so new and don't even know what questions to ask!
We just found out that my daughter has a hideous dairy allergy, so the whole family is 'semi-vegan' now. (Don't hate me ... we still are carnivorous from time to time.) The problem with just chosing 'vegitarian' food and recipes is that they often still have dairy or dairy 'stuff' like whey protein or casein or lactylate ....
SO, we are learning a whole new life style here ... and it is pretty confusing. Lots to learn. We have stripped out the pantry, said good bye to some favorite foods, and are taking on a healthier choice.
That being said, I am hoping that it's ok to be here ... since we are not totally vegan. If not, I don't bruise easily ... it's ok to tell me to take a hike. I just hope that I have enough time to jot down some of the recipes on here first. They look so GREAT! Seriously though, I am have much to learn and am excited about taking on this interesting (but daunting) change. It's just not fair to have food in the house that makes this fantastic little girl so sick! All for one and one for all, ya know?
Primary things I am wondering after reading recipes today ... what in the world is egg substitute made of? What is the best brand of 'cheese like substitute stuff'? (Why is it that that is the hardest thing for my children to give up? LOL) Is there a butter substitute that you can bake with that? Is there a good 'beginners guide' for vegan cooking? What are good 'kid-friendly' protein sources? How much soy is too much for a little girl? (a friend told me to avoid too much phyto estragen ... whatever that is ....)
We live in the boonies ... so there are no local places to shop or ask questions. Thanks for taking the time to read this whole long thing. Thanks even MORE if you have time to answer any of my questions.! :)
Cheers!
egg substitute (if you mean ener-G brand) is tapioca flour and some other things. you can also use things like tofu, flax, soy yogurt, and possibly applesauce for egg substitutes THIS is a pretty good resource on baking.
i would say try to give up the cheese-y stuff for a bit and then venture into the substitutes. follow your heart is pretty good and i have heard good things about sheese. in a lot of things you can also make a sauce with nutritional yeast. there are a lot of recipes on
this site as well as a review thread for DAIRY ALTERNATIVES on this site.
the best substitute for butter (to me) is this specific vegan smart balance. some of the smart balance isn't vegan, so you have to look at the ingredients or for a vegan label. I generally use nucoa in the tub because it is vegan and non-hydrogenated and cheaper than the rest. you can also buy sticks of earth balance which are really good but pretty expensive (great for baking).
i would look for a good beginners cook book or just keep on exploring recipes for a good guide on what to do.
for protein, i would focus on things like beans and nuts... especially nut butters. tofu and tempeh are fine as well, but i wouldn't overdo them, just find out what your favorite "must have tofu/tempeh" kind of items are and make those rather than adding it to everything (for instance, i LOVE tofu scramble). Also, nut milks are great, and if you are worried about calcium and such make sure to get a fortified brand.
and of course you are welcome here. how else would one learn?
I agree with Hesp. It can take a while to "accept" cheese subs because though many are pretty good, they aren't cheese. I took a dairy holiday for a few weeks and then slowly tried the subs again. I actually don't mind tofutti sour cream now. But even so I see the subs as a garnish or accent to a dish rather than the main ingredient.
There are great milks out there, soy, coconut, rice, oat, hemp, just try some till you find a type and brand you like. Soy tends to be the cheapest if you buy a lot for the whole family. We go thru 3 gallons a week at our home. The nice thing is that most soy milk or others are ultra pasturized so even in the fridge, unopened they have a long expiration time, so you can stock up if a store isn't very close by.
I use Earth Ballance butter sub for most stuff, it bakes good too, but can be pricey. Crisco all vegetable shortening is vegan, though high in fat, but it makes a killer pie crust. Fleishmans UNSALTED margarine is Dairy free, but the regular marg isn't. It is avail in most areas and in sticks, and very cheap, I bake our cookies with this mostly.
I would check out the Living without website, it is a great resource for those living with allergies. Lots of recipes too. Also, I just found this blog, the Fatfree Vegan Kitchen and she has great recipes and has a section of kid approved dishes.
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com
/http://www.livingwithout.com/
Lets try that again
http://www.livingwithout.com/
Also, try and find a few favorite comfort foods for your daughter and keep those handy for when she feels left out. If she loves chocolate chip cookies, find a brand that is dairy free and make a big batch. I like Enjoy Life foods mini choc chips, allergen free.
My brothers and I can't have gluten, so growing up my mom kept cupcakes and brownies etc in the freezer so we could have special snacks when other kids brought birthday treats to school or to take to parties so we didn't have to sit and watch other eat cake without us. That helps a lot. After a while it becomes normal, and as she grows up, your daughter won't feel so "left out" as much. From experience I can say that teenage years were the hardest, aren't they always, but having an understanding family helps so much. Plus you have lots of time to work on perfecting those holiday favs that have dairy in them, so by this holiday you can wow your family.
you should check out the food & cooking board, theres a bunch of review threads for lots of products that should help guide you to the best products. allychristine made a thread stuck to the top of the board that will link you to all the others she made.
and welcome!!!!!
:flower2:
I would just like to add that I think it's wonderful that your family is joining your little girl in the diet change. I had a friend when I was a kid who was allergic to everything. The family didn't change their eating habits and he had "his food." I think this kid felt really alienated and "weird." Anyway. Kudos to you!
As far as soy is concerned...I don't know a lot about phyto-estrogens, but I feel there's a lot of hype about it. Seriously, most people consume milk with anti-biotics and artificial hormones...then they say soy isn't safe..not buyin it. That's just me, though.
heres a link to a thread about little girls & soy.. theres an article linked there you should check out.
WOW! Thanks so much for the replies! I have to say, this is actually starting to be exciting instead of ... well ... I don't know what the word is ... but I was really floundering a few hours ago and now I am inspired!
I couldn't see the link for the soy thread .... but that sounds interesting too.
The main thing that the kids miss (in terms of cheese) is grilled cheese sandwiches and pizza. So far, 'pretend' cheese has worked ok for those two things .. as long as the bread and/or marinara has significant flavor.
One of my sons is so funny ... he asked if yeast bread is vegan ... because his home ec. teacher said something about the yeast being 'live'. Well, I guess it's good to know that he is thinking it through.
My daughter is so worried that she will have a reaction, she went through a phase of not eating anything at all. However, she slid a little today and while she was visiting my mother today, Mom found her hiding behind a chair in the living room just LICKING a Mr. Goodbar. Poor thing. She is only 4. She has had no milk chocolate for weeks. We have 'special' dark chocolate that is safe for her, but she hasn't exactly 'acquired' that taste yet.
My new philopophy is to QUIT trying to make things that are like something we are not eating anymore, and just try NEW things. It seems to be a better approach. Tonight we had tostadas with black beans, avocado and fresh tomato. (oh ... and tons of cilantro, red onion, cumin, chile...) Then Clara helped to make fresh strawberry/banana smoothies for dessert. She was so tickled to serve everyone!
There's much to be thankful for!
Cheers!
hi,
I just wanted to suggest a couple of things - first off, I saw your post about chocolate. it takes a bit of work, but if you can find sweetend carob chips, you'll be able to make loads of chocolate-like stuff for her with no dairy! :) The sweetend carob is less bitter than dark chocolate and has a really nice flavour, I use them in oatmeal carob cookies, to make mousse, etc. It's delicious. If you have a bulk food store or health food store close by, you'll probably find some there.
Also, regarding phytoestrogens - these are weaker than mammalian estrogens, so having her consume soymilk would probably be even less detrimental compared to dairy. One of my animal science professors, when we were learning about dairy production, mentioned that cows' milk contains estrogen that's concentrated about ten times the amount in the cows' blood - and since they are mammals, their steroid hormones are almost identical to ours, so the estrogens in milk are able to act much more readily on us than those from plant sources. As long as your daughter doesn't have a soy allergy and she doesn't consume soy products 24/7, she should be a-okay :)
I also wanted to echo what lotus42 said - it's great that your daughter has such a supportive family!! Also, I love the name Clara. lucky kid!
here that report about little girls & soy
http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/healthday/2009/03/24/soy-may-help-shield-asian-american-girls-from.html
the original article i linked to is expired but this is the same thing.
also, i said earlier that the 'official non-dairy, cheese, meatless' reviews were at linked to in a master thread at the top of the food & cooking forum but i guess i was wrong. just browse thru and you'll see the different threads.. including our favorite mac & cheeze recipes and vegan ice cream products.
for something like milk chocolate, ive heard that rice milk chocolate bars are similar (even better) although expensive. also, i think i heard recently that walgreens store brand dark chocolate is creamier than other dark chocolates. it can't be too expensive so it's probably worth a shot.
That is so cool that you are having such a great attitude about everything, ordinarygreatness! Your family is lucky. :) It will take some time, and I am sure no one here will boot you just because you aren't 100% vegan! I'm only lacto-ovo vegetarian and no one gives me crap about it. I think it is just exciting for all of us to see new people becoming open to new ideas!
As far as a good starter book, I really like the vegwebber quintess's book, Radiant Health, Inner Wealth. It is super comprehensive and has a ton of truly awesome recipes. It also has everything you need to know about setting up your kitchen, a food glossary, and a lot more. You can find it by searching either quintess or the name of her book on the vegweb search. I really love my book and use it constantly! I think it would be really helpful for anyone new to the diet too.
Anyway, keep up the questions--I am sure we all want to help in any way we can! :)
Oh, and by the way, the only reason I'm not totally vegan is cheese...haven't yet found a good vegan one. But everything else is just as good vegan-style in my opinion!
i agree that its great that the whole family is on board and changing together. i was diagnosed w/ diabetes as a kid, and i always had my "special" food which made me feel so ousted from a meal, snack, etc.
you could make your own cndy bars using semi sweet chocolate. many choc bitties (morsels for cookies) are dairy free. for example Ghiridelli. you could melt it up and put peanuts, crispies, etc in it for her.
if you check out the Tuna Noodle Casserole, you can see that they use chickpeas mashed up for some "cheeziness" and creamy ness.... its very good. you could try hummus on pizza or as a grilled "cheeze". its not the same, but tasty.
also, Road's End makes mac n cheese and cheeses in jars, like nacho cheese, etc. its REALLY good!
Follow your heart brand monteray jack is a good "cheez"...its good on pizza. you just want to turn the oven up high..450-500 degs F for the last few mins in order to get it to melt.
you can use tofu as a ricotta sub as well. there is a recipe for stuffed shells on here that uses tofu ricotta.