A good find...

[Warren]

I am really glad I found this forum, hello everybody.

I am still not fully milk free but I am trying - I am trying to transfer from complete carnivore to vegan so I have a lot to learn....lots I've found here already.

[matt]

welcome to the site hope we'll be able to help. why are you stopping milk? due to vegan or have you a problem with milk??

atlast another south coast member. too many bloomin northerners here at times:lol2: :D

[cnc]

Welcome to the site Warren, I hope you stay around and chat more.

For how long have you been attempting to become a vegan?

[Pam]

Hi Warren, welcome to the site.

I got some great little books from www.viva.org.uk, they were only about £1 each and go into the basics of being vegan. I'm not vegan myself but got them for the dairy free aspect.

Hope to see you around.

[Copper]

Hi Warren and welcome to the site. I agree with Matt, another south coast member is great. I hope that you stick around for a chat now and again.

Going dairy free is hard - I have failed as I still have lactolite milk in my coffee. Lactolite has had most of the lactose removed. I am lucky that I am only lactose intolerant as if I was allergic to milk protein I would have to give up milk. Soya milk is yuk so if I had to give up Lactolite I would opt for Tiger White.

[Lan]

Hi Warren.

Welcome to the site Have you tried the Vegan Society. They have lots of products ecetera and maybe able to help in other ways to.

www.vegansociety.com

Good Luck.



Lan. :D

[Broxine]

Hi Warren!

Sorry to repeat what the others have pretty much said already - but why are you going Vegan?

[zoefruitcake]

Hi Warren,

I'm a strict veggie allergic to dairy, so apart from eggs and honey I am vegan. Best of luck, I've been at it for years now and still not keeled over, so it can't be that bad :lol2:

[Warren]

Thanks for all the welcomes!

I switched to soya milk for my cups of tea and soaking museli overnight about a year ago because I was wheat intolerant due to excesive consumption over the years and didn't want the same to happen with dairy so I thought I'd widen the scope of my diet. I have tried a few milk alternatives and have settled for Asda Organic Unsweetened soya milk. It tastes fine in tea and is economical at 67p per litre.

I have recently started to learn how the meat and dairy industries work and so I want to become vegan on moral grounds. I have recently tried Cheezly (original block)which I found to be fine and, at the weekend, I tried tofutti mozerella style slices which melted perfectly and tasted absolutely "normal" on toast.

[Broxine]

I like your signature!

I might have to give that tofutti mozerella a go - I haven't dared try any cheese substitutes yet as didn't think any could live up to the real thing (I was a bit of a fanatic about cheese when I could eat it!)

[cnc]

Christine they don't live up to the real thing unfortunatly- I use to eat cheese with pretty much every meal- a nice bit of strong cheddar was my favourite. Cheezly isn't bad, the mozarella version of it is probably better, but I discovered when you get desperate enough for cheese the alternatives suffice.

[Broxine]

Ahh, I'm going to have to stop talking about cheese substitutes - its making me think about the real thing again.... ummmmmmmmmmmm.......

[matt]

the cheddar versions are not that brillaint i eat scheese and much prefer the edam, mozerrella or cheshire versions....not as good as the real thing but beggars can't be choosers....

[zoefruitcake]

I did without cheese for a fair amount of time when nothing I tried was nice, then I found Cheezly and I was happy again. I don't know if I would have been so happy if I'd gone from the real thing one day to the fake the next though ;)

[cnc]

Zoefruitcake I agree- my cravings for cheese got so bad eventually, that it didn't really matter to me what the replacement tasted like as long as it vaguely resembled cheese!

[Lan]

Hi all.

It's nice to see that the fan club for Cheezly is growing. I to am a fan of this cheese. Have you tried the melting version yet? It was great and the best cheese on toast I'd had for nearly 9 years. :drool: You can also have different flavours which seem to be ok.

I to was a cheese addict, loved milky cups of teas, ate loads of tangerines a day and loved tea, so have assumed that was why my allergies emerged as dairy/citrus and caffeine? Has anyone else found that things they ate/drunk a lot of before the allergies have been the cause of their food problems?

Kind Regards,


Lan.:D

[matt]

yep, would happily drink a pint of full fat milk down. loved marmalade. chocolate and all derivatives. wheat/pasta/bread/cakes:drool:

need i go on?:(

[cnc]

I ate cheese at almost every meal, would have cereal and tea nearly every morning, (both with milk) and not forgotting the scrambled eggs (think the milk not the egg) that I ate nearly constantly when younger as I wouldn't eat anything else.

[Pam]

I was a huge fan of rice pudding, particularly when pregnant, I could eat a tin every day and more besides. I haven't made rice pudding since going dairy free and I miss it quite a lot. Also loved chocolate milk shake, custard, milk on cereal etc but didn't like to drink milk on its own.

[Mac]

I am quite interested in the fact that when I was pregnant last time I drank probably close to 2 pints of milk per day and this would be every day and my son is allergic to dairy, I often wonder if the fact that I drank so much milk affected him in the womb? Any thoughts on this?

[Pam]

Well, that's the theory with nuts (eating them whilst pregnant can lead to allergies in the baby) but I don't know if the same goes for milk.

[rebecca c]

Yes thats true of me. I used to drink everyone elses milk at school. But there is a theory that you crave the food you are allergic too...that's evil!!!

[matt]

rhubarb or any other type of crumble.....ok it was the crumble with custard i liked not necessarily the fruit....and it's the crumble i now can't eat.:(


just read an article that blames osteoporosis on dairy. apparently the body reacts to the proteins and strips calcium from the bones. countries that have traditionally not drunk it show sharp increase in osteo when the milk consumption increases.....

so atleast one positive thing.

[Pam]

And there was me thinking that we would be at a greater risk of osteoparosis from being dairy free. It is something that worries me, now that I'm heading towards "that age".

[Broxine]

Age has nothing to do with it! I'm 24 and have arthritis - have to say I found it a bit odd when they told me to give up dairy to stop the pain, seeing as I'd always been told I should have really strong bones after drinking so much milk! But being dairy and red meat free has cleared up 90% of the joint pain I was having!! (although I seemed to be having other things go wrong now instead, e.g. stomach pains)

[Silver]

Mm Cheezly....

I prefer the normal to melting, I find that has to be melted in a specific way or it tastes a bit odd. However I *love* the normal stuff :D

[matt]

according to the article i read it's better to get the calcium you need either through green leafy veg broccoli etc or almonds etc.

to go a little deeper. the protein from milk is acidic and your body uses calcium from your bones to neutralise it.!!! so by drinking the stuff you actually denude the body of calcium.

that's before the allergic reactions that can cause the other conditions like the arthritis and so on and so on. milk is really great if you are ababy cow!

[Mac]

my son has no dairy at all apart from what is in his veg, rice milk, bread etc, but has something called Calcium Sandoz from the dietician, just a liquid syrup really, smells like oranges and he has 5ml per day, kind of takes some of the worry away.

[Mac]

also cheese sauce.......anyone tried Free & Easy Dairy Free Cheese Sauce Mix.......... actually very very good..........I would go as far as to say it really tastes quite cheesy. Found it in Holland and Barratt, little yellow tub. Definately recommend it.

[hazel]

I posted my first entry on the York test thread, as I had just taken the test. To cut a long story short I had been on a gluten free diet for two years but was still suffering so I took a 2nd opinion with York and it came back with Cows Milk. I'm only on day 4 of a Gluten and dairy free diet but I am determined to try and stick to it as I am fed up of constantly falling asleep, having a blocked up nose and a bad stomach. love the site...:)

[cnc]

Welcome to the site! I hope you stay around and swap info with the rest of us, and keep us up to date on how you're getting on.
I can sympathise with the blocked up nose, mine improved loads when I cut out dairy it was quite amazing...

Good luck

[Copper]

Welcome to the site Hazel. Our resident insomniac, Matt, is also gluten and milk free. I am one of the lucky ones and just lactose intolerant. Do come back and let us know how you are getting on.

[hazel]

Help, I use (used to) creme fraiche to make sauces instead of a white sauce because of the flour, but now I can't use the creme fraiche because of the milk! what can I use now??? :unsure:

thanks for the welcome..... nice to chat to people who understand and don't think your a nutter following the latest faddy diet!!

Hazel

[cnc]

Not being gluten free myself (my brother is though) all I can suggest is gluten free flour, its reasonably easy to get hold of, but I don't know if you've already tried it before...

[Lan]

Hi all,

Welcome to the site Hazel.

If I remember correctly there are wheat free flours available in Tescos. I think they were shelved by the normal flours in our Tescos.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Lan. :D

[Pam]

Hi Hazel, I've left you a message on the other thread too.

For sauces you could use plain yofu instead of creme fraich, it isn't quite as sharp as normal yoghurt and is quite nice with a really sweet dessert. Alternatively you could use soya milk and cornflour in a hot sauce.

Quite a few supermarket sell Free and Easy cheese sauce and gravy mixes. They come in little tubs and are quite easy to make up. Both are dairy and gluten free as far as I know. Look for them on the free from shelves.

[matt]

guilty as charged. welcome to the site. freefrom flour made by doves usually available in tesco's and health food shops. get to know your local one they'll be really helpfull as they can order stuff in that you need. the more you use them the better they'll be.

stick with it. it's bloody hard to avoid wheat and dairy but worth it. any help i can give i will.

[hazel]

Hi all
Thanks for the welcome and the advice, I'll definately try the yofu if I can find it. I've got a Tescos really close by so i'll lookout for the flour too.

Really craving for real tea with real milk!!

Can I eat Green and Black dark chocolate cause that will make up for it??

[hazel]

Matt do you know if Quinoa has gluten in it?
Thanks
Hazel

[hazel]

Claire

How long did it take to clear? your nose I mean.....

Hazel

[cnc]

How long did it take to clear? your nose I mean.....


A couple of weeks I think, I didn't really notice until I suddenly realised that I could breathe through my nose!! I'd say 3ish for my nose and about 6 for my chest to clear....

My energy levels may have improved as well, but I'm not really sure (I know that sounds stupid, but I've been stressed with exams and racing and now very intensive training, so can't be sure!!)

[matt]

quinoa shouldbe gluten free. it's a grain from a completely diff plant. i'll check later but i'm 99% sure. you can use it like couscous. ie it's as dull as hell until you add flavours to it....

[matt]

yeah thought so is totally gluen free, have thoughtabout trying it myself, but lazyness has won the fight so far. smash is easier if i want something like that!!

[hazel]

Thanks Matt I had been eating it for breakfast as porridge with soya milk and its quite nice, but then I'd seen conflicting reports as to whether it contained Gluten or not. The same with Spelt flour my local health food shop says its ok for gluten intolerance but Glutenno web says its a definate no no! Its so confusing sometimes....

[rebecca c]

I tried Quinoa but it made me ill - I looked into it and it is coated with a natural pesticide so that was probably it. Spelt is not gluten free, because it is an old variety of wheat it is Ok for some people with wheat intolerence.

My allergy cookbook - allergy-free food by Tanya Wright has some good recipes and alternative flours etc. I havent had time to try many yet but I have the millet flapjack frequently and the other recipes have worked and tasted half decent.

[Nic]

I'm new here too, and just wanted to say 'hi'.

On replacing cheese, I haven't liked any of the commercially available cheese subsitutes I've tried (though maybe I should try Cheezly again) but what I do is use recipes from the Uncheese Cookbook. If you haven't heard of it, I suggest having a look on Amazon.com as that allows you to look inside the book and see the recipes before you buy.

The Swizz Cheeze in there is my favourite - it allows me to have ham and cheese (mushrooms also work well) toasties with the right texture, though its really not nice cold or on its own.

And some of the other recipes are also good, though (as with most vegan cookbooks) you do have to double the flavourings and her portion sizes are tiny.

Nic

[matt]

i'm sure i've said it before but i've found the plain cheddar versions of any of the makes vile. the other flavours far nicer. my favourite is scheese. i go for the edam, cheshire or mozarella version.

only way to find out is to experiment.

[Copper]

In my opinion Cheezly is yuk. I agree with Matt - Scheese is acceptable, I really like the Cheshire type.