Dairy free update

I went dairy free back in December.  There are many things that possibly helped get us from there to here…dairy, probiotics, age…but now Zoe isn’t having the issues she was.  Even then, I was told that heated dairy would most likely be fine.  So 4 months later, I have now started adding back some heated milk and dairy cooked in foods.

So far, so good.  It’s only been since last week but there haven’t been any changes.  We all feel fine.  It’s very likely that the gas issues were just from being a newborn.  I am hoping that eventually I will start unheated dairy also.

Of course, last weekend when I started with heated dairy, we went to a pizza place with vegan options!  I went vegan anyway.  It was so good!  I had a whole wheat calzone with non-dairy cheese, tomatoes and basil.  I would definitely go back and still order off the vegan menu.  Our only issue was that there were no blinds.  My husband had sun streaming in his face (he did not order from the vegan menu, but we’ll keep him).  Even the mushroom “calamari” at the next table looked good and I don’t eat mushrooms.

So bring on the hot lattes!  Just in time for summer.

All the recipes I need

At least when it comes to lactation cookies, I’m good. I made a third recipe and I think I have all I need.

The last one I made was the one recommended by most of my friends. I first saw the list of ingredients and was extremely overwhelmed. With a one month old! All these things to gather? And I would have to make changes to make the recipe dairy free. But I made them on a day when my husband was home and able to take over once the cookies were ready for the oven and the baby was ready to be fed. It wasn’t a difficult recipe with the hardest part being avoidable – I should have started with at least partially melted coconut oil.

This recipe with my adjustments to make dairy free and use what I had on hand came in at just over 80 calories a cookie. Not bad at all! But very tempting to just grab while in the kitchen.

Allison’s New Go To Lactation Cookie recipe (adapted from here)

Ingredients :

1 cup coconut oil (heated)
1 cup Splenda
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons flax seed meal
2 egg whites ( 2 egg equivalent)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups oats
1 cup dairy free chocolate chips
4 tablespoons brewer’s yeast

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix the flaxseed meal and water and let sit for 3-5 minutes. Beat coconut oil, Splenda, and brown sugar well. Add egg whites and mix well. Add flaxseed mix and vanilla, beat well.

Sift together flour, brewers yeast, baking soda, and salt. Add dry ingredients to butter mix. Stir in oats and chips.

Scoop onto baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes. Let sit for a couple minutes then remove from baking sheet.

I’m on a roll!

Three recipe posts in a row! I made Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Lactation Cookies. Lactation cookies are really nothing more than cookies containing ingredients known to help supply. Anyone can eat them. I wanted to make a dessert for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and so far the only dairy free recipe I’ve made is for the Peanut Butter Lactation Cookies. So I adjusted the recipe to a) correct the error I made last time and b) add chocolate chips.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Lactation Cookies (dairy free)

Ingredients:

1 cup natural creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp baking powder
egg white equivalent of 1 egg
1 1/2 cup oat flour
1 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 bag dairy free chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix ingredients together. Place spoonfuls on cookie sheet and use a fork to create the peanut butter cookie lines. Bake for 15 minutes. Makes about 20 cookies.

If I had more ground flax seeds, I would have used them in place of some of the oat flour. But I’m running low, so I’d rather have that for my oatmeal.

Off to get a few more things done. I’ve got challenge groups to plan and more holiday to dos! Also busy watching the Giants lose 😦 If you want more information about a beginning of year challenge, let me know!  I’m excited to join in a challenge with TurboFire!  I should be cleared to workout next week.

Looking cute in cranky pants

We’ll just go straight to the picture…

How cute is she? We tried to get pictures on Tuesday but she wasn’t having it. Wednesday went better though!

I’m getting used to eliminating dairy. It seems that we have a less cranky baby, or at least more predictable in her cries. I hope it’s helping. I really like the dairy free ice cream I’ve tried! I think if I wasn’t constantly carrying this adorable baby at most times and preparing/eating mostly one handed it would be very easy. I know as I get more experienced it will be easier, just like any changes.

I have typed this one handed. I have a sleeping baby in my arms so it is time for me to catch some zzzzs also. Good naps to all!

Now without dairy

No cheese in this post!

We have a very fussy baby. She is either eating, sleeping (on us) or crying inconsolably. It is so hard to watch as her mother. I just want to fix her. At the doctor today, we talked about this and they recommended an infant probiotic and said if that didn’t work I may want to eliminate dairy from my diet. I’m doing both. If there is anything in my power to make this adorable baby not make that face, I’m doing it.

I’ve never gone completely dairy free before and I’m sure I’ll slip up, likely because I’m still getting informed. We did a little shopping today to get some dairy-less snacks as I eat a lot of cheese for a quick nibble. I also bought a few things to try like almond yogurt and some dairy free ice cream. And I switched my Shakeology to the chocolate vegan flavor.

So we will see how this goes. Hopefully between the dairy and the probiotic, we can have a happier baby more of the time. Also at the doctor today she weighed in at 6 oz over her birthweight…yay! Breastfeeding is definitely going well so far, though I think it would be easier if I wasn’t the only person who could feed her. I plan to start pumping at the end of this week to build up a stash. Maybe we will start occasional bottles after she is 4 weeks (and maybe I can sleep for more than the occasional 2 hour stretch).

Here we are today.  Anyone want to guess my favorite top?  I only have 5 nursing tops and I don’t like 2 of those.  I do a lot of laundry!