Dairy Problems

On my daughter's first birthday, we had an ice cream social block party. I had an ice cream machine delivered to dispense soft serve. The soft serve was completely non-dairy.

http://dfwfrozendelights.com

My son is allergic to dairy and has missed ice creamm desperately, until recently I found organic SO dairy free ice cream at Tom Thumb. So if she's wanting the whole cake and ice cream experience then there is another option.

My son is dairy allergic, and we have his cakes made at Spiral Diner in Fort Worth. I think they have another location in Dallas. Their cakes are vegan so no dairy. They look great and taste pretty good too. I would second the recommendation for the Tofutti Cutie ice cream sandwiches...even my non allergic 5 year old loves them. I think they taste as good as the real deal.

You could serve a cake, then just before serving frost it with Cool Whip....it is non-dairy. Or you could frost it ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator until time to cut. YOu could also add some fresh strawberries or blueberries on the topping.

I went to Ben & Jerry's and got their Sorbets. Ask them to use a clean scoop and and a fresh Sorbet container. As soon as I say dairy allergy they understand the importance. We LOVE them! You can buy a good size container for $8 and trust me that everyone will love it! The Lemonade one is my son's favorite but they will let you sample all of them for free. The one in Plano carries about 4 dairy free flavors. They also list the dairy free flavors on the website. I hope that helps some!

My daughter is also allergic to dairy. There is a great product called "So Delicious" that you can find at Kroger in the organic section or Whole Foods. The chocolate and Strawberry taste a lot like the real thing and have a great smooth consistency.

Also for the cake, you've probably already figured this out but you can use rice or soy milk as an alternative when making the cake and the consistency will be fine.

Have fun and enjoy!

After trying tons of non dairy ice-cream in all different flavors- we have determined that Rice Dream's Cocoa Marble Fudge is the best!!!

Cake/cupcakes & some icings contains dairy, unless you make it yourself with soy, rice or goat milk; and, a box cake mix usually contains powdered cow milk or whey powder. I prefer to use goat milk, purchased in a can near the evaporated milk section of any grocery store, mix half/half with water for whole milk consistency. I cook with it and it makes wonderful sauces, gravies, and baked goods. Individual custards made with goat milk are a great alternative to ice cream for a party, can be made ahead of time and chilled until ready to serve.

Sherbet is the ice cream with no milk. I use it in a hawaiian punch on top too. G. W

Have you thought of serving sorbet instead of ice cream? They sell it at most grocery stores. Tom Thumb has quite a large variety.

My niece had the same problem-we made granita-frozen flavored ice,(fruit, chocolate, coffee are some flavors) recipes can be found on the food network site. The party she like the best was a snow cone party where everyone made thier own flavors,they enjoyed mixing up different flavors together-we used the party theme cups in the small size.

H. they do have non dairy ice cream now, and it isnt that bad, if you like ice cream but can have it...i used to eat the non diary before i started to take the digestive advantage lactose intollerent medicine which helps ALOT....dont know if your child is old enough to take it but you could ask your docotor....hope this helps......let us know what you decide to do. And happy birthday to her....

My son is anaphylaxic to dairy. For ice cream, the only brand we like is Soy Delicious. It's usually in the organic section of the grocery store and is sold at Whole Foods. Sorbet is usually safe but Sherbet is NOT. Ben and Jerry's sells great Sorbet. Just make sure to tell anyone serving up sorbet in a store that it is an allergy so there is no risk of cross-contamination. The soy ice cream is good and to me this brand tastes like a good low-fat ice cream. However, the other kids may not feel the same way so cake or sorbet might be a better option.

I have a very long list of tasty products and safe alternatives for cooking so please feel free to email me for more hints. I know someone suggested goat's milk but many children who are allergic to dairy are also allergic to goats milk. I also saw that someone suggested a "non-dairy" product. If you don't know already I want to tell you that "non-dairy" on the label does NOT mean it does not have milk protein. Things like cool whip and non-dairy cheeses usually do have casein or whey and are therefore not safe choices for people with dairy allergies.

Not sure where you live but a Kosher bakery will make a dairy free cake that is pretty. The Tome Thumb on Coit and Campbell is Kosher.

Good luck!

There are many delicious fruit sorbets, chocolate sorbets, etc that have no dairy in them. There are also great dairy-free "ice creams", such as Tofutti (made w/ Tofu) and various soy products. You can also make ice cream and use coconut milk instead of regular milk. Good luck and have fun! :)

My daughter was allergic to dairy products and she had to use soy formula. She drank the soy milk for years and I used it instead of dairy in all recipes for her. You can make ice cream using a regular recipe and just substitute for the dairy. Do a taste test of the liquid before freezing it and adjust as needed for desired sweetness or flavorings. There is a shop in Richardson in the southeast quadrant of the Campbell and Coit intersection that has sugarless ice cream/ confections and I am pretty sure I remember soy ice cream/yogurt. I think the name of the place is Sugarless Delight. There is also a TCBY yogurt shop at the same intersection in the northwest quadrant that has soy/tofu frozen yogurt and you can double check that it has no dairy in it.

Shaved Ice! www.DFWsno.com

A good amount of our customers are parents of kids with allergies to dairy, eggs, ect.

We come out and serve the kids, they can pick from 25 flavors and we are totally dairy, egg, nut and wheat free!

Especially in the summer time, nothing beats the Texas Heat like shaved ice that is soft as snow.

GL!

C.

H.,

Rice Dream makes a very good ice cream and is made from rice milk. I would not suggest the soy ice cream, tastes just as funky (and not good for you) as the soy milk. Also, if you go to Whole Foods you can find Goat's milk ice cream which has the same consistency as cow's milk and you can't taste the difference at all. Before there were alternatives to like rice or soy milks, when kids were sensitive to dairy, the first thing the pedi did was put them on goat's milk. It's the closest thing you can get to human milk in composition and doesn't have the allergic reaction. Try it!

can u buy soy icecream for her and regular for others?

We've recently come across Coconut Milk Ice Cream. It's sooo yummy; rich and creamy, no bitter aftertaste like the Rice Dream ice cream. We can't have dairy or soy, so imagine our delight to find this product. Our Sprouts carries it. I'd get everyone else regular ice cream for the $$ though.

My daughter had the same issue with dairy. I DID NOT serve ice cream to anyone in 15 yrs at her b-day parties. It was her tradition to not have ice cream. You set the tradition at your child's parties not culture! Do not exclude her from by serving ice cream to the rest of the party, even by giving her something "instead of". Even my daughter's friends respected her dairy issues when she was little. Good luck!

If it was me, I would just serve cake, but does sorbet have dairy?

If you want ice cream, Breyers makes lactose free vanilla ice cream. There is also a wide variety of non dairy ice cream like treats available. Most grocery stores carry some variety, but Sprouts or Market Street carry a decent selection.

Hi H.,
Whole Foods has an alternative called Soy Delicious that I think in really good. They also have some other choices.
Good luck!
Victoria

sorbet--it comes in a lot of yummy flavors--I recently had to give up ice cream--a tough one but sorbet makes it easier!

Make an icecream cake using rice dream or soydream icecream alternatives found in health markets. they are both great. If you make it into an icecream cake know one will be able to tell.

Hi H.,
What about Tofutti little sandwiches called cuties. Rice Dream is another option.Any soy ice cream. Whole Foods has all of them.

Soy/Rice milk is a great alternative to dairy. There are several place that carry soy ice cream products - Central Market is one.

I would definitely get ice cream for the other guests and maybe give her a "sorbet". They have a few different fruit flavors

i like the snow cone/shaved Ice idea! also you might ask you daughter what she would prefer, my kids had very different opinions at that age... ice cream may not be important to her, and wold save you running all over town looking for it. fancy Cupcakes are "in" right now maybe just some fun cupcakes will be a nice alternative

H., I don't have any good recipes to share, but I do have my own testimonial on how to overcome lactose intolerance/allergies. I did NAET treatments for this, and after 14 years of not being able to tolerate much more than butter in baked goods, I can have cheesecake without any of the usual side effects (other than enlarged thighs! Ha!)

Dr. Steve Homoky is at Coit & Spring Creek, and he specializes in working with kids and their allergies. He's actually doing a new process that doesn't require needles. I'm constantly amazed at how healthy he keeps our family. We only go to the regular doctor for annual school physicals. You can reach him at ###-###-####. His own kid had to have an Epi-Pen for dairy & wheat, but after these treatments, he had a cheese danish and was asking for more instead of riding in an ambulance. That was nearly 16 years ago. The best part is, once you get rid of the allergy and "reboot" your system, it's permanent.

Enjoy your party!

Hello H.,

There are lots of alternatives...but sometimes they're like an acquired taste and in this case might be just throwing money away. I'd just skip the ice cream... We don't serve ice cream at our parties and I have not heard any complaints... =) by the way, you probably already know that you need to read the labels every time....and than some sorbet/sherberts DO have milk. Good luck and have fun at the party! ~C.~

I am also allergic to ALL dairy....you can find some good soy "ice cream" at health food stores. I'd say buy regular ice cream for all the other kids, and let your daughter pick a special treat ONLY for the birthday girl--whether that be a soy ice cream or some other favorite candy or something. Just a thought!

Definitely worth a trip to whole foods. They have lots of dairy free ice creams and treats and they are very good. Adults may notice the difference, but I'm betting the kids won't. None are inexpensive, though, but I'm positive you'll find good treats for your kids to eat from now on - there's dairy free yogurt, cheese, and drinks, too. I wouldn't buy regular ice cream too as someone else suggested if your daughter has anaphlactic reaction to dairy - it's just too risky.

H.,
My children are also allergic to dairy. They love the chocolate Sorbet, or Rice Dream. My middle daughter likes to eat whip cream frozen like ice cream. You may want to get the sorbet or Rice Dream just for your daughter, and serve the dairy versions to the guest, since the other versions are more pricey. Have a blessed day! S.

If you go to the Sunflower Shoppe, Central Market or Whole foods you can find icecream and treats made from soy or rice milk. They are really good!

There are some pretty good "ice cream" alternatives in the health section of most grocery stores...made with rice or soy.

They are pretty pricey, though. A cute cake by itself would be fine, I think.

GOOD LUCK!
M.

I had a friend do cake and cotton candy! They rented a cotton candy machine and the kids loved it!!! Or you could do popsicles

I am also allergic to all dairy and I have found a delicious alternative to regular icecream. You can find icecream made from soy or rice milk and they are delicious...especially chocolate flavored soy icecream. I buy them from Whole Foods, Trader Joes, or other health food grocery stores. Some regular grocery stores will carry soy icecream as well. Good Luck!

Sorbet (not sherbet) is dairy-free and contains real fruit. It's really refreshing and comes in yummy flavors like raspberry and mango. Tom Thumb or Whole Foods have the best.

Hi,

Pure Decadence makes really good dairy free ice cream.
Cake - Krogers has some good dairy free/gluten free mixes. Also Duncan Hines has a lot of dairy free mixes, including brownies.

My son is highly allergic to dairy. He has had no reactions to these products.

Hope you have a great b-day party!

You've gotten lots of good advice here...I do want to repeat that Cool Whip has dairy (sodium caseinate) and sherbet has milk in it. Sorbet is usually dairy free.

I've used the kosher bakery at Coit & Campbell and the cake was great.

We have made "ice cream" in a baggie using rice milk or soy milk. Could be fun for a party!

http://www.makeicecream.com/makicecreami.html

I'd go for homemade popsicles...you can get the molds for cheap and get creative with the fruits and things you use in them.

Good luck! There's hope...my six year old just passed a baked milk challenge, meaning we can eat milk that's gone through a chemical reaction. I know how hard doing the birthday thing for a food allergic kid can be. Hang in there--she will definitely remember the love and care you go through to throw a memorable party. And for what it's worth, I make sure that at our parties, she can eat everything. It's the one time that I don't want her to feel limited by what she can eat. If the guests don't like what you do...they don't have to eat it. :D