Going Dairy and Soy Free

In addition to acid reflux Lillian is also suspected to have an allergy to dairy and soy protein. She's also allergic to the fancy "allergenic" formulas. Soooo...that means I'm still breastfeeding and cutting all dairy and soy products from my diet. As you might imagine, for someone who was trained in French cooking I wasn't thrilled about the idea of giving up butter. But for this face I'll do it:



I'm looking at this as a challenge. And if it means that Lillian will be more comfortable and might eventually start sleeping better I'll do anything (she doesn't normally nap and wakes almost hourly most night).

I've had lots of encouragement and tips from other mom friends who've been through this. A couple if things I've discovered:

- soy is in EVERYTHING so label reading is key
- Earth Balance soy and dairy free buttery spread is surprisingly tasty. I'm now using it on and on everything.
- Blue Diamond almond milk is way tastier than Silk
- Avocado and bacon go a long way in making up for cheese
- sushi is about the safest takeout option but be sure to skip the SOY sauce (totally spaced in this the first day of the diet)

Thanksgiving was interesting. We had 15 people at our house 10 days after moving in and I could only eat about 1/3 of the menu. But by reserving some of the cooked potatoes to mash with chicken broth and having a baked sweet potato alongside my turkey and cranberries, I still felt pretty satisfied. I did miss the pies though.

Today's challenge: a tasty dairy free breakfast. Ended up making French toast using Artisan whole wheat bread (most processed breads have milk or soy), almond milk, eggs, cinnamon and sugar. And fried in Earth Balance. Pretty darned good.

To be honest I've been kind of overwhelmed the past couple of weeks with all the changes in our lives but I think things are getting back on track. Can't wait to see what's next.