[mormontreehugger]

I'm considering going dairy free, not because of allergies but just for general health reasons. I have a few members in my family who are 'lactose intolerant' so I'm familiar with soy milk. My problem is, I absolutely adore cheese. It's how I eat some of my vegetables (not so healthy, but it helps).

I figure you allergy experts could point me in the right direction to find either substitutes for cheese or maybe just how to cut down on how much I eat. I remember my mom substituting tofu once on top of a casserole and it melted like cheese. Has anyone else done this?

Last, I don't want to cut out dairy and suddenly be deficient on vitamins that are in milk or cheese, nor do I want to lose out on the probiotics in yogurt. Are there some easy substitues for these that have worked for you?

If there's already a thread on this, sorry to waste your time--maybe you could post the link for me? TIA!

 

[lil_miss_understood]

The only casein free cheese I've found which melts similar to dairy cheese is Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet. It's soy based, which is great if soy's okay for you.
There are also some decent soy and coconut based yogurts on the market, some of which (I want to say all but I don't know that that's true) have probiotics. kjbrown also has a recipe for coconut yogurt on her blog.
In addition to (or as an alternative to) the casein free cheese I mentioned above, you might consider a nutritional yeast "cheese" sauce for pouring over your vegetables. There are a few decent ones out there, some based on non-dairy milks, some on nuts. This site is a great resource for anyone going dairy free.
HTH.

 

[Lady TS]

When I was df, I was unable to find a cheese substitute I could stomache.

As far as ice cream, the I thought the Tofutti was a pretty decent substitute.

As for probiotics, have you considered kefir? From what I have read, you can use things other than milk to grow it in---milk substitutes such as soy milk, coconut milk, and even water kefir. I may have some kefir grains(they are currently in milk) for the cost of shipping if you are interested. I am planning on trying to convert some of my milk kefir grains to water kefir grains in the near future...

 

[changingseasons]

I you just want a cheese sauce to pour over veggies, chreese is pretty good.

Storebought yogurt doesn't have that much probiotics in it anyway... you'd be better off making your own source. You could make water kefir, kombucha, sauerkraut, etc.

I wouldn't go substituting all your dairy products with soy either. There are plenty of reasons that soy isn't that great for your health (unless fermented properly). I'm sure someone else can chime in with more details.

 

[Lady TS]

If you want a kombucha scoby, I will have one for cost of shipping soon! PM me if you are interested!

 

[mormontreehugger]

Thanks for all the replies! I will now step out and do some research on kefir...

 

[babsbob]

If you like goat cheese you could try to sprinkle that on your veggies. I think most people who have trouble with cow's milk are still okay with goat and sheep milk based products.

 

[kjbrown92]

Quote:

Originally Posted by babsbob If you like goat cheese you could try to sprinkle that on your veggies. I think most people who have trouble with cow's milk are still okay with goat and sheep milk based products.

Not around here it seems.

 

[tanyalynn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kjbrown92 Not around here it seems.

Are you saying this forum is not a representative cross-section of America???

(since it's mostly US residents, not that that's a requirement).

For pizza: caramelized onions, deeply caramelized, very yummy

Ice cream: the coconut milk ice creams are amazing, I don't think I'm ever going to go back to dairy even if/when cow's milk is okay for us

For other stuff--mostly we've done without.

To cover veggies--I make stew-like meals, something with a sauce, meat and veggies cooked together, and if there's a stand-alone veggie like steamed broccoli, the sauce from the main part goes over the rest. Red sauce (like a spaghetti sauce) is great on veggies.

 

[changingseasons]

Quote:

Originally Posted by babsbob If you like goat cheese you could try to sprinkle that on your veggies. I think most people who have trouble with cow's milk are still okay with goat and sheep milk based products.

Not true at all.

 

[lil_miss_understood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by babsbob If you like goat cheese you could try to sprinkle that on your veggies. I think most people who have trouble with cow's milk are still okay with goat and sheep milk based products.

No.
I believe the figure my allergist gave me was that 75% of people who react to cow milk will also react to goat and sheep milk.

 

[tanyalynn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JacquelineR No. I believe the figure my allergist gave me was that 75% of people who react to cow milk will also react to goat and sheep milk.

I've wondered if it's lower for intolerances. Because a lot of people, anecdotally, over in TF seem okay with goat's milk, and goat's milk kefir seems helpful for some, whereas cow's milk products much less so.

 

[lil_miss_understood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TanyaLopez I've wondered if it's lower for intolerances. Because a lot of people, anecdotally, over in TF seem okay with goat's milk, and goat's milk kefir seems helpful for some, whereas cow's milk products much less so.

If the problem is specifically with whey rather than casein, this may be true. If it is lactose or casein, however, chances are that you'll react to all mammal milks (from what I've read anyway).