Many breastfed babies seem to have issues when mom has dairy in her diet. I remember the realization that I needed to give up dairy while nursing my first, and then again while nursing my second to try and kick breastfeeding thrush to the curb. If you’ve never tried to eliminate dairy before, the entire process can be super overwhelming.
Luckily there are tons of substitues on the market now, so giving up dairy while breastfeeding isn’t impossible.
Dairy substitutions
- Here are some of my recommendations for my favorite dairy substitutions:
- Milk: coconut milk or almond milk (make sure to get unsweetened if you’re trying to limit added sugars
- Ice cream: So Delicious, Nadamoo
- Butter: Earth Balance
- Cheese: Daiya, Violife
- Chocolate: Dark chocolate (70% or more), oreos
You’ll find a ton of healthy, dairy-free options at Whole Foods. If you don’t live close to a Whole Foods, you can always try Thrive Market. I like Thrive Market because it’s cheaper than Whole Foods and you can shop by diet. You can use this link for 25% off your first Thrive Market order!
Dairy-free breakfast options
- Oatmeal with nut butter, chopped almonds, berries
- Fried eggs with coconut oil, toast with Earth Balance butter
- Scrambled eggs with kale and bell peppers wrapped in a corn or coconut flower tortilla
- Avocado on toast, can also add a fried egg to this, too!
- Smoothie with 1/2 banana, coconut yogurt, kale, mango and nut butter or dairy free protein powder
Dairy-free lunch options
- Turkey roll up with avocado and tomato, roasted sweet potato cubes
- Smoothie: frozen mango, pineapple, banana, spinach, water, dairy free protein powder.
- Dairy-free pumpkin muffins, nut butter, banana
- Salad with grilled chicken and roasted veggies top with primal kitchen dressings (dairy free!)
- Purely Elizabeth granola with almond milk and a side of toast with nut butter
Quick dairy-free dinner options
- Stir fry: brown rice, chicken, zucchini, squash
- Salmon, sweet potato, cauliflower rice (frozen veggie aisle)
- Spaghetti (make it healthier by using spaghetti squash noodles)
- Rotisserie chicken, long grain brown rice with sautéed veggies
- Tacos (with shredded chicken or beef) side of black beans
- Grilled chicken, baked potato, roasted brocolli
Dairy-free snack ideas
- Boiled egg
- Hummus and veggies
- Chips and salsa
- Lara bars (even the ones with chocolate chips are made with dairy free chocolate chips!)
- Organic dried fruit
- Popcorn (boom chicka pop brand)
- Avocado or chips and guacamole
- Dates
- RX Bars
- Rice cakes and peanut butter
- Apple or banana with nut butter
- Seeds or nuts (sunflower, pumpkin, almonds, cashews, pistachios)
- Smoothies–here’s my favorite breastfeeding smoothie, just be sure to sub out yogurt for coconut/almond yogurt.
Things to remember about going dairy-free while breastfeeding
As someone who’s had to restrict their while breastfeeding both of my daughters, trust me, I’m with you–it’s no fun. Try to focus on what you can eat. Start with this list, run to your grocery store, Whole Foods or wherever you can get your hands on some of these yummy dairy-free snacks and stock your pantry.
When meal planning, you can either make substitutions with your favorite recipes or you can go the easier route and search for recepies that are Vegan, Paleo or Whole 30.
Thrive Market is awesome if you don’t live by a Whole Foods (plus it’s actually cheaper!) and you can search by diet, which is super helpful.
Edit: I recently had to also eliminate sugar and grains to help combat breastfeeding thrush. The first two weeks were horrible, as all I wanted to do was eat sugar. I finally saw the cravings start to disappear around 2.5 weeks.
I now am enjoying coffee with stevia and almond milk and oatmeal with berries and almond butter, rather than brown sugar and butter–something I never thought I’d do. Keep on, it will get better!
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