Now, let me start off this post by prefacing that ANY change made to a sensitive child/baby's diet should ALWAYS be consulted with a doctor, especially if this will be your child main source of nutrition. Now, with that said, here is our milk subs list that we love oh so much, and a little blurp on why we think they are each so awesome! Also, with milk being my 20 month old's main source of nutrition, we have very carefully examined each milk, and made sure that these were adequate in the things her body needs to thrive. Just because a child/Baby's weight is fine, does not mean they are healthy. They need a variety of food groups and fat types, fruits & veggies etc. The more restrictions you have for your child's diet, the harder it is to have the complete range of what they need. If your child is VERY sensitive to wide spectrum of foods/groups, you may want to ask your doctor about supplementing
Metagenics Ultracare in their diet. Read more at the metagenics website to know what it's all about. We think it's great, and
Kelly Dorfman M.S. & L.N.D. even has it as part of her "kelly's Yummy Cow-free milk recipe", which can be found in her amazing
book on page 78. These milks should NEVER substitute infant formula or breast milk, as they are seriously lacking in many vitamins and fats that infants and young babies need. Consult your doctor & read the book I mentioned by Kelly dorfman to get for info on why... Alright, So, here it goes...
- Unsweetened Coconut milk- we Love the rich and creamy texture that comes with coconut milk. It is velvety smooth, and it quite simply splendid in smoothies, or in being used to make safe ice-cream. I make my cakes with the canned coconut milk (more like cream), but this is much too thick to drink, and I don't think it tastes as good to drink, but whatever you do DO NOT buy thai kitchen canned coconut milk... It's awful.You can buy the drinkable coconut milk in 1/2 gallon and 1 liter sizes, by So Delicious, Silk, and Coconut Dream . The half gallon is typically in the refrigerated section, and 1 liter containers can be found all over but are found often with either food storage items or coffee.
- Almond Milk- Almond milk is much better for cooking as it is not as sweet and fruity tasting. Like wise, it is inferior to coconut milk for smoothing and cakes, because it lacks the sweet taste that comes naturally with coconut milk. One advantage it has, is that you can find it in unsweetened vanilla, which is oh so yummy!!! Almond milk has many producers, but our favorite ones are Almond breeze, So delicious, and Silk! These are the companies that make an unsweetened vanilla, which is what we prefer!
- Flax milk- This too has a much sweeter taste. Similar, but more flavorful, to rice milk. It's health benefits are superior to any of the aforementioned, but it's been our experience that little tummies can NOT handle much of it at a time. We chose flax milk to add in small amounts to our daughters mix, because it has a wide ange of vitamins and fats that cannot be found in any other milk. It is too thin to bake with, but it is very nice to drink. It can be found in 1/2 gallon size, in the refrigerated section of nearly any health food stores, and even some big-box stores.
We typically do a mostly 50/50 with 1/2 oz-1 oz of flax milk in each cup my 20 month old drink. We do the unsweetened coconut milk, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and the original unsweetened flax milk.
We never use soy milk for our selves or our children. There are too many studies pointing to the imbalances it can cause, especially in little bodies. If your child does not have a soy allergy, we have still had every pediatrician recommend that all children should consume as little soy as possible.
As always, I hope this helps you on your journey to a "food Free' lifestyle that leaves you craving more of what you have, and less of what you shouldn't!
Love, The Allergy Mommy!
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