Anyone with experience of living dairy free in the US?
 

My son has a dairy allergy. Availability of a wide range of dairy free products is excellent in the UK including a special soya milk enhanced specifically for toddlers.

I was wondering what was available in the US? I've lived there a few times before but never had to think about this issue.

Thanks :thumbsup:

Re: Anyone with experience of living dairy free in the US?
 

There is a large variety of lactose-free products available, including Silk (soy milk). Most chains (WalMart, Kroger, etc) will carry them... and probably more.

Ian

Re: Anyone with experience of living dairy free in the US?
 

Thanks.

Lactose free isn't the same as dairy free. But soya products are of course dairy free. The milk alternative isn't the problem. I was thinking more of yoghurts, deserts etc

Also, anyone with experience of having to use formula for toddlers (given soya milk isn't fatty enough for small people))?

Re: Anyone with experience of living dairy free in the US?
 

The US is huge, and regional tastes vary. You'll find products are called 'soy' here, not soya. And there are lots of alternatives (rice, almond etc).

Natural foods manufacturing in the US is quite robust. What's available in any given city has more to do with local culture.

Re: Anyone with experience of living dairy free in the US?
 

Generally, you shouldn't have a problem.

Some places might be lacking in choice, Maine, from experience, but even there, they had good choice of milk/yoghurt and a few other bits and pieces, down here in MA, there's even more choice.

Some of it doesn't cost extra, but some stuff can be quite pricey.

As for formula, there is plenty of dairy free alternatives, tends to be a lot more expensive than the regular stuff, which is already really expensive.

Places like BJ's, Costco etc tend to have their own brand stuff for the regular formula, don't think they do for dairy free and the other special stuff, so can be paying around $40 for 20 oz carton.

Re: Anyone with experience of living dairy free in the US?
 

I've been dairy free for a little while now, it can be challenging in a small town to try and find suitable alternatives but there are plenty out there.

There are several brands of Soy, Rice, Almond and other milks available, they tend to have the same vitamins added to them that whole milk has. There are plenty soy cheeses, but some have casein in them so you need to read the label.
Whole Foods have a good selection of dairy free alternatives and supermarkets carry some things as well. I use Earth Balance spread, it's quite palatable for fake butter and our local Walmart carries it.

I just made a gluten free/dairy free chocolate cake last night, it's all gone now though :)

Re: Anyone with experience of living dairy free in the US?
 

We have a friend with a Dairy allergic child (well he's a teen now) and all the Moms seemed do do fine with finding foods and drinks for sleepovers and play dates that were dairy free when he was younger. The Allergic kids Mom just gave everyone a list of ingredients that he couldn't eat so everyone label checked as they went. He only had one case over many years of play dates, of starting to not be able to breath well and took meds, turned out there was milk hidden in the taco mix.

Re: Anyone with experience of living dairy free in the US?
 

i actually think the mainsteam supermarkets (at least here in Ohio) seem to carry a better selection of natural or alternative products than i could find in similar supermarkets back home. I was very pleasantly surprised. My friend has a son with a gluten and dairy free diet and she manages just fine.

Re: Anyone with experience of living dairy free in the US?
 

My daughter has a dairy allergy, diagnosed when she was 8 months old. She is now 7. Over that time the general availability of dairy free alternatives has improved, as well as the labeling regulations.

We never used formula so I can't help with that.

We use Earth Balance for margarine. In recipes I substitute soy milk for milk and either Earth Balance or light olive oil for butter.

Cheese substitutes can be hard as they taste weird and don't melt. Daiya is a new one that is coconut oil based and actually melts.

Be careful to check ingredients very carefully as products can be labeled non-dairy yet still contain casein, eg non-dairy creamers. Some soy yogurts contain milk proteins as well.

Ingredient labels are now required to state "milk" either in the ingredients or in a separate statement of what allergens are contained in the product. Note that the "may contain" type labels for products manufactured on shared equipment are voluntary, so if cross contamination is a problem you will need to call manufacturers, who vary in helpfulness.

The availability of dairy free products will depend on where you are. Small towns can be tricky. I order some foods online. Larger towns may have a Trader Joes or Whole Foods, and the regular grocery stores will have a better selection of "natural foods" which includes special diets.

Also the Kosher labeling can be helpful, as people who keep strict kosher cannot eat dairy products at the same meal as meat products. Many foods are labeled with a U or UD symbol - UD often means that it has dairy in it, whereas if there is a U on something it often indicates that it is free from dairy.

Let me know if you have any more questions about specific kinds of items you are trying to find. We kept our house dairy free for a few years and managed to find suitable alternatives for most things.

Re: Anyone with experience of living dairy free in the US?
 

One thing that can be tricky is bread. When I go to the UK I love the choice of packaged breads without milk, but in the US the majority have milk protein in some form. I'm not sure why. Ingredients are regional, so a type that is milk free in one area may not be in another. I bake a lot of bread myself. There are a few packaged loaves available, but you have to spend a long time reading labels in the bakery aisle to find them.

Re: Anyone with experience of living dairy free in the US?
 

Thanks for this and your other reply. Very useful.

We have only used formula for cereal and for when I'm not around. It's on prescription here.

That's rubbish about bread. Very lttle bread here has milk products in.

We will have a Wholefoods & Trader Joes close by. Moving to the DC area so we should be well served.

Re: Anyone with experience of living dairy free in the US?
 

You will be fine in the DC area. After a few LONG shopping trips reading hundreds of ingredient labels you will find products that work for you. The grocery stores don't tend to have "free from" sections or labels like they do in the UK, but the products are there.

The first time we took my daughter back to visit the UK we took lots of food with us, but now I feel more confident buying things there. I don't think either country is ""better" for dairy free food shopping, but in any new place it takes a while to get used to the different products that are available.

Re: Anyone with experience of living dairy free in the US?
 

there is def a soy formula available and im sure ive read about prescription only formula for the dairy allergic kids although i dont know the name.,

Re: Anyone with experience of living dairy free in the US?
 

I've been vegan for about seven or eight years now. It really depends on where you are - some places are next to impossible, while others are very easy. Americans do have a tendency to stick whey, lactose and milk powder in places you wouldn't expect, so read ingredients carefully and ask lots of questions if eating out.

Re: Anyone with experience of living dairy free in the US?
 

It's a proper pain in the butt, you can add wheat to that list aswell.

What spread/marg do you use? I was looking for one that tasted really buttery (to make butter icing) I like earth balance but the taste of soy and other fats can be quite strong.