First of all, always read read read read read labels, read them 10 times if you must. Read them every time you buy the foods... read them!! They can change at any time.... seriously. Or, call the food company. They have the information on file.
Look for a Kosher Symbol. This could be anything from a simple "K", to a "U" inside an "O", to a Big "K" on a "V" on an "H". These can also be followed by a "Pareve" or "Parve". Sometimes the symbol will be followed by a a "D", this can mean two things, either it was run on dairy equipment, or is kosher but contains dairy.Without a D it usually means that they are dairy free (I have found that they are in all of my cases, but ALWAYS read the labels!!). "Pareve" or "Parve" are ALWAYS dairy free.
Go Vegan! I don't mean to flat out go vegan, I mean that ANYTHING vegan is dairy free. The vegan diet contains absolutely no animal bi-products in any form. If you are ever having trouble finding a certain recipe, just google it with the word vegan included and I bet someone has a vegan recipe for it somewhere!
When I originally started this website, there was no labeling help. We had to read every single food label thoroughly. When they introduced the new food label laws, I was just beside myself with relief. As a parent, I feel it's still very important to understand the food label and ingredient names. Here's some info on the current food labels:
Food allergies: Understanding food labels
Food labels list food allergens to help you avoid an allergic reaction. Here are the top eight food allergens listed.
By Mayo Clinic staff
In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires food manufacturers to list the eight most common ingredients that trigger food allergies. Most other countries have similar rules. In the United States, information about food allergies has to be written in simple terms adults and older children can understand. The eight foods included in food allergy labeling account for an estimated 90 percent of allergic reactions. These eight foods are:
- Milk
- Eggs
- Peanuts
- Tree nuts (such as almonds, cashews, walnuts)
- Fish (such as bass, cod, flounder)
- Shellfish (such as crab, lobster, shrimp)
- Soy
- Wheat
Understanding food labels
U.S. food labels take some of the guesswork out of label reading, helping you more easily identify foods that could cause an allergic reaction. Here are answers to a few common questions about food label requirements.
- What foods are labeled? Domestic or imported packaged food is required to have a label that lists whether the product contains one of the top eight allergens.
- What allergy information is included on the label? The label lists the type of allergen — for example, the type of tree nut (almond, walnut) or the type of crustacean shellfish (crab, shrimp) — as well as any ingredient that contains a protein from the eight major food allergens. The labels also include any allergens found in flavorings, colorings or other additives.
- What foods aren't labeled? Fresh produce, fresh meat and certain highly refined oils don't require listing on labels.
Unintended ingredients
Food labeling laws require food allergens to be identified even in very small amounts — but only when they're contained as an ingredient. Manufacturers aren't required to include warnings about food allergens accidentally introduced during manufacturing or packaging (cross contamination). This common occurrence can cause trouble if you're very sensitive to food allergens.Many manufacturers voluntarily include warnings, but these advisory labels aren't always clear. And, manufacturers have different ways of saying a food allergen may be present. For example, labels may say "manufactured in a factory that also processes wheat" or "may contain soy." The FDA is working to make the format of these advisory labels more consistent so that it's easier to identify which products contain allergens. When in doubt about whether a product contains something you're allergic to, it's best to avoid it.
The bottom line: Be cautious
Always double-check labels to be sure you know what you're eating and drinking. Even though a food product may have been safe the last time you purchased or consumed it, it's possible that the ingredients have changed or the label has been updated. If you have any doubt about food ingredients, contact the manufacturer about whether the food could possibly contain a food allergen.
Foods that I have had success with:
I have either called these companies, and received a list from them, or just found with trial and error. My son does not react bad to any of these foods. Just be sure to ALWAYS check the labels, any milk ingredient can be added at any time.
DISCLAIMER: IF YOUR CHILD HAS AN ANAPHYLACTIC REACTION TO DAIRY, THIS LIST MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR HIS OR HER NEEDS. PLEASE CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR AND DO NOT RELY ON THE INTERNET FOR INFORMATION.
There are a lot more foods, especially in the specialty foods sections, but these are just some things my kids eat:
- Daiya cheesey shreds. Great for melting.
- Philly Swirl frozen treats- Stix and Cups. mmmmm....
- Enjoy Life chocolate chips
- Vance's DariFree
- HomeFree Treats
- Amanda's Own Confections (chocolate treats!)
- Kellogg's Pop-Tarts, a few flavors like strawberry and berry
- Market Basket and Trader Joe's rice krispie treats (Kellogg's brand has milk)
- Walmart fig newtons
- Top Ramen noodles
- Lipton noodle soup - Kosher version only
- Plain, and BBQ Pringles
- Swift Premium Brown and Serve Sausages, Lite Original and Lite Maple
- Tofutti products, we love their "Better Than Cream Cheese" and ice cream sandwich "Cuties"(from Trader Joe's)
- Fleischmann's Margarine, Unsalted Sticks and Lite in a tub or squeeze bottle, both marked Pereve, or Parve.
- Earth Balance Margarine
- Smart Balance Light Margarine.
- Soy Garden margarine
- Lender's Bagels, marked kosher or pareve
- Jell-O Gelatins
- Oreos
- Some Tyson frozen bagged chicken (strips, patties)
- Weaver, Breast strips, Nuggets (original), and Chicken Tenders.
- Fruit Snacks
- Maypo, maple flavored oatmeal (yummy)
- Hebrew National Hot dogs
- Ball Park Beef franks
- Oscar Mayer Weiners
- Most Pasta
- Potato Gnocchi, great w/ sauce
- Prego, original and meat flavored
- Hunts sauce, plain in the can
- Other Pasta sauces (watch for butter and cheese in them though)
- peanut butter
- jelly
- applesauce
- most canned veggies (not creamed ones)
- Some items at McDonalds. Their ingredients have changed over the years- but be careful eating there. I personally advise AGAINST eating at McDonalds now. After a few bad experiences and what I believe to be cross contamination- we do not go there. We choose Burger King and Wendy's instead.
- Some items at Kentucky Fried Chicken, check here for a list.
- Pizza Hut, Pasta with marinara sauce - no garlic bread (Dough at Pizza Hut has dairy)
- Pizza Places will often make my son a cheese-free pizza (but ask if they put cheese in their sauce) if we forget our own cheese... Most Pizza Dough is Milk free
- Soy milk, Almond Milk, Coconut Milk, Hemp Milk, and rice milk (Soy has a lot of Estrogen, use in moderation)
- Fruit Loops
- Cheerios (plain and honey nut)
- Rice Krispies- plain and cocoa
- Chex
- Crispix
- Chocolate Pebbles
- Some Quaker Instant oatmeals, and plain rolled oats.
- All Juice
- Some Semi-sweet Chocolate chips (usually the store brand), you may have luck with that Gardhelli brand
- Tylenol infants and children's liquid and chewables
- Ritz told me they always list dairy ingredients by name, not under "natural flavors"
- Homemade Rice Krispies Treats, Made with Fleischmann's unsalted sticks or Earth Balance
- Rice Pilaf flavor Rice-a-Roni, also with the Fleischmann's
- Gerber Veggie Crackers
- Saltines
- Diced Fruit
- Ketchup, Mustard, Most BBQ sauce (watchout for butter)
- Wheat Thins and Flatbreads
- Deuchmeyer Bologna
- Slim Jims
- Most French Fries that ARE NOT seasoned with a flavor coating- just be sure to check!!
- Make tacos with everything you usually would, but sub out grated cheese with Tofutti Slices, and use Tofutti Cream Cheese instead of Sour Cream... tastes just as good to a kid!!
- Some progresso soups
- Stove top in the canister (not sure about the other ones)
- Google "Microwave Brownie" and "Cake in a mug" for some yummy snacks.
- Stacy's Pita chips
- Jennies macaroons
- Honey wheat pretzels
- Pillbury crescent rolls
- Most Graham crackers
- Bakers Semi-Sweet chocolate (melt it and dip fruit into it).
- Some brownie mixes are ok, or use No-Pudge Fudge with apple sauce....
- Potato Chips (non-flavored and some flavored)
- Cocoa puffs
- Sorbet
- Hershey's Syrup
- A few Progresso Soups (Clearly marked with allergens)
- Duncan hines brownies & cake mixes
- Bush's baked beans
- Bumblebee chunk light tuna
Dairy and Soy free foods:
These items are also all dairy free (some may be duplicates of the above list) this is a list I created of dairy and soy free foods (free of soy oil and lecithin also) ALWAYS READ LABELS!!!
Breakfast
- Frosted Mini Wheats
- Rice Krispies
- Cheerios, Honeynut Cheerios
- Cocoa Pebbles
- Golden Grahams
- Quaker Instant Oatmeal- Maple, Raisin and Spice Oatmeal
- Quaker Rolled Oats
- Lenders FROZEN bagels, plain, egg
- Jones All Natural sausages
- Eggs** Lots of chickens are fed soy, trial eggs with caution. I find that baked eggs are safe.
- Kinnikinnick Foods Inc. ® Donuts
- Frosted Rice Krispies
- Potatoes O'Brien by Ore Ida, and Safeway brand
- Jimmy Dean's Sage sausage, and maple sausage
- Enjoy Life brand bagels
- Quaker instant oatmeal-apples and cinnamon
- Bakers Coconut
- Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips
- Flour
- Sugar
- Cocoa
- Baking Soda and Powder
- Vanilla Extract
- Cinnamon
- Brown Sugar
- No Pudge Fudge Brownies (made with Applesauce)
- SunSweet "Lighter Bake" butter/shortening substitute
- Jungle Shortening
- Trader Joe's gluten free brownie mix
- Namaste Foods (mixes for assorted goodies)
- Pillsbury pie crust
- Lucky Leaf Blueberry Pie filling and Apple pie filling
- Bakers Coconut
- Baker Chocolate
- Bisquick in the white box, the heartsmart variety
- Sofella gormet brownie mix (use applesauce or coconut yogurt)
- Jiffy cornbread mix (use milk sub)
- Meijer Brand Vanilla cake mix
- canned pumpkin
- Miracle Maize Corn Bread and Muffin Mix By Little Crow Foods (use milk sub)
- Canned Veggies
- Fresh veggies
- Frozen (no sauce) veggies
- Swanson Natural Boxed broth
- Egg Noodles
- Hunt's tomato sauce
- Prego Traditional Sauce
- Pasta
- Rice
- Potatoes
- Alexia Waffle Fries and Sweet Potato Fries
- Alexia Rosemary and Olive Oil fries
- Ian's Alphabet Fries
- Sara Lee Honey Turkey
- Some Deli Meats: Roast Beef, Salami, Ham, Bologna, Turkey (ask to read ingredients, beware cross contamination though.)
- Frozen store brand pizza dough
- Bacon
- Ball Park beef franks and regular franks
- Idaho Spuds mashed potatoes (Make with just water, rice milk, earth balance, salt)
- Meats, Chicken, Beef, Fish, Pork etc
- Sweet Sausage (fresh)
- Joseph's Wheat Pita's
- Whole Foods Organic Hotdog and Hamburger Rolls
- Ezekial Rice Breads
- Hillshire Farms Lil' beef franks
- Hillshire Farms Pre-sliced Turkey, Honey and Oven Roasted.
- Bell and Evans Honey BBQ Breasts
- Joseph's whole wheat lavash roll ups
- Classico spagetti sauce
- SOME varieties of starkist tuna, like the gourmet variety in water
- California Goldminer Sourdough Breads in bakery section
- Cascadian Farms Spud puppies and fries
- Bertolli spaghetti sauce olive oil, basil, & garlic
- Near East brand Long Grain and Wild Rice, Rice Pilaf, Rice Pilaf with almonds, Wild Mushroom cous cous,
- sundried tomato and lentil cous cous, and a few others.
- Waterfront Bistro brand ready to eat salmon filets.
- Aidells brands chicken and apple sausage
- Primo Taglio brand Black forest sliced ham (lunch meat)
- Prego traditional and mushroom pasta sauces
- Lay's
- Ruffles
- Fritos
- Jennie's Macaroons
- Marshmallows
- Annie's Chocolate and Graham bunnies
- Fresh Fruit
- Canned Fruit
- Jello
- Green Mountain Gringo corn strips
- Salsa
- MOST Hummus (check though)
- Hagen Das Sorbets
- So Delicious Coconut Ice Cream- Chocolate, Vanilla, Coconut, Mocha Almond Fudge
- Cape Cod Chips - Plain, BBQ, Russet, Salt & Vinegar
- Wheat Thins Flat breads- Garlic & Parsley, Tuscan Herb
- Stacy's Pita Chips, Plain & Cinnamon Sugar
- So Delicious Yogurt
- Kettle Corn (Trader Joes)
- Most fruit snacks
- LaraBars
- Applesauce
- Back to Nature crispy wheat crackers
- Back to Nature Graham Sticks
- kashi heart to heart whole grain garlic crackers
- BAKEN-ETS® Fried Pork Skins
- FRITO-LAY® Cashews
- FRITO-LAY® Nut & Fruit Trail Mix
- FRITOS® Original Corn Chips
- FRITOS® SCOOPS!® Corn Chips
- LAY'S® Balsamic Sweet Onion Flavored Potato Chips
- LAY'S® Deli Style Original Potato Chips
- LAY'S® Kettle Cooked Crinkle Cut Original Potato Chips
- LAY'S® Kettle Cooked Original Potato Chips
- LAY'S® Kettle Cooked Reduced Fat Original Flavored Potato Chips
- LAY'S® Kettle Cooked Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper Flavored Potato Chips
- LAY'S® Natural Sea Salt Thick Cut Potato Chips
- LAY'S® Wavy Original Potato Chips
- Maui Style Regular Potato Chips
- MISS VICKIE'S® Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper Flavored Potato Chips
- MISS VICKIE'S® Simply Sea Salt Kettle Cooked Potato Chips
- MISS VICKIE'S® Smokehouse BBQ Kettle Cooked Flavored Potato Chips
- NUT HARVEST® Natural Lightly Roasted Almonds
- NUT HARVEST® Natural Nut & Fruit Mix
- NUT HARVEST® Natural Sea Salted Peanuts
- NUT HARVEST® Natural Sea Salted Whole Cashews
- ROLD GOLD® Classic Style Tiny Twists Pretzels
- ROLD GOLD® Fat Free Tiny Twists Pretzels
- ROLD GOLD® Football Shaped Pretzels
- ROLD GOLD® Honey Wheat Braided Twists Pretzels
- ROLD GOLD® Pretzel Waves Buffalo Wings Flavored Pretzel Snacks
- ROLD GOLD® Whole Grain Tiny Twist Pretzels
- RUFFLES® Light Original Potato Chips
- RUFFLES® Natural Reduced Fat Regular Sea Salted Potato Chips
- RUFFLES® Reduced Fat Regular Potato Chips
- RUFFLES® Regular Potato Chips
- SPITZ® Spicy Sunflower Seeds
- SUNCHIPS® Original Multigrain Snacks
- TOSTITOS® Natural Blue Corn Restaurant Style Tortilla Chips
- TOSTITOS® Natural Yellow Corn Restaurant Style Tortilla Chips
- TOSTITOS® Sweet & Spicy Summer Salsa
- TRUE NORTH® Almond Clusters
- TRUE NORTH® Almond Cranberry Vanilla Clusters
- TRUE NORTH® Almond Pecan Cashew Clusters
- TRUE NORTH® Almonds Pistachios Walnuts Pecans
- TRUE NORTH® Apple Cinnamon Nut Clusters
- TRUE NORTH® Citrus Burst Nut Clusters
- TRUE NORTH® Pecan Almond Peanut Clusters
- Snyders plain pretzels
- Snyders Sunchips
- Apple chips
- Canola Oil
- Olive Oil
- Italian Dressing mix
- Maple Syrup
- Most Fake Syrup
- Cindy's Kitchen Honey Dijon Dressing
- A-1 Steak Sauce
- Most BBQ sauce
- Ketchup
- Mustard
- Hershey's Chocolate Syrup
- Honey
- WENDYS- Low fat French Dressing
- Maple Grove Farms Sweet & Sour and Honey Dijon Dressing
- McCormick Pulled Pork slow cooker seasoning
- Almond Butter (Trader Joes)
- Zataran's Fish Fry
- Smuckers raspberry preserves and sugar free rasp preserves.
- guacamole
- dijon mustard
- Montreal Steak seasoning
- Chicago steak seasoning
- garlic salt/powder
- So Delicious Coconut Coffee Creamer
- Rice Dream Rice milk
- Real Bacon Bits
- Earth Balance Soy Free Margarine (Red tub)
- Ian's Panko bread crumbs
- Coffee
- Lipton Reg & Decaf tea
- Progresso Panko plain and italian bread crumbs
- Homemade Taco Seasoning (google it)
- Spices
- Teddy Natural Peanut Butter
- Smart Balance Peanut Butter
- Jelly
- So Delicious Coconut Milk
- Coconut Oil
- Silk Almond Milk
- Almond Breeze refrigerated half-gallons
- Kitchen Basics brand chicken, veg and beef stock.
- rice bread (frozen)
- Chic-Fil-A Waffle Fries
MSPI Safe Foods
(Milk/Soy Protein Intolerance foods)
Fruits/Vegetables
Fine as long as they aren't in oils, syrups, or sauces. If they are, read labels.Snacks/Chips/Popcorn
Most plain potato chips. *Check the ingredient list to ensure they were NOT cooked in vegetable oil.
Rold gold pretzels
Snyder's of Hanover pretzels (check labels---not all flavors are ok)
Utz pretzels (check labels---some flavors have milk), Utz tortilla chips
Tostitos light tortilla chips
Fritos corn chips
Orville Redenbacher's Natural Simply Salted popcorn
Annie's honey bunnies, Annie's chocolate bunnies (uses cocoa, not milk chocolate)
Back to Nature** crispy wheat crackers (taste like wheat thins), honey/cinnamon graham sticks
** can usually be found in either a health food store or organic aisle of a grocery store)
Gerber fruit juice snacks
Whole Foods angel food cake
Breads/Pastas
Most store bought breads are NOT ok. Sometimes the store's bakery bread is ok. Or you can make your own bread.
Many wraps are ok.
Most plain pastas are ok. Check the labels.
Pepperidge Farms plain bagels
Roads End organic mac and chReese (in the organics aisle)
Cereal/Oatmeal/Baking Mix
Post: Shredded Wheat, Bran Flakes, Grape Nuts (flakes only), Raisin Bran
Cheerios: multigrain, fruity, honey nut, apple cinnamon, frosted, oat cluster, chocolate, (not the strawberry yogurt)
Kix
Chex: rice, corn, honey nut, wheat
Golden Grahams
Rice Crispies
Life
Captain Crunch
Quaker Oats Instant oatmeal (plain)
Bisquick Heartsmart pancake and baking mix
***Also check your store brands as many of them that are comparable to the above are also ok
Desserts/Cookies
Dr. Oetker brand (organic)- most cake/icing/pudding mixes (just use your own milk substitute)
Cherrybrook Kitchen brand: sugar cookie mix, yellow cake mix, chocolate frosting mix
Enjoy Life brand: chocolate chips, chocolate bars, soft baked snickerdoodle cookies, soft baked no oats oatmeal cookies, chocolate chip cookies
Newman's Own brand: cinnamon graham oatmeal cookies, chocolate graham oatmeal cookies
Jello: most plain flavors
Chicken Nuggets/Fish Sticks/Etc.
Perdue homestyle chicken strips (comes in a blue reclosable bag)
Ian's**** fish sticks, lightly battered fish, chicken nuggets, chicken patties, popcorn turkey corndogs
****Ian's red label instead of blue label, as the blue label versions contain milk and soy
Margarine/Cooking Spray
Pam For Grilling High Temp Formula (uses Palm oil). The only soy free spray I have found. Warning: the Pam "Olive Oil" spray still contains soy.
Shortening: Spectrum Palm Oil Shortening. Great for a margarine substitute for baking
Margarine: Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread Soy Free (red container) http://www.earthbalancenatural.com/#/products/soy-free/ or Mother's Margarine--Kosher for Passover (only available during passover)
Alternative Milks
Rice milk: Rice Dream, Pacific Natural Foods
Almond milk: Almond Dream, Blue Diamond, Pacific Natural Foods
Oat milk: Pacific Natural Foods
Hemp milk: Hemp Dream, Pacific Natural Foods, Living Harvest Tempt Hempmilk
Coconut milk: So Delicious Coconut Milk
Warning: some "shelf stable" (non refrigerated box versions) of the above milks may contain soy. Read ingredients.
Cheese/Yogurt/Ice CreamCheese:
Cheese:
Daiya cheesey shreds. Great for melting.
Galaxy Nutritional Foods Rice Vegan cheese slices. Only found at health food stores. Just be careful as they also make some that are soy free and lactose free but they do have casein in them. The ones that are truly milk free are harder to find but are out there.
Yogurt:
Turtle Mountain So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt. Found in health food stores and select grocery. Ricera Rice Yogurt. Only in health food stores.
Ice cream:
Turtle Mountain Purely Decadent (formerly called So Delicious) Coconut Milk Ice Cream. Just be careful as they also make a soy version. The lid should say "dairy free soy free". They make a safe plain chocolate, vanilla, and mocha almond fudge are okay. Not sure about others.
Living Harvest Tempt non-dairy frozen dessert made with hempmilk
Rice Dream rice milk ice cream. Found in health food stores. Check labels as some have soy.
Baby Foods
Cereals:
Earth's Best organic cereals: oatmeal and rice. Plain Beechnut cereals (plain oatmeal, rice, etc) (AVOID combo with bananas etc, DHA Plus, & Good Evening). Beechnut Good Morning oatmeal and mixed fruit or oatmeal and bananas. NOT Gerber.
Jarred Baby Foods:
Most Beechnut Stage 2 plain and homestyle (but beware of some more complicated mixes once you get to stage 3); most Earths Best, most Happy Baby Organic. Gerber: read labels carefully- they incorporate milk and soy into plain purees you think would be safe. More options in lower stages. Use caution with DHA Plus and Added Zinc, Iron, Vitamins A, C, & E. Those are signs they may contain Vitamin E / tocopherols, which may be soy-derived or corn-derived. Contact the company for information.
Toddler Puffs:
Beechnut--banana and sweet potato ONLY.
Happy Baby Organic--most flavors.
Gerber: sweet potato ONLY.
