The lactofree is I think 99% lactose free, has an enzyme added to break down the lactose, but would only be any good for a lactose intolerance, not a milk allergy. Can also depend on the level of the intolerance, as each person is different. My lo could have cheese, yoghurt, etc etc and even milk on his cereal - but whilst he was still drinking a pint or more of milk a day, this was too much so he had the lactofree. He is now nearly 3 and as he doesn't drink milk on its own in the quantaties of a younger child he is fine. I just have to watch that if he does have some milk shake or similar that we are careful the following day as have found that it is a build up over 48 hours that seems to effect him. It is all trial and error and when you know the symptoms is it easy to detect, although I did feel guilty everytime that he had too much as he got such terrible tummy pains, diahorreah etc that I erred on the side of caution most of the time. If it is just a lactose intolerance then it should be fairly manageable with soya yoghurts, cream custard etc available. Cheese is generally low in lactose and the amounts eaten usually small enough too that is no problem. Yoghurts are also generally lower in lactose, I think normal yoghurts more so than the pitite filous style, but I could be wrong. I would imaginge a full milk protein allergy, especially if coupled with a soya allergy too is much harder to manage!

Just wonder ing how they can call lactose free milk that if there is lactose in it?

We get ds cheese from the health shop and I gratted it up and put little pots in the freezer. It smells like crap and tastes like it but ds loves it. They also do soft cheese as well but not tried that yet as didn't want it to go off as it itsn't cheep.

Hi I just wanted to share with you all that Sainsbury's have a dairy free choc spread by Humdingers.  I used it in a choc cake I made, good for a treat.

Thanks guys.  I have got some of that Parmesan and they do a "Cheddar" version too, which I have also got.  They seem to be OK.  I have also found that The Redwood Co. also make other varieties of their "Cheezly" soya cheese.  They do a "super-melting" "Mozzarella".  I have used it and it does melt ... it doesn't taste anything like Mozzarella though!  But beggars can't be choosers!  The "Cheddar" version doesn't taste like Cheddar, so at least they're consistant.  It all just tastes like Feta to me!  The only trouble with it is, that I have to go to Holland & Barrett for it, and they don't stock it in my local shop, I have to go to Middlesbrough for it - which, although it's not a million miles away - is not a place I go to, so I have to make a special trip for it ... clocking up those food miles!!

I have got a book out of the library with some dairy free recipes, so we've been trying those.  I like most of them ... but we do seem to have been eating a lot of pasta lately.

Anyway, for those of you who are interested there are some recipes online http://www.puredairyfree.co.uk/recipelibrary.php I'm sure there are others, but my kids love the turkey meatballs and red pepper sauce from here.

I have been using Stork for baking with and  I have made a lactose free chocolate birthday cake, which wasn't bad actually.  Cadbury's drinking chocolate has no dairy in it, so that's OK for drinking and baking with and for treats I have found dairy free chocolate by Humdinger's.  You can get it from Tesco and Asda.  It comes in bars and buttons, although you may find that having to avoid lactose is a good excuse to cut out the chocolate and used dried fruits instead.  According to the ingredients on the Humdinger's packets they include cocoa butter, so evidently cocoa butter does not contain any dairy.  Just thought you might like to know that, as I wasn't sure.

Anyway, I think we're doing OK now, so if anyone needs any advice, I'm happy to share my experiences, if it helps in any way.  Just give me a shout.

Just wanted to mention that I tried the Lactofree milk for dd who is allergic to milk.  I thought it'd would be fine as it is 'virtually' lactose free.  Big mistake - dd ended up having an allergic reaction.  May be good for those less allergic though.

Tesco also do a hard goats cheese, I bought some today. Haven't tried it yet though so can't recommend it. I also saw a vegetarian cheese there but there was absolutely no ingredients list on it or the box that was holding them all (thought this was against the law?) so I never bought that 1 just in case.

Also you could try lactofree milk, you can get in tesco on the same isle as the normal cows milk. Only comes in semi skimmed but soya is low fat anyway! Tastes like normal cowsmilk, much nicer than soya in my opinion! My lo is also lactose intolerant. however, cheese is very low in lactose anyway so never had a problem with normal cheese, just milk. Depends on the level of the intolerance. Goats cheese is lactose free, or very low anyway. HTH

Hi I use the parmasan from asda too, dd loves it on pasta etc.  For cheese that melts, I use cheese slices from Holland and Barrett.  I can't remember the name but they have chedder and morzerella flavours - I think both smell awful but thankfully I'm not eating them!! DD loves both.  They are £1.79 for 8 slices. hth

hiya ive got a cheese substitute dont know if it will help or not as its a grated form. Its called 'life free from parmazan' it was on the shelf in asda in the free from aisle. ive sprinkled sum in a milk, butter and flour suace (all dairy free) i made then blended it up. ds whos 7 mths loves it and will eat anything with this sauce on lol. hth x

If your DD like it that way I'd do it again.

You may be able to get a soya based tofu cheese, although I am not saying it will taste nice from the health food shop, it is 20 years since I last tasted it and maybe it will have improved......................

You could try them with small bits of a goats or sheeps milk cheese, both of which will melt. Sainsburys used to do a hard goats milk cheese in the cheese section all pre packed it tastes a little along the lines of a cheddar and melts just like hard cheese.

Emma

Hi guys, have just discovered that my LOs are both lactose intollerant.  It may only be a temporary thing ... but it may not, we'll have to see.

Anyway, after having been shopping with "lactose-free" in mind for about a month now, I think I'm getting there.  My only stumbling block (and I really didn't think this would be the case) is finding cheese.

I bought a lactose-free cheese called "Cheezly" made by "The Redwood Co.", an appetising sounding blend of soya, potato starch and non-hydrogenated vegetable fats.  Mmmmmm.  The problem is, they won't eat it.  I've tried chopping it into cubes and putting it in their lunch boxes, but no go.  And this is the main problem - it DOESN'T MELT.

I tried making a lasagne with it, used soya milk to make the white sauce with (it was a bit lumpy, but hey, not bad for a first attempt) and then grated the "Cheezly" on top, and got it out of the over 20 mins later to discover it was just curling up and going brown on top.  The irony is DD1 actually cleared her plate - not something that happens very often.

So what I've gone a long-winded way about asking is, does anyone know of any lactose-free, cheese substitutes that melt, and where they are available from?

All help gratefully received.