What? There's dairy in that?

It is amazing how many foods have dairy in the ingredients! There are so many items that surprised us when we started sifting through the contents of our pantry to find out what Leanne could eat. Apparently, whey, a derivative of milk, is extremely common in a wide variety of foods, as is casein, another milk derivative.

Some hidden names for dairy are (taken from thefussybabysite.com):

•  Whey or whey powder

•  Milk fat

•  Skim milk powder

•  Casein (And rennet casein)

•  Evaporated milk

•  Sweetened condensed milk

•  Buttermilk

•  Sour cream

•  Cottage cheese

•  Butter, butter oil, clarified butter, and ghee

•  Cheese

•  Cream cheese

•  ‘Protein’(from milk)

•  Milk derivatives

•  Modified milk ingredients

•  Milk solids

•  Lactose

•  Artificial butter flavor

•  Curds

•  Half and half

•  Hydrolysates 

•  Lactalbumin, lactalbumin phosphate, lactoglobulin

•  Lactulose

•  Nougat

Some surprising items that could contain dairy (some do not, always check the label):

•  Crackers

• ‘Non-dairy’ creamers (These creamers contain sodium caseinate)

• Hot chocolate powders

• Cheese and most cheese substitutes

• Canned soup

• Fruit sherbet

• Store-bought pasta sauce

• Cereals

• Smoothies

• Store-bought granola and snack bars

• Pizza (ask if the dough contains dairy)

• Most Italian and Mexican food

• Most potato and nacho chips

• Frozen meals/foods

Soy is also in a lot of foods, but in our case, we only have to look out for soy protein. Soybean oil and soy lecithin are one of the most common ingredients you’ll find, and are often listed as part of the “Soy” allergen on the side of the packaging. For most infants, it’s the soy protein that is difficult to digest, which is the issue Emma has. That makes Leanne’s life a little easier, and her food choices slightly more broad than if she was to cut out soy entirely.

There are obviously milk ingredients in most cookies, which severely bummed Leanne out, but she found that Oreos and Nutter Butter cookies are dairy, soy, and egg free! That has made the lack of “sweet treats” a bit more manageable. She also took an instant liking to the So Delicious brand of coconut milk ice cream. Her favorite is Mint Chip, because she gets her chocolate fix from the carob chip-made chocolate chunks and swirls. No one is unhappy to be able to eat chocolate!

A lot of fast food chains and restaurants have hidden allergens in the most surprising of menu items. A lot of the more popular businesses have allergen menus which helps a lot, but some of our favorite hole-in-the-wall places entail more research on our part, including “making friends” with the owners or managers. We will cover these issues and tell you our secrets in our next post!

If you have a favorite food that you are missing, and would like to find a suitable, tasty replacement, please do not hesitate to contact us! Leanne has found so many wonderful substitutes that we will make sure to keep sharing over the next year. Things like, the ice cream and cookies, not to mention frozen meals that are available at your local grocery store. Feel free to get creative and experiment too! Happy hunting!