Wheat and Milk Allergy

R.,

I feel your pain. My older son has autism and they want us to do the dairy/wheat free diet (he's also reacting to eggs and peanuts) plus eliminate artifical colors, flavors and preservatives. Holy cow! LOL And my baby is allergic to dairy and soy. After living dairy and soy free for the past year, I'll tell you that I've learned that it is easiest to do a "whole food" type of diet. The substitutes aren't all that good (and most of the dairy substitutes are soy, etc...) and they are expensive. We eat a lot of meats, rice/potatoes, veggies, fruits. We grill most of the meats (although I crock pot them a lot too). We eat white rice, brown rice and some of the "Near East" brand mixes (you have to read the labels, the ingredients vary by flavor - some are okay for us and others not). We bake, fry, mash (with chicken broth not butter or milk) or roast (with olive oil and rosemary) the potatoes. WE also eat a lot of sweet potatoes (not yams! The sweet potatoes have yellow flesh, not orange and taste much better - they are often mislabeled in the store so you have to make sure you get the right ones). We bake them, put a little dairy free (Nucoa - it comes in a gold colored box) margarine on them and a little salt and pepper. We eat a huge variety of fresh veggies and fruit. It took me a while to really figure out that I needed to eliminate most processed foods and convenience foods. Once I gave up that idea, cooking and getting variety got easier. It is a much healthier diet. I know for me, I've lost 20 pounds and my cholesterol went from 270 to 204. Anyway, I hope this gives you some ideas but if you need more, email me at ____@____.com. I've been dealing with this type of thing for quite a while and I've got a lot of resources.

Another thing since you aren't trying to avoid soy, look at asian cuisines. They are traditionally wheat and dairy free. And tasty.

T.

There is a ton you can do by just switching the recipes to soy or rice milk and use oat or rice flour. It changes the taste only slightly but you don;t have to modify more than that! :) The worst part is just reading labels. You are going to have to make a lot more things. THere are a lot of websites you can order wheat free items it is then checking to make sure they are also milk free!! Good luck!!

R.,
My 1 year old is dealing with a lot of severe food allergies as well. It is a little difficult at first (my girls will sometimes get a special treat at the gas station, and he is difficult to buy for) Generally you just need to be creative. I like the others who have posted, have found that these changes have made our whole family more aware. I generally keep a lot of broths on hand to sub for eggs in casseroles etc. I have learned how to make a birthday cake using non traditional ingredients, and we have almost completly cut "already ready already" meals from our menu! A good resource for creative, abiding, and healthy meals are vegan cookbooks and websites. I modify most of them since we do still eat meat, but they are a great place to start. Good luck, and with time be assured it will all become second nature!!

Try posting them on www.craigslist.com.