Milk Allergy In The News: Milk, Egg Allergy Harder To Outgrow

Childhood milk and egg allergy is becoming harder to outgrow than in the recent past, according to a new study, says this article from Reuters.

Recipe: Rice and Almond Flour Pie Crust

I can't remember where I found this recipe originally; I made it last Christmas for a friend avoiding wheat and gluten and was happy with the results. It also happens to be milk-free. Great for those with celiac disease.

Rice and Almond Flour Pie Crust

1/3 cup whole almonds, ground to a fine powder in a blender
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a 9-inch pie plate, combine the ground almond flour, brown rice flour and cinnamon and mix well with a fork.
In a microwave safe container, Combine the water, oil and honey, and heat in a microwave on low setting until honey is liquefied. Drizzle the honey liquid over the flour mixture in the pie plate, and blend together with a fork and let stand a few minutes.
Press the mixture firmly into place with your fingers, covering bottom and sides of plate evenly.
Bake empty crust for 5 minutes, or add filling and then bake pie as called for in pie recipe.

Detecting Milk In The Foods You Buy

In the past, it was somewhat more difficult to figure out whether a food contains milk products or not. The Food and Drug Administration now now requires that manufacturers list any of the 8 most common food allergens (milk, egg, soy, wheat, fish, shellfish, peanut, and nut) in their ingredients list, or at the end of their ingredients list because of The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA), which took effect in 2006.
Because of FALCPA, you should be able to read an ingredient list to find out if something contains milk. It will state CONTAINS MILK at the end of an ingredients list, or the word MILK will be written in parentheses after a dairy ingredient. For example, an allergen warning might look like this:

Ingredients: Wheat flour, sugar, oats, eggs, butter (from milk), baking soda.

Or, like this:

Ingredients: Wheat Flour, sugar, oats, eggs, butter, baking soda.
CONTAINS MILK.

Unfortunately, FALCPA does not state how manufacturers should label potentially contaminated products. It is up to the manufacturer to voluntarily print warnings of cross contamination on labels that state "manufactured on equipment shared with milk" or "manufactured in a facility that processes milk products" or "may contain traces of milk". It is up to the consumer (and his or her allergist) to assess whether a product is safe to consume.
In general, if a product claims to be "manufactured on shared equipment" with milk, I assume it has milk in it and don't offer it to my severely milk-allergic child.

Recipe: Simple Bread Stuffing

This recipe could be made vegan with the simple substitution of vegetable broth for chicken broth.

Simple Bread Stuffing

1 lb. loaf sliced bread (I prefer whole wheat)
3/4 cup dairy-free margarine
1 onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
2-3 teaspoons poultry seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
1+ cup chicken broth (check for dairy)

Toast bread slices lightly, and let air dry out for an additional hour or more.
Melt margarine in microwave or saute pan. Saute onion and celery in margerine until soft. Add poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper. Stir in bread cubes, until coated. Moisten with chicken broth and stir. Add more broth if too dry.
Chill and use as a stuffing for turkey (make half recipe to stuff turkey breast), or bake in a greased casserole dish at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Recipe: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Wintery weather just makes me want to bake... and eat!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 and 1/3 cups of flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup of canola oil
2 tablespoons soy milk
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract.
2 1/2 cups quick oatmeal
12 oz. of vegan chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together, then drop by spoonfuls on baking sheets. Bake 9-13 minutes or until done.

Recipe: Tofu Chocolate Pie

This is one of the easiest pies you can possibly make. It is quite like chocolate mousse. My family asks for it on a more than regular basis.

Tofu Chocolate Pie

2 12 oz. cartons firm silken tofu (like Mori-Nu)
2/3 of a 12 oz. bag of vegan chocolate chips (slightly more or less is fine)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or another favorite flavoring, such as almond or hazelnut)
1 Oreo brand prepared cookie crust, or other dairy-free graham cracker crust

Blend tofu and vanilla in mixer about 3 minutes or so until smooth. Melt
chocolate chips and beat into tofu mixture. A Pour into the prepared crust. Chill several hours.

Non-Dairy Isn't Dairy-Free

Many so-called “non-dairy” foods aren’t really non-dairy at all - such as “non-dairy” coffee creamer and “non dairy” whipped topping. They contain casein (milk protein). Sodium caseinate means the same thing. Soy cheese sounds dairy free, but most soy cheese is made from casein as well (vegan soy cheese is milk free.)
Food manufacturers really shouldn't be allowed to label foods as non-dairy when they are obviously not. But until the USDA regulates food labels more, we are stuck with "non-dairy" products with milk in them. When reading product labels, never assume that "non-dairy" is dairy-free.