Allergic to milk :( Need new main protein source.

About soy yoghurt- definitely the brand matters. So if you don't like one, try others before giving up on it. I would suggest sticking with fruit flavors, I've never like the soy vanilla flavor in any brand I've tried. Maybe it would taste better with cocoa powder added. I don't recall disliking vanilla yoghurt when I was still eating dairy, but Dannon was the only brand available back then so maybe they just are smarter. If I ever try making my own, I think I'll try coconut milk or almond milk as the base (they're both good for non-dairy ice cream!).

Hey there! I just wanted to clarify that almond milk only has 1 gram of protein per serving, so it definitely can't be considered a protein source like dairy milk can.

Maybe try rice and bean dishes

quinoa

My son is allergic to milk. More specifically, he is allergic to an animal protein in the whey. He can have all the curd he wants, and therefore CAN tolerate cheese. He breaks out with milk yogurt or ice cream. I give him soy milk, almond milk, or another form of non-dairy milk. He gets plenty of protein/ calcuim and vitamin D from the rest of his diet. I try to feed him a balanced diet, but he's 10 so some days are better than others. Also, with his allergy I can cook with milk as long as it is thoroughly heated. For example, I have to buy the cook and serve pudding rather than the instant.

Hi Jwoolman,
thank you so much for your many extensive and thoughtful replies. I don't know where to begin to respond to all, but I just wanted to express my gratitude. Lots of great ideas and food for thought! Yes, there is a life beyond cheese, and I too think I must have had some sort of addiction, because the first week without it was HARD! Things are looking up now, I am not craving cheese as much, though I still miss it slightly.

Thank you!

Edited by: CERTHIA at: 7/15/2013 (10:14)

One more thing: Clif and Luna bars don't have dairy added. You will have to check their site, but they might just warn that they are made on shared equipment so may have traces. The Clif Builder Bars are very high protein - half a bar is 135 calories, 10 grams protein. Their regular bars are usually about 250 calories for 10 grams protein.

You can even get non-dairy chocolate bars and not just dark chocolate... Check out the VeganEssentials web site for a lot of options. The Go Max Go line has good vegan alternatives to Snickers bars, for instance (Jokerz) among others. There are even very tasty dairy-free caramels available. That site has a lot of other dairy-free foods to look at. Any vegan site is likely to be a good source of ideas.

Some odds and ends:
My guess is that your doctor emphasized that you had an allergy rather than an intolerance especially so you wouldn't think Lactaid etc. would fix it. Lactose is a type of sugar which requires the enzyme lactase to digest. Many people lose the ability to make that enzyme after early childhood. Lactaid and other products like it provide lactase. One product, Digestive Advantage, takes a different approach and also provides friendly fauna to colonize the small intestine, where they merrily secrete lactase during their life cycle.

Allergies are typically to the protein component of foods rather than to sugars and other carbohydrates or fats. Even spices have protein, so anything you put in your mouth can cause an allergic reaction. (Lucky us.) Fats and carbohydrates sometimes cause trouble for the supersensitive because of tiny amounts of the allergenic protein from their food source contaminating them (e.g., you can react to beet sugar but not cane sugar and vice versa). Whey and casein are two major milk proteins and you can react to one and not the other. But it isn't that easy to distinguish in lab/clinical test because every protein would need to be extracted and tested. Generally they go for the most common proteins in such tests (your prick test and lab antigen/antibody testing). That usually is enough to eliminate certain foods, but your experience when you eliminate the food (dairy in your case) will be the real test. With serious symptoms such as you describe, though, be very cautious if you decide to reintroduce other forms. Make sure you are not alone and somebody is paying attention. My guess is that your doctor will wonder why you want to risk it...

If it's any comfort, there is indeed life beyond cheese! I didn't think I could eat a meal without it, so I sympathize. But once you're past any withdrawal phase and have a huge list of other things to eat in its place - you won't crave it even though it's an easy food to grab. By the way- try mixing ground nuts and nutritional yeast, which has a cheesy taste. I like a commercial product called Parma! which is made from ground walnuts, nutritional yeast, and salt. It can be used just like Parmesan cheese on anything (pasta , veggies, etc.) but actually tastes better. Other nuts can be used in such recipes. Parma! has a decent amount of protein for the calories.

It's true that other allergens can have an additive effect- when it's a rough pollen season, I try to be especially careful about foods. Definitely I did better with pollen when eliminating my food allergens, though. Many people find milk a problem only during pollen season because of this additive effect.

Be cautious about desensitization therapy- it does help some people with pollen, maybe not so much with foods. But it also can backfire and make the problem worse.

Edited by: JWOOLMAN at: 7/15/2013 (00:35)

Yojulez- believe me, you can eat a lot of a food and not realize it's the source of chronic problems. The reactions are often delayed, we don't all break out in hives right away or go into shock. I finally tested for allergies when I was needing to sleep after every meal- I had added cottage cheese and eggs to my diet in larger amounts than before in an attempt to deal with fatigue that I thought meant I needed more protein. My major allergens are of course eggs and dairy... I hadn't eaten eggs that often before, but the clues were there if I had only known how allergies work. I would almost fall asleep at the wheel an hour after an egg salad sandwich. At conferences (when I would eat eggs in the cafeteria), I would be suddenly sleepy about an hour after eating, no matter how interested I was in the talks. Ditto when at my aunt's house- I would get so tired after breakfast, I would go back to bed. Anyway, I got to the point where I had to avoid eating until my work was done. Once I eliminated my allergens, no problem. I also no longer would get spacey and headachey if a meal was delayed-I had developed an allergic addiction to cheese and was feeling withdrawal symptoms!

Anyway, I think the original poster clearly has something going on with milk. Whether other forms of dairy are a problem remains to be seen, but it would be wise to eliminate dairy for a good long time before reintroducing it. Long enough to see if other mystery problems clear up.

I had my first reaction to milk at the age of six but my mom didn't believe in allergies so she found ways to get it into me without me upchucking. Not recommended, does not make a kid less allergic, the symptoms can just get less obvious to a parent. Reactions can be delayed enough when other things are consumed at the same time, so I just assumed everybody felt bad all the time and hated mealtime...

Anyway- every form of a food should be tested separately because proteins do change in processing. I strongly recommend that you stay away from all dairy for at least a couple of months.This will make it much easier for you to notice reactions to other foods (lab tests and the test you describe have limitations, false positives and false negatives; old-fashioned elimination/reintroduction is still the most accurate for adults)). Then you could carefully try different dairy products such as cheese. Cottage cheese will most likely still be a problem unless possibly it's dry (the creamy stuff really does the same as milk, in my experience). I can tolerate some cheese now, but have to be careful and not eat it every day or at every meal. There are so many other protein sources, though, I don't miss it even for months at a time (I can't eat eggs so when not eating cheese, I'm vegan by default). All sorts of beans are great. You don't have to eat soy to get good protein from beans. Nuts, seeds and loads of veggies and fruits will add significant protein (don't worry about "complete protein", the body breaks down protein from all sources into the amino acid building blocks and then uses them to construct our proteins). You can get non-soy protein powders for variety- the two I like are made from rice, pea, chia seed, and hemp seed and are actually blended to match the human complete protein profile. Vega has an expensive one, but a cheaper one is by Life's Basics- I like the unsweetened vanilla for Life's Basics, it tastes good even mixed with water and cocoa powder. You can add such powders to pudding and oatmeal - actually, because of the chia seed you can use them as a pudding base (also blended tofu is a nice base for pudding and dips that you might have made with milk/cream before). But there are several commercial non-dairy milks now: soy, almond, coconut milk. I like the coconut milk best except for the white color (I gag at the sight of that milk white...thanks, mom). Coconut milk (can also get it in cans) is a great base for non-dairy ice cream although the others can be used also. They all can be used as the base for homemade yoghurt also- you can even get non-dairy starter today if you're too sensitive to get going with a dab of dairy yoghurt.

Google "food allergies" and "rotation diet" for good ideas about how to test yourself on a food and how to manage some allergies by spacing out the foods by a few days. That might help you especially if you want to try to reintroduce cheese.

Edited by: JWOOLMAN at: 7/15/2013 (00:40)

Hi K.Bear,
I had soy yogurt for the first time ever today. Then I stumbled on and read your message here! It was not too bad, but I found it had a funky slightly sweet aftertaste. Hopefully I will get used to it. I think it will taste better with fresh strawberries.

I am finding it hard to find the motivation to eat tofu right now. I used to have it often some years ago, and I guess I am still tired of it. I discovered chia seeds and eat that instead. It is an excellent source of calcium, protein and healthy fats, so sticking with them for now.

Edited by: CERTHIA at: 7/14/2013 (14:03)

Hi Exotec!
Thank you for sharing your experience and your concerns about soy!

Yes, that itch is insane. I at least had mine on my underarm, so I was able to scratch it to get some relief! I hope to someday tolerate dairy better. I am getting treated for the grass allergy in hopes it will make my food allergies less aggressive. We will see in 2-3 years how it is working out. :)

Almond milk is very hard to find and very costly where I live. I have bought one L almond milk at my local health food store to try, but unless it is the best thing I have ever tasted I won't be buying it on a regular basis.

I find Soy a viable and affordable option to me. Most grocery stores offer it, and at half to one third of the price of almond milk. I have have read a great deal of research on soy, some stating it is healthy, some stating it is unhealthy and others with a more balanced take. I of course buy the organic non GMO kind. :)

I was diagnosed with dozens of food and environmental allergens as a child. Never knew what "real" milk was, nor ice cream, or cheese... many many things. I'm able to eat cheeses now, although not every type (cottage, ricotta, etc). The hard cheeses seem to be less problematic for me, but still are cheese, which I really love (now that I know what it is!).

I second the ideas about eggs and whey protein. I would tread extremely carefully on any of the commercial soy products. Soy isn't the health food we're led to believe. If you can get fermented soy, that's fine. Just not the off-the-shelf tofus and similar things. Don't fear fats, either. There's no evils in healthy fats - animal-based and "whole" foods. Anything marketed as low fat or reduced fat or fat free is most likely full of other stuff which is far more damaging than fats.

I use a lot of both almond and coconut milk. They're both good, and the coconut variety is very good for you nutritionally, too. I frequently make a "breakfast" protein shake with whey protein powder and coconut or almond milk. Some of these also come in chocolate, although I haven't tried them (the milks).

Hopefully you'll be able to find ways to fill in your diet around your limitations. I remember that allergy prick-test very well... even though I was less than 5 years old when it was done. I had several rows of the things all over my back. I itched insanely for days. I guess it wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't reacted to about 85% of the tested "suspects!"

Good luck!

You are looking for breakfast or snack food, you might want to look into soy yogurt. I can get it a certain grocers but brands vary. One that I liked is no longer carried near me and so I miss certain flavors but I have access to another one. You may need to ask where you shop or speak to a store manger about having them order some for you. I have found it near tofu in the produce section, or with specialty items.

You can also blend soft tofu with fruit (and possibly a sweetener) using a blender or food processor. I would make in a batch then split into 6 or 8 oz containers to pack with you.

Thank you. I will consider them. And thank you for sharing your experience, if I decide to start taking them I will look for the oyster shell kind. Hopefully nuts, seeds, the herring bones in pickled herring and tofu will provide enough calcium to meet my needs, something to ask my doctor about.

Egg protein powder! Why didn't I think of that? Probably tastes better than the gritty vegan powders I have tried in the past too, I presume. I appreciate your input!

I thought of something else you need to consider. You'll probably want to take calcium supplements since we get most of that mineral from milk and cheese. I have found through trial and error that most calcium supplements make me as sick as a glass of milk, probably because they are derived from milk. Who knows? I have found that oyster shell calcium causes no reaction at all. It can be found in some, not all, stores. If you live in a small town, I imagine you can order it online.

A protein supplement that I use to make smoothies has no milk: Gold Standard 100% Egg. It comes in Vanilla Custard and Chocolate flavors and mixes well with substitute milks we've all mentioned. 1 serving has 110 calories, 24 g of protein, .5 g of fat, 5 mg of cholesterol, 0 lactose and 0 fiber. www.optimumnutrition.com.

Wadingmoose,
I will most happily eat your share of the worlds nut supply! (I probably already do) Thank you for sharing wise words of precaution.

I too had my first ever (somewhat) urgent allergic reaction recently, and I do not want to experience having another if I can avoid it. They are no joke! My friend thought I looked a bit allergic (face swollen, eyes running) after our walk (and latte), and I was feeling very fatigued, so I took my antihistamines that I am prescribed for hay-fever and went to bed. During the next hour I gradually got worse, pulse rising and tongue swelling in my mouth..

And like you the majority of my needs are met from whole food sources. I have no problem really adding protein to the warm meals I cook at home. I am mostly looking for convenient options for smaller snacks, cold meals, and on the go. To replace the cottage cheese (breakfast, evening meal, snack) and my protein bar (lunch the days I work).

Yes Kat, I am! And I am so grateful for the feedback. You guys are amazing!

I love cooking with coconut milk, but that is more because of its taste and texture than its nutritional value.

You're getting some awesome feedback! I hope things get figured out for you!

Just wanted to add in response to the last post that coconut milk is not a high-protein food. While it IS my non-dairy "milk" of choice, it only has one gram of protein per 8 oz serving!

Almond, soy or coconut milk, quinoa, chia seeds, fish, nuts- all protein rich.

If it's an allergy, I would avoid eating it. A few years ago, I started breaking out in hives "randomly" 3-4 times a week. Really really bad hives - head to toe. I finally got in for testing and found I was allergic to my favorite nuts. But I didn't think I'd ever had a reaction to them and certainly nothing life-threatening.

At Christmas last year, I had a handful of nuts because I figured I could handle the hives and just take an anti-histamine. That time, however, I had my first (mild) anaphylactic reaction ever. Which sucks because I seriously love nuts.

So since I really love nuts, eat them for me, will ya? I'll occasionally have some turkey jerky as well as other meats in my snacks now (in addition to dairy products which you can't eat).

I also do use protein powders, but the majority of the protein I consume comes from whole food sources.

Hi koala bear.
Thank you for sharing your tips and knowledge! I will see if that meal replacement is available here or can be shipped here. I think Anarie has a valid point on the powders, but on the other hand I am looking for something very convenient to bring to work. I would prefer a bar to a powder.

And yes, that is very interesting about the cravings. They are kind of a new phenomenon so could be my allergies acting up caused them or the other way around.

Hi Charlotte.
Thank you for your concern and for taking the time to write your reply. I really appreciate you sharing your experience and tips. No, I have never heard of allergy shots for food allergies. I know people take them for seasonal allergies. I will look into the, I am not scared of needles.

Yes, milk is hidden in many very strange places (and a few more obvious ones). Oh well, I guess this means I will have to cook/bake more from scratch, and that will be healthier for the whole family. I hope to find a few convenient processed food to have around the days I don't have time/can't be bothered to cook. I need to remember to always bring glasses or wear contacts when shopping now, to read all the fine prints on the labels.

Yes Russell :) More tests ahead. Next time I am told to bring foods I suspect to cause reactions for them to smear my arm and then poke me again. Hopefully we have found all the culprits now, because I don't want to restrict my diet any further.

And hopefully it is possible to test the milk allergy further, but I am not sure if they can do that when my blood shows no signs of allergies. I would think it could be possible to distill the different allergens in milk and test on my skin again, so I will ask about this. This Monday they just dropped milk on my underarm and poked me with a needle. Very low tech, but apparently the most accurate way to test for allergies.

Hi Anarie.
Thank you for food for thought. I never really though about protein powders that way, but I agree, you have a valid point.

I love my "fish" jerky, and use it the same way as you do, it is the perfect hiking/post workout snack! Too bad it is too pricey to have on a daily basis. I used to eat protein bars because they are so convenient.

Is more testing being done? Maybe that will clear up what you can or cannot eat.

Hi Russel,
I don't mind the confusion. I take all the advice and support you nice people are offering, and take in what fits and disregard what don't. I am fairly confused myself, but on the other hand this makes sense to me. I have had eczema all my life, but that was always attributed to my "sensitive skin", and also had sudden episodes of breaking out in hives and fevers, that the doctors attributed to "the season". Milk never crossed my mind.

I had a visit to the ER a few weeks back with my first allergic reaction acute enough to need intensive care. Heart racing and throat swelling. That day birch pollen was at its peak, so I/the doctors suspected that to be the main offender. But in hindsight I recall drinking a latte as well, a very rare treat for me. The two put together probably caused a cross-allergic reaction. And that is the long winding story of why I was sent to the specialist mapping allergies in the first place.

Turns out milk has several known allergens in it, so I am hoping-hoping-hoping that I am just allergic to the lactose in it. If that is the case I will be one happy camper. :)

I think the confusion is based on the OP's statements. It seemed like their was no problem noted, and that the only indication that milk was a problem was the one test. Normally with an allergy, you would notice problems with it every time you consume it. I can't eat shrimp because it makes my throat itch, and swell, as well as gives me shortness of breath afterwards.

The OP had a test done, but seems to be doubting it, while also asking for alternatives. I think people are just picking that up, and wondering if there are degrees of allergy, as there are lactose intolerance. Maybe the OP can have some cheeses, and not others. Maybe in small doses, it isn't an issue.

In the end the OP has gotten a lot of info.. non- milk alternatives, as well as suggestions on cheeses that might be of use to them, or be completely useless. That is for them and their doctor to determine, and make their choices moving forward.

People aren't confusing milk allergy and lactose intolerance, they are sensing that the OP wants some hope of keeping cheese as an option, and thinking out loud. None of us are doctors, so all we are doing here is discussing. If we limit discussion to professionals, SP would have to shut down their website. I will continue to operate on the assumption that the OP isn't a complete idiot, and runs out to follow anything I post, without consulting their doctor first.

I think it is insulting when people warn of the dangers of ideas, as if only they could determine what is harmful to the person who asked the question. Most of the ideas given on SP are not going to work for the poster, but sometimes they get an idea, discuss it with their doctor, who O.K.'s it , and it works. No one is telling the OP to go out and do anything they are discussing without getting final clearance from a professional. This is just a place for people to discuss things. It is a bulletin board after all.

I'm allergic to dairy and there are so many options out there now. I use soy, almond, and coconut milk for cereal and cooking. Also use a soy protein powder for making smoothies which is a breakfast staple for me as it's quick. I am fond of Dr Andrew Lessman's Secure Meal Replacement because it comes in various flavors (Berry, Vanilla, Chocolate & Coffee,) is low calorie, mixes with readily with water or juice or alternative milks, and has a full daily quota of vitamins and minerals. If HSN has it on special, you can also make stretch payments if you want to buy the bigger size of it or go straight to the Dr's website. In addition, I eat nuts and seeds, eggs, hummus, tofu, quinoa, fish, fowl, and meat.

You might be interested to note that many people with food allergies "crave" certain foods and eat them often only to find out that is the food they were allergic to. Wander if that was the case for you with cottage cheese? That is one of the worse for me - throws my back out it gets me so bound up. However if you can tolerate any dairy, you might try kefir or natural yogurt which like some hard cheeses, are helped by the fermenting process so your body can cope with it.

Some here are confusing lactose intolerance with a milk allergy. I have lactose intolerance and a corn allergy. They're different. I had to give up cottage cheese and yoghurt and ice cream and pizza and cheese and milk years ago. Even goat's milk is out. It's no fun. You have my sympathy.

I use the Unsweetened Original Almond Breeze on my cereal and in my egg protein smoothies. It's really quite good! And, at 40 calories a cup, it's quite a bargain for dieters. I tried soy milk previously and found it made me bloated and gassy. Rice milk, which I find to be a little bitter, is not as satisfying as Almond Breeze in either texture or taste.

I found frozen Almond Breeze ice creams in the Health Food section of my grocery store. They're delicious too.

Allergic reactions such as hives and eczema, which you have when you eat cottage cheese and which I have when I eat corn, are miserable and negatively reinforce the desire to consume them. After awhile, I was able to move on in my life without sorrow because I left behind the misery of maddening skin rashes and stomach upset. I have found that on rare occasions I can have corn - maybe once a month - in a small dose, like a few corn chips and not get sick. You'll just have to test your body's response to your allergens. Have you asked about allergy shots? My husband had them, and they helped him a lot. I'm too chicken for shots.

Ask your doctor about the foods that are milk that masquerade as other things. Casein, a milk glue, and whey hide out in a lot of foods. Check labels carefully. You can unwittingly get an unhealthy dose of milk in what seems to be an innocuous product. Years ago, canned tuna fish, for example, was packed with casein. I thought I was allergic to tuna!

I have found that most protein bars and drinks, like Ensure, have milk (and corn) in them. Kashi makes granola bars that I can eat and enjoy. I have found that when it comes to liquid nutritional drinks, I'm best off making my own from scratch.

I eat lots of chicken breast, fish, eggs and some beef. Many vegetarian dishes rely on cheese for the protein, so you need to collect and try out recipes that fit the bill.

Good luck! You will learn to overcome!

Besides the obvious meat, eggs etc. You can have beans. They have quite a bit of protein.

I have issues with lactose, and as I get older, I have more of them. As a kid I didn't have any problems, but now I get stomach pain, and phlegm whenever I drink milk. I can still have some aged cheeses though, and have no issues.

You need to find out what you can have, and then use other sources of protein to fill out your needs. Hopefully, certain cheeses are okay for you.

Most brands of tofu would help replace the calcium as well as the protein, and if you've been vegetarian in the past, you probably know all the ways it can replace cottage cheese and cream cheese in cooked dishes. Eggs are another cheap protein source. And one of my protein tricks when budget allows is very lean jerky. If you're near a Costco, they have good prices on turkey jerky and low-fat beef jerky. The beef comes in single-serving packs, which I love to have as hiking snacks. Besides the protein, they help replace the salt you lose in a hard or long workout.

I personally would avoid the powders if at all possible. In my mind, using protein isolate powders to increase protein is kind of like using white sugar and flour to increase carb intake. It's not just the protein that we need; it's the nutrients in protein-rich foods. If you're not opposed to

I definitely didn't think you were throwing a pity party - it's never easy when a doctor says to cut out a food, and even worse when it's one of your favorites! Good luck in figuring out what works best for you.

Not a pity party at all. I'm a cheese-a-holic, and if I was told I'd have to give up cheese, well, I'd need a few stiff drinks LOL!

I hope this tread did not come off as me throwing a pity party.

I know I will make this work for me, I was fishing for support and novel ideas. And I got them! A big thank you to everyone chiming in for your helpful replies!

Shopping list tomorrow will contain some newcomers for sure. I have never had almond milk or chia seeds before, so I am excited to try something new!

Hi Kat, thank you for replying.
Yes, I hope the cheeses can be saved.
No, I don't know yet what compounds in milk my body reacts to. I sure hope they can figure that out. I did blood tests just a few weeks back, and they did not reveal _any_ food allergies, so I was surprised when the "prickly"-testing did. I was anticipating pollen and latex to be main offenders.

And thank you for the recommendation of protein powder! I have tried a few vegan powders in the past, soy isolate and also Life's Basics Plant Protein (Pea, hemp and rice). The soy isolate was ok to me, the other was not. I am not a huge fan of protein powder in smoothies, I can have them in the evening, however they are a bit impractical on-the-go, so now I am browsing to find a new protein bar to bring to work.

I guess I could try to bake my own protein bars if I can't find any good ones online :) I already make a mean chick-pea brownie. It is almost healthy, if you disregard the fact that they are still quite calorie dense ;)

Edited by: CERTHIA at: 7/1/2013 (15:09)

Do you know what, specifically, in milk you're allergic to? Is it all milk proteins or are you lactose-intolerant? If it's just lactose, many aged cheeses are lactose-free! All of Cabot's cheddars, for example, have no lactose.

With that said, I do have a few other thoughts. The first is that we need much less protein that most people think. My guess would be that with your meat consumption, even though it's minimal, and a balanced diet, you're getting a good amount of protein. If you're truly not, nuts, beans, and legumes will quickly get you there. if you're still worried, there are plenty of non-dairy protein powders that are pretty great in a smoothie. I use Garden of Life raw, vegan protein powder which has 19 grams of protein (about 1/3 of what I need in a day) on its own, but when I mix it with non-dairy milk and some fruit I'm over 1/3 of where I need to be.

Good luck!

Hi Transmigrate.
Thank you for your input. I am going to check that site out right now. :)

I used to be vegetarian, never strict vegan, and now I consider myself an omnivore. Back in the days lentils, tofu and whole grains provided most of my proteins. I still have a fair share of vegan dinner recipes in rotation, but now dairy and fish provides the most lean protein. I must admit I find it hard to meet my protein requirements on a mostly vegan diet without at the same time going overboard on the carbohydrates or fat. (This is how I discovered cottage cheese in the first place.) Along with protein bars cottage cheese made meeting protein demands while eating a lowish calorie vegetarian diet a breeze for me.

Hi Yojules.
Thank you for comforting. You may be right, maybe my body handles cheese better than straight milk. I sure hope so :)

The doctor took time to tell me that I was not intolerant, but allergic, apparently there is a difference. And that he suspected the most intense reaction I have had in the past to be cross-allergic-reactions, apparently hard to pinpoint. (I have a lot off googling to do to wisen up on this.)

I will ask next if maybe I could just be allergic to just the lactose and not the milk protein and milk fat. If that is the case my meal planning will be much easier.

Also, if you google the exact names of the recipes from theppk and the word "nutrition," you can get the exact nutrition info of all of them (most are even on Sparkpeople).

There are so many more sources of protein than just meat and dairy. Veggies have way more protein than most people think!

Check out some vegan recipe sites. My favorite is www.theppk.com (you'll also find some low fat/healthier recipes there, from her cookbook "Appetite for Reduction.")

My SO cannot have regular milk, he drinks Lactaid milk (he's not allergic but he has Crohn's and milk is one of his triggers). But, like MEGs husband, he has no problems with "processed" milk stuff, like cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese, etc. So maybe it's just the milk itself that's the problem, and the other stuff won't be an issue for you.

Thank you all for the replies :)
Yes, I love nuts and also chick-peas. I will give chia seeds a try. I already have a lot of healthy fats in my diet, and what I loved about cottage cheese was the low fat/high protein nutritional profile. I will add more eggs to my diet. I have been researching and found soy protein powder to be an option to add protein without the fats, but not sure how to consume it. I am no longer a vegetarian, but I still don't wish to eat a lot of meat.

I had a reaction while doing the test at the doctors today. They drop different allergens on your skin, then prick with a small needle. I am allergic to milk, sadly, there is no doubt about it. I have the most annoying itchy rash on my underarm to prove it.

Oddly I have not noticed any particular acute discomfort eating cheese, or drinking milk for that matter, at least that I have attributed to this.. I have, on the other hand, had recurrent inflammations of muscles and joints as well as eczema and other diffuse systemic reactions.

Edited by: CERTHIA at: 7/1/2013 (12:55)

If you aren't able to drink milk, try Almond Milk for a substitute. I've been using it instead of milk in my morning protein shakes and am enjoying it. Plus its only 40 cal for 1 cup of the unsweetened almond milk and it has the same protein content as milk.

Can you clarify with your doctor if it's all milk products, or if processed milk (cheese, milk in baked goods, cooking) is ok? Like others said, if you're eating a lot of cottage cheese and aren't having a reaction, you may not have to eliminate it. My husband has a definite issue drinking a glass of milk, but cheese/ice cream/butter/baked goods cause no issue for him.

I would have to agree with YOJULEZ. If you haven't had reactions, check with your doctor.

Great protein sources for vegetarians are eggs (I'm assuming you eat these because you eat fish), fish, and nuts. Add hummus or nuts to your snacks or meals that are protein heavy. I'm not a vegetarian and I LOVE LOVE LOVE to add them to my meals!

I would have to agree with YOJULEZ. If you haven't had reactions, check with your doctor.

Great protein sources for vegetarians are eggs (I'm assuming you eat these because you eat fish), fish, and nuts. Add hummus or nuts to your snacks or meals that are protein heavy. I'm not a vegetarian and I LOVE LOVE LOVE to add them to my meals!

I recently (a little over a year now) became vegetarian and found out I was lactose intollerant. My main protein source: kale, spirulina, chia seeds, nuts and vegan protein shakes.

Its sucks not being able to eat your favorite foods but when you see a major difference in your overall health its TOTALLY worth it.

Some of those allergy tests are notoriously inaccurate and don't provide a full picture. When you have milk, cheese etc, do you have bad reactions? I'm guessing not if you've been eating cottage cheese a lot! Now, I'm not a doctor so perhaps you should discuss this with him/her first, but I would think if it's not causing you any issues, then you can still eat your cottage cheese.

I do know that goat's cheese is the one cheese folks who are lactose intolerant can have. Plus, it's only 70 calories for 1oz :) Also for protein, eggs would be a good alternative, if you still eat eggs in your vegetarian diet (some do, some don't).

Edited by: YOJULEZ at: 7/1/2013 (12:03)

Hi fellow sparkers. I'm feeling a bit down after testing for allergies today. I had a very clear reaction to milk. Now I hardly ever drink milk, but I use some in cooking, and I LOVE cheese in any form shape or color. Especially cottage cheese. It has been a staple food for me for years. Since eating a vegetarian diet a few years ago it has been one of my main sources of protein, and even though I eat both fish and even some meats now, planning a new diet without any dairy seems daunting. I am after some new ideas for protein dense meals to replace my cottage cheese meals, as well as comfort and support.


Edited by: CERTHIA at: 7/1/2013 (10:07)