Learning that your baby is reacting to dairy when you’re a breastfeeding mom is a lot to handle. If you have to start a dairy free breastfeeding diet, I’m here to help, and make it easy!
I want to acknowledge how difficult this is, especially as a new parent. You’re already going through the postpartum changes with your hormones, sleep deprivation, adjusting to taking care of your baby around the clock, and so much more, it doesn’t seem fair to add yet another thing on to your plate! However, going dairy free while breastfeeding is easier than you think, read on to learn more.
Where to Start
If you’ve been told that your baby has a food intolerance or food allergy to dairy products that you eat, has lactose intolerance, and/or cow’s milk protein allergy, you’re in the right place.
During both of my pregnancies, including my twin pregnancy, I was dairy-free, gluten-free and soy-free due to my own food intolerances and I continued to eat that way while breastfeeding and to this day. Therefore, I’m a great source for this as I’ve been dairy free (among other things) while breastfeeding and beyond.
I fully understand how overwhelming this is, as someone who used to LIVE on pizza, pasta, milk, and cheese, I mean, I live in the Midwest, that’s what we’re all about!
Sources of Dairy
First you need to learn which food products contain dairy. Some of these are basic but I wanted to be sure to include the full variety of foods where dairy can be hiding.
- Cow’s milk products including milk
- Yogurt
- Cheese
- Cream Cheese
- Ice Cream
- Chocolate
- Whey
- Butter
- Margarine
- Sour Cream
- Custard
- Cottage Cheese
- Baked Goods
- Kefir
- Buttermilk
- Cream
- Ghee
Dairy Free Alternatives
Wow, that’s a lot of things that contain dairy, right?
Luckily, there are so many dairy free alternatives out there these days that it makes it easier to remove dairy from your diet without giving up everything you enjoy.
Below I’ll detail dairy free alternatives to milk, yogurt, cheese, cream cheese, ice cream, chocolate, and more!
Keep in mind when you’re looking at dairy alternatives, that soy or soya proteins may also cause issue for your baby, whether they have an actual intolerance to it or not. Also, too much soy, especially soy that isn’t organic, can be harmful for people as well. I’m not a doctor or nutritionist, so I’m not giving medical advice. I am just sharing from what I’ve learned throughout my own journey and research, especially as it relates to autoimmune disease. Totally your choice though of course.
Throughout my years of being dairy free, I’ve tried a lot of different types of dairy free alternatives to cheese, yogurt, and milk. Below I’ll share the basics of the options out there as well as my favorites.
Cow’s Milk Alternatives
There are a lot of cow’s milk alternatives out there that taste pretty great once you get used to them. Honestly, they’ll all taste weird at first because your body is expecting the dairy milk you’re used to. However, you’ll likely get used to them, especially in your cooking and baking!
- Coconut milk – especially in recipes to replace dairy milk
- Almond milk – I prefer unsweetened vanilla almond milk in my coffee, to drink, and replacing milk in recipes
- Rice milk can be an option but not always the best due to the sugar it contains
- Oat Milk
- Macadamia Nut Milk
- Cashew milk – it’s a little thicker but also good
Cheese Dairy-Free Alternatives
- Violife Dairy Free products – cheese slices, shredded cheese, feta cheese alternative, cream cheese, plant butter
- Silk Dairy Free products – yogurt alternatives (I love the almond milk strawberry yogurt), creamers, and milk alternatives
- Daiya Products – they do have shredded cheese but I prefer the Violife brand if it’s available near you. Daiya is alright too. I do love the Daiya mac and cheese, pizza, cheese slices, cheese sticks, cream cheese, and cheezecake!
- So Delicious – dairy free alternatives to milk, yogurt alternatives, creamers, and ice cream
Butter Alternatives
We all love our butter, right? There are some great dairy free alternatives to butter, I’ve listed the top ones below. I have to stick to the Earth Balance Soy Free spread, olive oil, and coconut oil due to my food sensitivities but if you’re just avoiding dairy, any of the below would work for you.
- Earth Balance Spreads – they have regular and soy-free versions
- Violife Plant Butter and Spreads
- Miyoko’s Butter
- Country Crock Plant Butter
- Land-O-Lakes Plant Based Butter
- Olive Oil
- Coconut Oil – you can melt this to use in place of butter in cooking and baking
Ice Cream Alternatives
- Nada Moo! They have amazing ice cream options including chocolate, cookies and cream, mint chip, vanilla, and more!
- So Delicious Dairy Free – these are widely available and include frozen desserts from ice cream to ice cream sandwiches to dipped ice cream bars
- Talenti Gelato and Sorbetto – most of these are dairy free, be sure to check the ingredients
Dairy Free Chocolate
- Enjoy Life products are all dairy free (and top 8 allergen free as well!) They have chocolate bars, chocolate chips (regular and mini), and more.
- NoWhey! Foods: they have all sorts of dairy free chocolate including chocolate bars, candy bars, seasonal candy, no-no’s (M&M substitute), and so much more!
- Free2B dairy free chocolate candy including sunflower butter cups
- Hershey’s even has a plant based chocolate bar now
Dairy Free Snacks
Dairy hides in a lot of places, including granola bars, breakfast bars, bread, and more. Below are some of my favorite dairy-free snacks.
- MadeGood – they have granola bars, breakfast bars, cookies, and more. This is one of our favorite brands!
- Partake Cookies and Crackers – cookies and crackers free of dairy, gluten, soy, nuts, and more!
- Larabars – These are GREAT for breastfeeding. Most are dairy free and they pack a lot of protein. I ate these constantly when I was breastfeeding / pumping for my twins to keep up my milk production to make enough for both them.
- Epic Bars – these are great for protein as well, there are a lot of versions, my favorite is the bison and cranberry.
- Canyon Bakehouse bread products are gluten free, dairy free, and soy free!
- Udi’s Gluten Free bread products – most are dairy free, always check labels
- Nature’s Bakery Fig Bars are all dairy free and delicious! They also have gluten free options that we order by the case!
- Nuts such as cashews, macadamia nuts, pecans, and more
Dairy Free Protein Powder
If you’re looking to increase your protein intake, you can go with some of the dairy free snacks I mentioned above including Epic Bars and Larabars. If you want to add in a protein powder to your dairy free milk alternative, the Orgain Organic Protein is a great option. You can add protein powder to smoothies as well!
- Orgain Organic Vegan Protein Powder – Chocolate
- Orgain Organic Vegan Protein Powder – Cookies ‘n Cream
- Orgain Organic Vegan Protein Powder – Iced Coffee
- Orgain Organic Vegan Protein Powder – Birthday Cake, Pumpkin Spice, Fruity Cereal, and More
Always Check Food Labels
The most important thing when removing dairy, or anything else in your diet, is to read food labels and the ingredient list. Whether you’re looking at pre-packaged foods, baking mixes, or anything you’re going to eat, is read the labels to see if there is anything in the item that may contain dairy.
Even if something has been dairy free in the past, it’s always a good idea to check food labels every time you purchase, just to be sure the ingredients haven’t changed.
Adapting Recipes
It is so daunting at first to have to learn how to adapt recipes but it gets easier as you get used to it. Typically, using dairy alternatives in recipes for cooking or baking are a simple 1:1 ratio so if the recipe called for 1 cup of milk then you’d substitute 1 cup of almond milk, etc.
Same with shredded cheese or any other dairy-free alternatives. The good news is it’s quite simple once you get used to it.
Start Small
The best way to get started on a dairy-free diet is to start small. Figure out what in your fridge, freezer, and pantry contains dairy and ask a family member or others in your house to finish those up while you work on adding the dairy free alternatives to your balanced diet.
Then make a list of the things you need to replace such as milk, cheese, coffee creamer, and other items I listed above.
Either go in-store or search online at your local grocery store or other retailer to see where they carry the most dairy-free alternatives. Over the years I’ve found that not only has my local grocery store started to carry more of these but so have Walmart, Target, Hy-Vee, and other popular stores. You may be surprised at what you find!
It may take a while for the dairy to leave your body and your breastmilk so don’t expect immediate results but the sooner you start the sooner your baby’s symptoms should improve.
As a mom of identical twins and a son two years older, I have gained invaluable experience in the realm, and chaos, of parenting. With a Master's Degree and Education Specialist Degree in School Psychology, I spent years as a school psychologist, helping children navigate through their educational and emotional challenges. Now as a stay at home mom and professional blogger, I combine my areas of expertise to help you in your parenting journey.