Going Dairy Free

Recently I went dairy free after discovering Mara wasn't handling dairy in my breast milk.  (Curds in poop: for all those mothers out there who are curious)  Thankfully I have two wonderful sisters who experienced the same with all of their kids.  I immediately reached out to them for tips, reciepes and what to avoid.

Now when you think of dairy you of course think of milk.  Then there's cheese, yogurt, cream cheese, sour cream, butter.  Seems easy enough right?  Wrong.  Milk is in EVERYTHING.  Its there in the form of casein protein, lactose, whey....the list goes on.

I didn't realize exactly how much dairy I eat until I had to cut it out.  It was in my morning cereal and of course the milk I put into it.  It was in my granola bars and bread for my lunchtime sandwich.

Basically I'm sticking to vegetables, fruits and meat.  I have bought some coconut milk, almond milk and vegan butter for cooking but for the most part am not going to heavily explore dairy free substitutes for the staples (cheese, yogurt, etc)

My biggest test may be to come.  Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  I love preparing the meal and getting together with family to enjoy it.  I'm now tasked with making my favorite holiday staples dairy free.  You'd be surprised how hard this is.  Think about all the little places dairy hides.  Milk and butter in the mashed potatoes.  Butter or heavy cream in the roles.  Lactose in the gravy.  Cream of Mushroom soup in the green bean casserole.  Luckily I've found this great website geared to help you make a dairy free Thanksgiving.  I was able to get a few good recipes and substitute ideas that should help me pull off our favorite dishes without a hitch.

I have been at this for about a week now and although its been hard, I know its going to be worth it.  Especially if it helps Mara.  (huge gas problems could be the dairy)  Right now my plan is a massive purge.  No dairy at all.  Once I get it all out of my system, usually 2-3 weeks, we'll see how she's doing.  If we see a difference I'll try to slowly add things back in.  Starting with milk in products (aka breads, granola, cereal).  From there if she's still doing ok maybe we'll try to add back in yogurt and cheese.

I'm not counting on it but its really just going to be a wait and see process.  We're praying that it helps our little girl's gassy stomach get better.  In the end it will be worth it.  And heck, I may just get a tad more healthy in the process!