By day 2 in the hospital, I noticed that H spit up far more than M ever did. By day 3, we were at his first pediatrician appointment and our pedi noticed it. We waited a bit to see if he was a “happy spitter” where it was just a laundry issue, or if we were looking at reflux or an intolerance issue. I won’t get too into symptoms or try to speak to something I’m not educated in {reflux, sensitivities, allergies} but a few weeks after we decided to break up with dairy and soy. We did this per our pediatrician’s recommendation to resolve the inflammation so that he not only feels better, but we can determine if he is not allergic. It’s typically a dose-dependent thing, so we have to see what he is able to tolerate before exhibiting symptoms later on. Our pediatrician said I can probably start reintroducing around 9 months, but for now I look at labels and ingredients like a hawk. I honestly didn’t think it would be too big of an issue given I don’t top sandwiches with cheese, etc. But as all mamas that have done this diet will tell you, dairy and soy is in just about EVERYTHING snack wise.

I’ve been dairy/soy-free for 5 or 6 weeks and we have seen such a tremendous change in his reflux and sleep that it’s been completely worth it. I feel like I take forever to look at labels and stalk restaurants before ordering takeout, but to see Harry feeling so much better is enough motivation to keep going. He was spitting up {looked more like vomit} an hour after each meal to the point I was drenched. I’d have to change my entire outfit and bathe him because it looked like my toddler had thrown up! 🙁 Today I wanted to share what I’ve been eating in case you find yourself in the same situation, or you are simply dairy-free for other health/personal reasons. I have to eat quite a bit to stay full while nursing and I also have to make food that my family/toddler will enjoy. These are the meals that work well for us!

Breakfast

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• Oatmeal

I eat oatmeal most mornings to help keep up my milk supply. I’ll have oats with unsweetened almond milk, a bit of flaxseed, chia seeds, hemp seed, a dash of cinnamon, cut up fruit {usually strawberries}, and then a tiny bit of peanut butter or maple syrup.

• Smoothies

I have a Daily Harvest subscription because their smoothies are delicious and easy to make. The Chocolate Blueberry one is my favorite! I’ll make this on mornings we have to leave to go to the doctor or my parents’ house to swim. It’s my on-the-go breakfast and so good.

• Avocado Toast

Canyon Bakehouse has the most delicious bread. It’s gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free and you can’t even tell. I sautee some cherry tomatoes, top them on avocado toast, then squeeze some lemon and sprinkle Everything But the Bagel seasoning on top.

• Juices

Paul makes me juices in the mornings and my go-to ones are:

1. spinach, pineapple coconut water, cucumber, apple, lemon
2. kale, spinach, apple, lemon, celery, almond milk

Lunch

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• Pasta Salad

I make this pasta salad on Mondays and will eat it for lunch or as a quick snack throughout the week! Use your pasta of choice, add in grilled corn {grilled makes the difference in this!}, cherry tomatoes halved, sliced olives, Italian Dressing {be careful and look at the label, a lot have dairy or soy!}. You can top with prosciutto if serving fresh, but if I’m going to eat off of it for a week, then I add in chopped salami.

• Snap Kitchen

If I know I’m going to have a busier week, Paul will grab me some meals from Snap Kitchen for lunch. I like the chicken chile enchilada one!

• Turkey Sandwich & Soup

I’ll have sliced turkey, avocado, and Sir Kensington’s Mayo on Canyon Bakehouse bread. On Sunday, I try to make a soup to eat off of for the week. This dairy-free broccoli cheese soup is delicious! It is more time consuming, so definitely make it if you meal prep for the week.

• Dinner Leftovers

I roast a big batch of potatoes and veggies at the beginning of the week and Paul will grill some chicken. I can always heat that up to eat for lunch.

Dinner

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• Ina Garten Soup

I make this roasted tomato soup, but I change it up a bit! While roasting the plum tomatoes, I also add in 1.5 cups of chopped cauliflower {makes the soup creamier!} and 3/4 cups of sliced carrots. I’ll roast all those vegetables together and then blend them before adding to the soup. I can use Ghee or this butter while cooking as a substitute. I’ll pair the soup with grilled cheese for my family {toast for me!}, baked potatoes, or an easy rotisserie chicken.

• Taco Salad

I learned a lot of meal ideas when we had our meal train after Harry. I felt so guilty asking for dairy-free and soy-free meals, but many of my girlfriends delivering food had dealt with this with their kids, so this was second nature to them. My friend, Stia, brought us the most amazing taco salad. I’ve incorporated this into our weekly dinner lineup. It’s ground turkey with taco seasoning, lettuce, chopped tomato, corn, and green onions. Add Siete chips on top for crunch and toss with Italian dressing. She said the Italian dressing part sounded wild but made the taco salad and she was absolutely right! I’ll never make it another way. I mentioned this about dressings above, but so many dressings hide dairy and soy. I get dressings from Whole Foods because I have better luck finding them without those two sneaky ingredients. You could also make your own, but who has the time?! 😉

• Rao’s Pasta

Rao’s makes my favorite pasta sauce and with a 3-year-old you better believe we have spaghetti once a week! haha. I just add in some ground turkey or beef with the sauce and top it on our pasta of choice.

• Zoe’s Steak Kabobs

We live by a Zoe’s and it has been the easiest place to grab takeout from with this! While many restaurants have their allergy info listed on their website {Chick-Fil-A makes it pretty easy, too!}, I find that I can eat the most at Zoe’s. I love their steak kabobs with roasted veggies.

• Defined Dish

When I want to switch it up, I make anything and everything from this Defined Dish cookbook!

• Home Chef

We get Home Chef meals for 2-3 nights a week, because it makes meal prep easy, and cleaning up is even easier. Our order actually comes tonight! When you order your meals they are so transparent on any allergen info and ingredients. Many with dairy, just use it as a “topping” so you can remove for yourself and leave on for your family! I do have a code that you can use if you try it “KATEY60OFF” with this link.

Snacks/Sweets

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• Sweet Loren’s Cookie Dough
• Siete Chips
• Tres Pupusas
• Honeycrisp apples & PB
• Simple Mills Crackers with Salami
• Abe’s Muffins {we buy two containers at a time because Maxi loves them so much!}
• Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips
• Sunrise Crunchy Vanilla Cereal {this is now Maxi’s favorite cereal as well, so we get extra}
• Rudi’s English Muffin with Avocado
• Emmy’s Chocolate Covered Coconut Cookie Bites
• Truffle Hot Sauce
• Sir Kensington’s Vegan Mayo {THE BEST!}
• Siete Almond Tortillas {we use for tacos, turkey roll-ups, everything}
• PB Cookies {shown above}

A sweet reader told me about these cookies above! Dairy is in most desserts, which is frustrating. But these are so simple! 1 cup peanut butter, 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1/3 bag of Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.

A Few Other Things I Love:

• Thrive Market: I have  Thrive Market subscription and when I run out of snack ideas or need special sauces for recipes, I always order there. You just put in your allergen info or restrictions and what you are looking for “sauces, candy, snacks, etc” and they pull it all up for you. I order from their site and this Edmonton BBQ Store about once a month. It is SO worth it to stock up on soy-free sauces because let me tell you, they sneak it in everything!
• List on iPhone: Having a toddler, I’m no stranger to a drive-through. From Chick-Fil-A to Starbucks, I wanted to know what I could order and where. Thankfully, there are so many blog posts via Pinterest that help with this. I would just search “dairy-free, soy-free” and whatever restaurants and something would pop up. Make a list of your top 5 places on your iPhone and put in what you can order from there. If you need to get something fast or someone is ordering for you, it makes life a lot easier than having to google their allergy list each and every time.
• Unrefined Bakery: If you live in the DFW Unrefined Bakery is a must! I can get breads, cookies, cupcakes, cakes that fit our diet. We have used them for birthdays and all special events. They make amazing fall breads and cinnamon rolls. When I need something sweet, their confetti cookies hit the spot!

I can definitely add more as time goes on, but if you have had to do this and have anything you love include in the comments below! While it takes a little more time to look at the labels, I FEEL so much better doing this. I can see a huge difference just in how my body feels, and in Harry, so it has been worth it!