Question Re: Chocolate and Diary-Free Diet

[PoppyJ]

I have a question. Because my DD seems to be reacting to something in my breast milk, her doctor has put me on the "what the he@# am I supposed to eat diet"- no diary, no soy, no wheat, no nuts, and no eggs. I have to do this until she gets better and we figure out what she is allergic to.

My question is does chocolate have milk or butter in it? What about cocoa? I am just trying to figure out what I can eat and what I cannot. This is no fun, but I am willing to do whatever it takes to make her better.

Thanks for your help.

[sneezles]

Milk chocolate and white chocolate both have milk. Other forms just have sugar and varying amounts of cocoa butter.

As to what to eat...I, normally, eat dairy, wheat, soy, corn, nut, fat, sodium free though I do eat egg whites. My two main source of carbs is oats and rice in various forms.

Breakfast is oatmeal and a banana. Of course, I also use two egg whites but it's fine without them. There are also some oatcakes (http://www.nairns-oatcakes.com/nairns/range.asp) (sort of like cookies) that I order online that are good and contain no wheat.

Lunch and a couple of snacks are tuna, rice and spinach...all kind of sauteed together.

I use rice pasta made by DeBoles (http://www.deboles.com/products/index.php) and Orgran (http://www.orgran.com/)(Australian made but sold at Whole Foods and online). I find you can't tell the difference with the pasta if you cook it about a minute less than the box says and mix it with a hearty sauce (Lindrusso's Magnificent Marinara is the house favorite).

[dneilson]

I would suggest getting Vegan Cookbooks and subbing any soy products with regular meat protein. Just purchased the one linked below (just bought it so I have NOT tried anything from it yet).

http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Vengeance-Delicious-Animal-Free-Recipes/dp/1569243581/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-1886492-9055002?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181409722&sr=1-1

There are many vegan recipes online. I realize you are not vegan but vegan recipes do not include dairy and eggs. It's a simple matter of subbing any soy protein with appropriate meat. And any soy milk with rice milk.

Dreena Burton also has good reviews on some of her Vegan books. Again, replace soy proteins with regular meat and use rice milk instead of soy milk.



I have read that soy (unless properly fermented) is NOT a good idea for nursing Mom's to consume- as it it creates hormone imbalance among other health issues.

Good luck!!

Dolores

ETA: Here are a few award winning vegan sites that post recipes:

http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/

http://veganyumyum.com/ (don't let the recent marzipan tutorials deter you...just get past them)

http://vegancupcakes.wordpress.com/

http://veganmenu.blogspot.com/

http://www.theppk.com/

[PattiA]

If you want chocolate, you are probably safe sticking with things made with cocoa powder, but even then, you need to read the labels. Most bar chocolate and chocolate chips contain milk or soy or both. I'm looking at a bag of Ghiradelli Bittersweet Choc Chips and it has both milk fat and soy lecithin. Look for a vegan chocolate that doesn't have soy, for example, Equal Exchange Very Dark Chocolate.