very friendly towards this view (unless you are open to why this may be a bad idea). However, it is great for learning about why certain oils are good and others bad for the body, why you should soak grains/beans, and why you should eat only whole foods. If you do partake of animal products, then it gives reasons to eat only foods from properly nourished animals (not feedlot, not grain-fed, on pasture). I use it more like a reference book rather than a recipe book like I said above. But it does has its flaws IMHO, I think more emphasis should be placed on fresh vegetables, for example.

Hope that helps!

[Panserbjorne]

I'm not technically NT, but I like alot of what it has to say. Ds has a significant dairy allergy, and dd is intolerant of it...to some extent. She does okay with raw dairy though. That might be something to think about-it's a whole different ball of wax. Even if you can't do it raw though, you could absolutely still do NT. Good luck. We follow it to the extent that we are now mostly grain-fee, dairy free (except for dd with raw cheese) and very high veggie. All meats are pastured, except for fish but then they're all wild caught. Becasue of the "diet" it's pretty easy (IMO) to do different versions of it...it's just about eating nourishing foods that are properly prepared. Removing one thing (like dairy) doesn't hurt you if you're doing other things right, KWIM?

[mamaMAMAma]

I follow NT some and dd#1 has dairy allery. Like Toraji said, I use lemon juice to soak my grains with (sometimes goat yogurt). I also sub coconut milk while baking.