A steaming hot cup of tea flavoured with ginger on a cool monsoon evening, with pakodas too. A cup of frothy beaten coffee on a winter’s morning as you get ready for work or school. A wad of melting butter on a hot sizzling paratha that’s just got off the tava. Mango milkshake in the summer! Sheer Kurma in the midst of a family revelry at Eid. Now imagine having to give all this up! I can already see that frown on your face. Yes giving up dairy is hard. And even more so, giving up dairy in our daily lives and in our favourite eats. But with a little planning and patience, transforming your daily eats into dairy free delights is not that hard. can be quite satisfying. And super healthy too! The only major con is that it would taste different to what you have been used to all along – but its a matter of perspective. It can be a great new flavour that you grow to love. Let’s look at some common dairy replacements in our daily recipes.
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A major dilemma and source of stress when we want to eat out is ensuring safety of our son. Eating out can be a great source of experiencing new cultures, cuisines, meeting friends and bonding with family. Not to mention the celebrations and new experiences you get to enjoy. While we have had multiple experiences where things have gone wrong and we have had to administer medicines to our son after accidental ingestion of dairy products, we have not banned eating out. We have only learnt from it and today I would like to share some tips with you. These could help you not just if you are dairy free like us but also if you have other dietary restrictions or preferences.
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If you’ve been keeping up with the previous blog posts on this topic of Dairy Free living, then you will know that giving up dairy can be quite a challenging prospect. This is because a lot of dairy products are used as cooking essentials. Think butter for frying, yoghurt for marinating, cheese in sauces. A dairy free world then seems unimaginable. But for many this is not a choice, its a necessity. Hence finding dairy free cooking alternatives is the first step to adopting a dairy free lifestyle.
Milk, butter, cheese, yoghurt, cream are present in almost every cuisine and in all types of recipes – be it cakes & baking or in main courses, with meats, carbs or even in drinks such as milkshakes or the summer favourite spiced buttermilk. It is very easy to find substitutes for all of these and to suit the ingredients that the recipes call for. It may take a while for you to adapt to the slight change in flavour that comes with a dairy free diet. In the case of our son who has never been able to taste milk based products, due to his milk protein allergy, the adoption has been seamless.
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Back to Basics: Benefits of Going Dairy-free
It is estimated that around 2 to 3% of the population have a dairy allergy. 50% of children with cow’s milk allergies were also allergic to other foods. Additionally, a recent study by Hindustan Times highlighted that almost 60% of the Indian population had a lactose intolerance. Dairy allergies are more common than you may think and it becomes necessary for a large section of people to opt for dairy-free diets. In a land where milk and its allied products are considered next to God, the prospect of adopting a dairy-free diet seemed unthinkable even to us. But in practice we have realized that it may have been a God-send to not consume dairy after all – especially the milk which is far from its pure, Godly form that it once used to be. Maybe there are some solid benefits of a dairy free diet.
Yes enough research has been done to show that milk and the related products contain several nutrients that are good for the body and especially for the growth and development of children. But there are ALTERNATIVES and milk is not as essential as it is made out to be. A dairy-free diet can be healthy, nutritious and with some good planning can stand up to all the goodness and more that can come from including dairy in your diet.
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Do you know people who have allergies? I am sure you do! There seems to be a rise in the number and varieties of allergies that people experience these days. And then there are the allergies in children – milk allergy, or allergies to nuts, gluten etc. Surely, allergies are not a new occurrence or worse a new epidemic. They have been around for time immemorial. But people may have put up with them as a ‘Maybe I was born with it’ or just an irritant that they manage. Today, we realize that there are options or alternatives and life can be normal for people with allergies. There may even be ways for people to deal with and overcome their allergies. Counter medications are also available as there are cases where allergies can cause considerable medical damage or even fatalities.
Living with an allergy is however far from easy. One has to be careful, cautious and find ways around it to ensure safety and at the same time to enjoy all that life has to offer. We are a dairy-free household and this happened when our dear son was born with a milk/dairy allergy. In the 8 years that he has been around, we have navigated our life quite well, barring one rude shock. This journey is all about how we identified, coped and manage his milk allergy. The intention is to share our learning and experiences and help others out there like us, who suddenly find themselves coping with an unexpected gift.
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Here are 3 photos of my son Tasmai (babyT) on our annual ritual of a family holiday in Goa, India. He’s aged 9.5 months, 19 months and 34 months here. We (as do many people) have to do at least one trip to Goa each year and we are glad that babyT has joined in our fun too. When I look at this collage of pics from the 3 holidays however, I realize how it is becoming increasingly complex to manage his food allergies (milk) and take care of his meals. Traveling with milk allergy is not easy but we did it and very well too.
Traveling with milk allergies can be a daunting task. This year our holiday showed us that it will be difficult for our child to travel and eat comfortably like normal people do, but it is still not impossible to find the right alternatives and have a good time. This prompted me to write this blog post so as to help others find support and help.
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