dairy free – Page 2 – Food Allergies Mom

Product Review: First Aid Beauty!

December 22, 2019December 22, 2019 foodallergiesmom

Not only does my daughter have food allergies, but she and I both have extremely sensitive skin, and now my newborn son seems to be following suit. Dry, itchy skin is one of the most annoying things to have to deal with every day. I’ve always struggled with a dry face and finding a lotion that would actually help moisturize without making my face oily was hard to come by. I’ve tried everything – things from the aisles in Target, things my friends were selling through multi-level marketing, home remedies – but nothing ever really worked the way I wanted it too. Then I had my daughter whose skin was even more sensitive than my own and I really struggled. She’s had eczema since she was a baby and even creams, washes, and lotions labeled for eczema seemed to irritate her skin more. We saw a dermatologist and have basically stopped using everything except Vaseline and medicated prescriptions from her doctor. It’s been rough. Add in the food allergies, and the often unclear ingredient labels that are found on cosmetics products, and I felt hopeless that I’d ever find something for her to use besides sticky, messy, Vaseline.

I was talking about my own skin at work one day and a coworker (who used to manage a Sephora store) recommended a product to me. She told me that she even had some extra and she’d bring it for me to try. Thankfully, she followed through and I was introduced to First Aid Beauty.

One of my favorite things about it is that their ingredients are VERY clearly labeled and they have even more details about each product on their website. The product that I first used was their “Ultra Repair Cream”. You can use it in your face and body. After using it myself and LOVING it, I finally decided to try it on my daughter’s hands. Her hands are always one of her worst places for dry, itchy patches, but I don’t like using the steroid cream from her doctor on her hands for fear she’ll put them in her mouth. I had been wanting some sort of lotion to use on them, but again… almost everything contains fragrances and alcohols that actually just make her skin worse. I finally decides to give the First Aid Beauty a try and to my delight – it worked! Not only did it not cause extra irritation, but it actually got rid of her rough, dry patches of eczema!

All of First Aid Beauty’s products are animal cruelty-free and have over 1,300 ingredients in their “no-no” list. The Ultra Repair Cream I mentioned above is Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Soy-Free, and Vegan! It does, however, contain oat, so if that it an allergy for you, you’ll want to avoid this product!

A few days ago, I decided to buy one of their kits so I could give a couple other products a try. It came with their Ultra Repair Cream, Facial Radiance Pads, Ultra Repair Hydrating Serum, Pure Skin Facial Cleanser, and their Ultra Repair Lip Therapy. My face has seriously never felt this good. I’m always leery of exfoliating pads because sometimes they seem to make my dryness worse, but in this case, they really helped to get rid of the dry flakes and the serum and lotion helped to keep my face moisturized throughout the day. I’m officially hooked!

As with anything, I’m not naive enough to think that this product will work for every person. But if you’re like me and you (or your kids) struggle with eczema and overly dry skin, this may be something to try – especially if you also have to contend with food allergies and get scared of cosmetics products that don’t REALLY tell you what is inside them. Knowing that this lotion is vegan and nut-free means that I can feel safe letting my daughter use it despite her milk, egg, and peanut allergies! I always recommend reading labels for yourself and doing some research before trying something new, so I’d encourage you to head over to firstaidbeauty.com to check it out for yourself if you are interested.

*This is NOT a paid advertisement. This is strictly a product review of something I’ve actually found useful. 🙂

Brand review! Oat-ly Ice Cream!

December 15, 2019 foodallergiesmom

Today is my daughter’s 2nd birthday! Unfortunately, we had to cancel her birthday party because the flu has hit our home HARD and 3/5 of us are sick (including her and me). We still tried to celebrate a little with some Asa allergy-friendly ice cream! She absolutely loved the Oat-ly chocolate, non-dairy, vegan “frozen dessert”! Asa is allergic to dairy, egg, and peanut which makes most ice creams impossible for her to eat – but this was perfect.

Also, I tasted it and it honestly tastes just like chocolate ice cream! I think if I served it to people without them knowing they wouldn’t even know the difference! We will definitely be getting this again! Can’t wait to try other flavors too!

*We bought this at Target for those wondering where you can find it!

Finding Dairy in Unlikely Places

December 12, 2019 foodallergiesmom

When we found out that Asa had allergies, the first one we discovered was dairy. My initial thought was, “Well I guess she can’t have milk or ice cream or yogurt.” But the more I started thinking about it, the more I realized dairy was in everything! It’s hard enough to navigate food items, but I had never even thought about the non-food items that dairy could also be hiding in. I still find out new things every day. So where are some of these milk ingredients hidden, you may ask? Well… let’s look at a few!

First, it’s important to note that dairy can come in multiple forms so it’s imperative to know all the words you are looking for. Milk, lactose, Recaldent, casein, whey, and lactalbumin are all dairy ingredients, so it’s not just as simple as looking for “milk” on a label. Also, “lactose free” and “dairy free” are two VERY different things. A lactose intolerance is NOT the same as a dairy allergy and the two should never be confused. And just because something is “lactose free” does not mean it doesn’t still contain dairy/milk!

But if a label says “dairy free” it should be safe, right? Not quite. This is crazy to me, but some things can be labeled “dairy free” and still contain milk ingredients. Take coffee creamers for example. Many of them say they are dairy free but still actually contain milk. See the pictures below of this Coffeemate French Vanilla Creamer:

The first picture shows the “Non-dairy” claim while the second picture shows that it contains casein, “a milk derivative”. The one shows the importance of checking the ENTIRE label, no matter what!

So what about those non-food related things? A friend actually sent me this one the other day and I was appalled to find I had this one in my house! Thankfully I had never used it with Asa, but our older daughter has used them multiples times. She doesn’t have food allergies so we were safe there, but the thought that I could have used these with Asa without thinking terrified me. Crayola Color Bath Dropz contain lactose! Again, this label is super tricky. The ingredients do not list lactose. They legally don’t have to since this is not a food product. (Don’t get me started on the laws here. I’m saving that whole topic for another blog.) But a closer inspection of the box shows that it does, indeed, contain lactose. *It’s important to note that I have the box but most of these come in a tub so be on the lookout regardless of the packaging!

I read a story once of a girl dying from using a medicated toothpaste that her dentist had prescribed to her. This dentist knew about her milk allergy but still prescribed it anyway. Several whitening and medicated toothpastes contain an ingredient called Recaldent. This is made of a milk derivative. If you have a food allergy, it’s important to not only talk to your dentist about any allergies you may have, but ask them to see the ingredients before you begin using any new products!

Recaldent is not only found in these toothpastes, however. It’s also found in a very popular gum brand – Trident! It is not in every version, but it is definitely found in Trident White and Trident XtraCare.

Another weird place to find a milk ingredient is in dust-free chalk. Many of the name brands do not contain the dairy ingredient, casein, but some off-brands do. This can be scary because, again, they do not have to list this on the package since chalk is not a food product. You can always contact the manufacturer to get specific ingredient information, but this isn’t always an easy or quick task. Casein can also be found in glues, paints, and inks.

I hope this blog is as eye-opening to you as it was for me when I learned about these things. I only scratched the surface here, as dairy can also be found in daily things like cosmetics and lotions where, once again, they don’t have to be labeled. Navigating a dairy allergy is a lot more than simply avoiding that 2% gallon of milk most people have in their fridge. It’s something that requires you to be be vigilant daily to avoid a major catastrophe!

Yummy Vegan Biscuits

December 6, 2019 foodallergiesmom

Biscuits and gravy has always been one of the best meals my husband makes. He’s been dying to find a way to let our daughter try them but her dairy and egg allergies have made that difficult. Today he adapted a recipe found on Pinterest to make vegan biscuits and they were DELICIOUS!!! We’ll attempt gravy soon and I’ll share once we find a good recipe. But for now I’ll leave you with the biscuit recipe! PS – they were taste approved by everyone in our house! Once again, I’ll include exactly the items we used for those that may not know where to start with using good substitutes, but feel free to modify to your favorite brands if you want!

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup Country Crock Plant Butter (sticks – chilled and cubed)
3/4 cup Oat Milk (we used Silk brand) chilled in the freezer

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and place the cubed plant butter and oat milk in the freezer.
Combine sugar, salt, flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a mixing bowl.
Use a pastry cutter (or a fork if you don’t have one) to add the chilled cubed butter into the dry mix. This will make the mixture a course ground consistency.
Add the oat milk and work into the flour to form a crumbly, soft dough. Pour out onto a floured surface and knead into a 5-6 inch rectangle. Fold in half and knead a total of 3 times. You should end with the same 5-6 inch rectangle.
Roll the dough out with a rolling pin and cut about 6-8 biscuits using a biscuit cutter or the mouth of a juice glass. Reknead the remaining dough and repeat these steps to cut more biscuits.
Brush with melted plant butter and bake for 11-14 minutes or until edges are golden brown.

**This recipe is dairy and egg free. The Country Crock plant butter, however may contain soy so you’ll want to swap that for a different vegan butter if you have a soy allergy!

If you try this recipe, make sure to let me know how you like it! It’s definitely going to be our go-to biscuit recipe from now on!

The best vegan chocolate chip cookies!

December 4, 2019December 4, 2019 foodallergiesmom

I finally made the best chocolate chip cookies that I’ve ever made! And they’re vegan! The best part – no one would ever know! And I say that not as a crunchy mom who thinks all vegan things taste great. I say that as a sweets fanatic who is skeptical every time I find a vegan baked good. I promise, these won’t disappoint! I’m going to include the exact ingredients I use for those of you that may not know where to start with buying allergen-free ingredients. Feel free to revert to your favorites if you want though!

Ingredients:

1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegan butter (I used Country Crock Plant Butter sticks)
1 egg equivalent of Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer
1/2 cup Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Mini Chips (or however many you want)
Splash of Oat Milk (if needed to make dough the right consistency)

Instructions:

Set oven to 350 degrees F
Microwave the butter until melted but not hot (about 40 seconds)
In a large bowl, mix the butter with both sugars
Stir in vanilla and egg replacer (after you’ve let the egg replacer stand for 1 minute)
Add the flour, baking soda, and salt.
Mix dough until soft. This is where you will add the splash of oat milk if needed. I feel like it helps the consistency get just right! You want the dough soft and a little sticky but not overly sticky.
Stir in chocolate chips
Scoop out dough with a medium cookie scoop (about 1.5 tbsp) and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet (I used parchment paper)
Cook for 8-12 minutes. Cookies will still look a little underbaked but that’s what makes them chewy and delicious!

I hope you enjoy these cookies as much as my family did! My food allergy daughter’s birthday is in two weeks and I’m definitely going to be making a big batch of these for her party! If you make them, comment and let me know how you liked them!

***Please note that these cookies are egg, dairy, and peanut free. If you follow this exact recipe they will still contain gluten and have the possibility of containing soy (the Country Crock Plant Butter may contain soy).