Should parents of dairy free babies be forced to pay for their prescription formula??

This is the debate that has been raging on our Face Book page, since I posted a link to this article the other day. It's clearly an emotive subject. 

For those of you who haven't read the article, it appears that Croydon Comissioning Clinical Group - who make decisions regarding what services are/not provided by the NHS in the Croydon area -  have made the decision to stop providing baby milk (along with other previously prescribed products like gluten free foods). See the CCG press release here). This is a power point slide used by the CCG at their public consultation meetings.

A Power Point slide used at CCG's public consultation meetings.

Please note: It states that this includes milk for children who have an allergy to cow's milk, unless there are 'certain medical conditions'. It's difficult to ascertain what they mean by that.

In case you think I am the only one who finds this wording confusing, read a response to very similar proposals put to Cambridgeshire and Peterborough's CCG (but which I actually think read slightly more clearly than Croydon's), which was made by the BSNA, just last year:

In fact, Looking at the results of this previous consultation, it was only once all the results were in, and the ruling had been made, that Cambridgeshire and Peterborough's CCG (possibly as result of the responses, they recieved) clearly defined what they thought should be covered. See here:

Looking at Croydon's CCG press release, including detail of this kind in the proposal might have been more helpful, especially as all this information is open access online. Funnily enough, however, Croydon do go to the trouble, in the previous section, to compare prices of gluten free bread, available on prescription and in the supermarket. So why not break down what they mean regarding infant formula?

Whilst I take comfort from knowing that in Cambridgshire and Peterborough the ultimate decision looked sensible enough, each area is conducting it's consultation independently, so outcomes may vary, according to the responses returned by the local population.

A summary of responses to the proposals.

Further responses.

Looking at Croydon's CCG press release. It is also interesting to note that their proposals had been up for discussion, but that period has now closed. As this period ran over the busy Christmas period, many people who might have responded, may have missed it. 

Also, although to most families £278,000 that they are planning to save is a lot of money - until you look at the size of the budgets they're managing across the board.

The worry for many mums is, that where one NHS trust leads, others may follow and this may soon become widespread across the country - another 'postcode lottery'.

It was £25 for a tin of Nutramigen AA, a number of years back, when Kiddo was a newborn. I can well remember the shock I felt when the Doctor asked me how many tins I would require, as... didn't I know how expensive it was?? 

Well, we did, as it happened, because we had to pay for the first two tins - which we obtained via private prescription. 

For those of us who, for whatever reason, have had to resort to using dairy free formula, and know exactly how expensive it can be, paying for prescription baby milk seems a shocking suggestion, but clearly there are those who disagree! 


The arguments for/against

As much as I, personally, am against charging for prescription formula, I can quite understand some of the opposing views, and think it is only fair that all sides be heard. Outlined below are some of the major arguments:

The argument for paying for prescribed milk	The argument against paying for prescribed milk
You could eliminate allergens from your diet and continue to breastfeed.	1.      Not everyone physically can breastfeed - for a variety of reasons, which I won’t address here.       2.      Some mothers are advised to give up breastfeeding their allergic child, because the severity of the reaction is too great to allow them to continue whilst the allergens are still working their way out of the mother’s body – we’re talking hospitalisation here!       3.      When children are dealing with multiple allergies, this can be incredibly hard for a mother to achieve, especially when they can’t identify what those allergens are.       4.      Maternal medication/serious illness/death – rare but still requires consideration.      5. Mothers who have to go back to work and therefore have to give up breastfeeding.      6. Prescription formula is not just required to replace breastfeeding, but is often required to replace cow's milk when preparing food, during weaning - particularly for children with multiple allergies, for whom various so-called 'plant-based milks' are unsuitable.
Everyone else pays for their formula, why should the parents of allergic children be any different?	1.      Prescribed formua is much more expensive than normal formula - £25 (or more) a tin, when you can buy a tin of normal formula for around £10. In addition, the tins of prescribed formula are smaller, so more are required. For families on, low incomes, it would be unachievable - it works out at hundreds of pounds a month! Even those of us who are supposedly better off might struggle to cope.        2.      And also, what about milk allergic children in families where they are at risk of neglect (again rare, but it ought to be considered). In such cases paying for expensive formula might come last on the list of priorities, especially where addiction is present.      3. Parents of milk allergic children might then be tempted to source milk via the Internet from unknown, potentially unscrupulous persons, which could potentially put their health at risk. Pharmacies will not accept unused tins of prescription milk, even if unopened, for this very reason.
The NHS is struggling as it is and cuts need to be made.	This is true, however, it could be argued that we can all think of things that we consider ‘unnecessary’ that are currently available on the NHS, e.g. medicines which are actually cheaper to buy over the counter than to obtain via prescription, like paracetamol – children’s formula seems to be the wrong place to start making those cuts.
Go out and get a job/better job to pay for it.	We are potentially talking about a huge amount of money, so this is easier said than done (again for various reasons).
Use a different formula, which is cheaper and can be bought off the shelf at a supermarket e.g. soya or goat’s milk.	1. A large percentage of children who are allergic to milk are also allergic to soya. This is because the proteins are very similar.         2. A study has shown that 92 % of people allergic to cow’s milk are also allergic to goat’s milk - which should therefore be avoided.

A third way??

A third way - popular with many - is that people should pay the 'normal' price for formula and the NHS top up the rest. I do think that even if this suggestion has merits, prescription milk should not be stopped, until alternative routes have been considered. Once it's gone, its gone.

Moreover, it is also argued that having 'free' formula on prescription is only fair, when parents of milk allergic children have to pay so much extra for additional 'free from' products such as  dairy free margarine, cheese, etc. And, what's more, if those children have multiple allergies (many do), and have to pay extra for gluten free, egg free, nut free products as well... well the costs of having an allergic child just go up and up and up!! 


What do you think?

Not sure what to think? Please visit our Face Book page and read some of the stories that our mums  have posted. Please continue to add your comments, either to this post, or to our Face book page. However, I would ask that people remain respectful to other posters.



What can you do?

If this is an issue which chimes strongly with you, there are a few things you can do:

1. As this tweet says you need to contact CCG today at getinvolved@croydonccg.nhs.uk by email TODAY (not much time to get this done). 

Croydon Clinical Commission Group's consultation process has now closed, but...

2. Keep an eye on YOUR local CCG - Clinical Commisionsing Group (see here, to find yours), as they may well be considering the same. Richmond already appear to be on the same path. See here for further details. You have until February 3rd 2017, to respond to Richmond.

3. Write to your M.P and/or Jeremy Hunt - the Secretary of State for Health, who is currently responsible for the NHS.

4. Create awareness and support, by sharing this information as widely as you can.

5. Sign the petition, here. And then share it!

6. Follow the Campaign for Milk Prescription Access on Twitter and Face Book for updates. They also have a website here.

This really, really matters, to many mums and their young babies. 

Read Emma's story below - it's in the raw because I literally haven't had time to edit it yet, but actually, it's probably better, more real, that way.

Please do all you can!



Emma's story:

Hiya, 

Sorry if it's a bit rambling... Feel free to edit as required! 

OK, this is baby number 2 with milk allergy. My son did not have his milk allergy recognised until he reacted badly to egg at 8months and paramedics had to come. We got a hospital appointment when he was 10 months and after talking about how he had been as a baby (V sicky, blood and mucus in poo, v unsettled, crying for hours on end, raw Excema,  wheezing) they said "not saying you were fobbed off by gp/hv/midwife etc.. But you were!  He is also soya free now. 

Understandably I was worried my new baby would have allergy but everyone said she was fine (again) and it was probably just colic (again) only at 10wks after blood in poo, constipation, diahorria, V unhappy baby and mummy did I get 2nd doc opionion who referred us to hospital and they confirmed milk allergy and put her on nutramigen. As she had pretty much stopped feeding as she associated milk with pain she did loose weight and it took a long time to get her feeding a bit better and up to second centile. At 6 months we were told to switch to nutramigen 2,and whether it was coincidence or she just started feeding more, I realised we were starting our 4th tin by only day 8. I realised I only had 4 more tins and as it takes doctor up to 48hrs to issue prescription and pharmacy have to order it I got on the case to ask doctor for more milk. When I rang next day to see if it was ready reception told me Dr had left note to say she was only allowed 8 tins a month and I would have to get appointment to discuss.  The next day all the appointments were gone so went the say after. My husband and I calculated how many tins a month my baby would need if she drank 35oz a day, (which is the amount the consultant said she should b drinking at 4 months) with no wastage (u can only keep it for hr once she starts it) The doctor listened to me, but said I should be weaning her, he was going by government guidelines, did I realise it was £11per tin,  and I was spending public money. He made me feel awful. I stayed calm and explained I am only trying. . to feed my baby and I actually started trying to wean and her at 5 months cos I thought maybe she would be better eater than drinker, but so far she was not interested. He reluctantly issued me a "one off prescription" for 8 tins but would not issue any more without letter from consultant.

I rang the consultant that day but he wasn't available and they said he would call back. I was then admitted to hospital due to my asthma and couldn't handle chasing it as think the stress poss contributed to me being poorly. I have actually had a phone call from consultant today and he said it was not a problem. He worked out how many tins she would need the same way I did. He did say to keep trying the weaning as he said it's common for babies with allergies to develop food aversions but said she could have 13 tins in a month and he would write to doctor.  So finally it's sorted and panic over.  I just found it so hard last wk when I felt just like when I knew she was allergic but couldn't get anyone to listen to me. 

I think we have enough to deal with and enough worries with our allergy babies without extra stress like this.  I would love to have a baby that is not allergic, but that's not the case. 
I hope other people manage to get the help they need. 

Kind regards, 
Emma 

Living with Cow's Milk Allergy - how I try to keep the 'Dairy Free Baby' milk free!

Until fairly recently, I was pretty blase about 'Baby' starting school. I've taught in school for years. I've come across the odd one or two children with food allergies and nothing untoward happened on my watch. 

Last September, I was more worried about 'Baby' making friends than her milk allergy. 'Baby's' prospective school appeared to be so sewn up. They had a number of children with allergies and seemed to have all the right procedures in place. Unhappily, recent experience suggests otherwise! It seems to me that they understood the importance of an immediate reaction i.e. anaphylaxis, but not a delayed or Non-Ige mediated reaction. In fact, too few people are aware of the effects of cow's milk on Non-Ige sufferers, or of the importance of preventing exposure. I kind of blogged about it a short while ago. The link for that post is here.

I now feel that I should have taken nothing for granted, with school, but should have spelled out things right from the beginning. Better safe than sorry, and all that! You'd think, having been a teacher, that I would have known what to say/do, however, on our first encounters with the teacher, suddenly on 'the other side of the fence' as a parent, I was massively under prepared! So, I clammed up and couldn't think what it was that I needed to convey in detail. Doh!

Hindsight, based on sorry experience is a wonderful thing! It definitely sharpens your focus!! 

Here's some of the things that I would have said... if I only I'd had the benefit of hindsight:


Some Background:

A lot of people seem to assume that food allergy is all about anaphylaxis - an immediate matter of life and death.  That's the one, that if people are going to take food allergy seriously (and not get all dismissive) they take note. However, food allergy is not all about anaphylaxis. My daughter has a milk allergy, but is not anaphylactic. She has a Non-Ige mediated milk allergy - meaning that it won't cause a reaction that could kill her. Instead she will suffer a delayed reaction if she ingests milk, or any products made with milk.

Unfortunately, when most people grasp the fact that my daughter is not anaphylactic, they switch off and go, 'PHEW!' They might confuse it with lactose intolerance, or think to themselves, 'Oh well, that's alright then. I'm sure a little bit can't hurt!' They don't say it to my face of course, otherwise I'd put them right with a thing or two!! But it does come across in their attitude - the way they deal with it!

However, although my little girl's reactions won't kill her, they are not pleasant, and it's not nice seeing her suffer. Therefore we try to do our level best to avoid them!

Non-Ige reactions vary from person to person. In my daughter, a delayed reaction may include the following:

• severe tummy cramps (they make her cry out in pain)
• diarrhea
• continued exposure to milk (including traces) will damage her gut, which will then struggle to absorb nutrients from her food. This could cause her to become malnourished. Nothing much can be done about the gut damage - you just have to let it run its course and wait for it to heal. It can take the gut quite a long time to heal following an exposure to milk - when she was little, we were told to leave three or four months between planned exposures to milk (otherwise known as 'milk challenges') which were meant to help assess her progress
• once the gut has been damaged by milk it will take a while to heal, whilst sore, it may be irritated by foods with which it would normally be okay (this might depend on how much damage was caused), thereby causing similar symptoms to her milk allergy

Please be aware that allergic reactions can be worse if you're under the weather or following exercise (or, if you're an adult, alcohol and fluctuating hormones can also cause reactions to be more severe).

The threshold amount of milk that is required to cause a reaction will vary from person to person. My daughter has been sensitive to the minutest traces of milk, including milk that has been broken down by processing or baking. At one point, I couldn't even sit in a cafe to drink my coffee, without her reacting with a tummy ache later (that's even when I kept her strapped in her pushchair so she couldn't touch a thing, because I initially thought she must have been picking up traces of milk by touching unclean tables etc.)! It appeared that she could be reacting to milk aerosolised whilst it was being steamed for cappuccinos etc. If I went in and collected a take away coffee, she was fine, but if I stayed inside and lingered over my coffee, she wasn't. She also appeared to react to cheese being melted in a sandwich toaster at home. I believe that this kind of reaction is thought to be quite rare. 

It is hoped that at some stage my daughter will begin to outgrow her milk allergy. During the process of outgrowing her allergy, her threshold amount will change, until the point where (we hope) she can tolerate milk fully. We are unsure what her current threshold might be, as we have not had the opportunity to reassess this in over a year - due to our comings and going over our flat move and periods of illness, which disrupted our planned milk challenges.

Until such time as we can assess her progress once more, we must assume that my daughter continues to remain sensitive to the tiniest amount of milk. Because she has been so sensitive, you may think I'm overdoing it and maybe OCD, but these are the things we do to try and keep her safe at home:

(Please note: Not everyone with a milk allergy will need to go to these lengths in order to keep safe. These are the rules that I have developed for ourselves, over time, in the light of our personal experience of our daughter's milk allergy. As a result, it is rare for her to experience a problem at home. Out and about and catered for by others... well that is when it can and sometimes does go wrong - even when we think we've been careful to communicate with them regarding her needs!)

1. Golden Rule:

My daughter is never knowingly brought into contact with any products made with any mammals milk (cow, goat, sheep etc.). This includes products which state that they may contain milk, are made in the same factory as products made with milk or are not suitable for milk allergies. These products do not have to be food products they could (for example) be craft, cosmetic or cleaning fluids. 

We do not accept products with 'may contain' type statements because they're too woolly and we've no idea, in practice, what that might mean. The only exceptions to this rule are 'may contain' products that we have discovered are safe (by happy accident), or any planned milk challenges (by which she is carefully exposed to milk, to see if she's outgrown her milk allergy).

Common milk products include:

• milk
• cheese
• butter
• yogurt
• cream
• ice cream
• buttermilk
• sour cream
• fromage frais
• lactose
• whey
• casein
• milk powder
• quark

Products containing milk could include the following:

• margarine
• chocolate
• cake
• biscuits
• sauces
• pre-prepared sandwiches

In fact I could go on! It's in many processed foods - you'll even find it in some sausages, ready made Spaghetti Bolognese, chicken gravy, wine, and yes, even jam!!

2. Keeping clean:

Milk can get everywhere!  My daughter may not react to milk on her skin, (although she has had rashes on her face from kisses, in the past) but if she touches something containing milk and then forgets to wash her hands before eating, or absently puts her fingers in her mouth, she may ingest enough milk to cause a reaction. 

This actually happened at one stay and play venue, where children were given sticky cakes and were then allowed to go back to playing with the toys with sticky fingers. My daughter kept getting tummy aches an hour or so after each visit. It went on for a number of weeks, before I noticed the pattern. Once I cottoned onto this, and cleaned her fingers before she ate any food herself and after we got home from these visits, the tummy aches stopped.

Milk proteins cannot be killed with disinfectant (like bacteria), and are sticky so need to be washed off thoroughly. If not cleared up properly milk proteins remain on surfaces, even if they are too small to be seen. This is a particular problem if the surface is absorbent (e.g. carpet).

So to avoid any chance of accidentally ingesting small traces of milk, I now treat milk protein as a bio-hazard. I try to keep milk trace free by:

• washing hands after handling milk - e.g. pouring milk from a milk carton, wiping up a spill, handling food made with milk, such as a cake/sandwich etc.
• using hand wipes, to thoroughly clean hands, if we are out and about, and where water and soap is not available. Alcohol gels are useless, as alcohol cannot kill milk proteins. 
• washing both our hands when we get home after being out and about.
• washing my hands if I have had any contact with milk (e.g. in food or drink) prior to holding my daughter's hand or touching anything else she might pick up/touch.
• cleaning up all milk spillages immediately and thoroughly. Mug rings from tea or coffee that has been made with milk on tables and other surfaces are a particular bug bear of mine, as people are inclined to forget that they contain milk. 
• cleaning up spills by first blotting the spillage with a dry kitchen roll (the less milk being wiped around the better). I then clean the area of the spillage, using disposable materials, such as kitchen roll with hot soapy water. I think disposable is best, as milk proteins might remain 'caught' in the fibres of dishcloths.
• cleaning tables (and chairs if necessary) in cafes/restaurants/trains/planes etc. with my own wipes, as soon as we sit down and before my daughter can touch the table. I clean the edges of tables too (little children often grab the edges of tables) and keep cleaning until my wipes come up clean (I once got through an entire pack of hand wipes when cleaning a table in Starbucks)!
• taking my own crayons/comics/entertainment for my daughter in cafes/restaurants, as it can't be guaranteed that other children who have handled the ones in the cafe/restaurant had clean (completely milk free) hands when they did so!
• using a dishwasher to clean crockery/utensils etc. as it is an excellent way of making sure items are cleaned thoroughly. I  just have to make sure that no residues of food remain at the end of the cycle. Anything not properly clean is returned to the dishwasher for another cycle, until it comes up clean. Anything that looks troublesome is soaked well first, and then wiped with a disposable cloth.
• carefully washing up all utensils for food that are intended to be kept dairy free first, I then wash up anything else, or use a fresh bowl of water and use a separate brush/sponge just for dairy free utensils.

They say, 'Don't cry over spilled milk'... I may beg to differ!

3. Food Preparation:

When preparing food,  there is quite a lot of potential for accidental contamination of dairy free food, with traces of milk or milk products, therefore I:

• wash hands thoroughly before preparing dairy free food.
• wash hands after handling milk (e.g. pouring milk from a milk bottle, wiping up a spill) or after handling food made with milk, such as a cake/sandwich etc.
• ensure the surface area is clean prior to food preparation - to ensure no traces of dairy remain.
• use clean separate utensils when preparing dairy free food.
• use clean separate wooden spoons/spatulas for dairy free food, when cooking.
• use clean separate baking trays when baking or line them carefully with foil - to ensure no residues of dairy free fats could transfer onto dairy free food (unfortunately, I've found washing does not always remove all traces of dairy fats/grease - we've reacted to food cooked in other peoples' cake tins).
• prepare dairy free food first, or be aware that saucepans cooking on the same hob may need covering with lids to prevent food containing dairy spluttering and transferring to any dairy free food in the vicinity (thanks to What Allergy for this tip).
• don't prepare dairy free food using electrical appliances such as sandwich makers/waffle machines that have been previously used for food containing dairy, as they cannot be immersed in water and cleaned thoroughly (this has been learned through experience)

4. Food Storage/handling:

Some people will keep 'safe' food in separate cupboards or on separate shelves of the fridge. I don't, because I'm particular in the way I handle milk - washing my hands and surfaces frequently, and I'm usually the one who handles the food in our home. In kitchens used by others, this further precaution may be advisable. When handling or storing food, I:

• wash my hands thoroughly before handling food.
• keep milk products in sealed containers.
• cover all dairy free food with cling film or store in clean sealed labelled containers.
• use separate utensils for serving food eg. cake tongs, serving spoons etc.
• only put clean knives/spoons into jam/pickle jars etc. better still, use a jam spoon - especially when others unused to dealing with milk allergy are around
• don't put dairy free food (such as cakes/biscuits etc.) on the same plate/tray as food containing dairy.
• avoid passing food containing dairy over dairy free food, to avoid contamination via accidental spillage.
• avoid serving food made with dairy right next to dairy free food, especially if it is likely to splash around e.g. cheese sauce/chocolate sauce/custard/yogurt).
• am careful to make sure that when I'm pouring milk from a bottle it doesn't splash over surrounding surfaces/food. If it does, I clean it up as soon as possible.
• wear a clean apron to protect clothing, or remove clothing that has been splashed with milk or sauces containing milk - in case my daughter moves in for cuddles.

Sloppy stuff like yogurt served next to this fruit compote made the compote a 'no no' in case splashes of yogurt had accidentally made their way in to the compote. 

5. Other potential sources of milk:

Milk doesn't just appear in food! Where milk appears in other products, it does not have to be highlighted in the same way that it is in food. This means that you really have to keep your eyes open! So, I also check labels on the following:

• some washing up/cleaning products which may be made with milk (yes, really).
• some hand soaps.
• chalks, playdough and other craft materials also need to be checked carefully in case they're made with milk.

This particular Ecover washing-up liquid is milk free - the Chamomile & Marigold (also by Ecover) isn't - it contains whey, one of the proteins found in milk!

Furthermore:

My daughter is quite articulate for her age but is still quite young. Although she knows that she is dairy free and that she requires dairy free food, it's not entirely clear how well she understands what this might mean in practice. 

Therefore, it cannot be assumed:

• that she really knows what she can/can't eat - she may say food is okay that she is not supposed to have, either because she doesn't realise or because she likes the look of that food, or perhaps because it appears more appealing. If any adult dealing with her is not entirely sure whether she can have something, I would rather she were not given the benefit of the doubt. I would rather she was told that Mummy will be asked first, and then she can have whatever it in question, later (after it has been approved by Mummy), or on the next occasion it becomes available.
• she knows/understands the need to keep her hands clean (although I keep trying to drum this one in at home). She may not realise that she has touched something that contains milk and that therefore some might remain on her hands and needs to be washed off. She may need to have this explained to her and be instructed to wash her hands.  Being a bit of a feisty minx, and not keen on washing her hands, she may be reluctant to do so!!

Platinum Rule, (to top my previous 'Golden Rule'): 

If in doubt, leave it out!

Addendum:
The above list has ruled our lives for a while now. Having written it down, it's suddenly hit me how many rules we've felt forced to follow. Living with it, I take it all for granted and it's become second nature. However, changes are afoot, which could bring an end to some of this, so maybe I won't show it to the teachers just yet. More to follow soon...

However, I will definitely point them in the direction of Allergy Adventures new online workshops, which have been created especially for school. They are completely free and are accompanied by short punchy videos. Check them out here!

Read on:

NHS Choices - Food Allergy Symptoms

Food Allergy and Schools - from an American blog: The Allergic Child (some of the systems are different, but otherwise an extremely helpful post, in many respects)



Related Posts:

Peace, love and understanding - 50 shades of food allergy



Let her eat cake! On inclusion for food allergy kids and free school meals



'May contain' - an explanation


And by Alexa Baracacia (@foodallergyuk on Twitter):

The Catering Conundrum

More 'Cheese Please!' More dairy free alternatives to cheese

A few months ago, when I joined Twitter, my initial plan was to get the news out about the Dairy Free Baby and Me Blog - there's no point in writing a blog unless there are people reading it! I was keen to get out there, to pass on what I'd learned, so that others who struggled with Cow's Milk Protein Intolerance (or similar issues) would have some kind of starting point - which is what I would have liked, when I began this 'journey'. What I didn't expect, however, was that I'd find companions, friends even, to share the 'journey.' 

One such, is 'Sugarpuffish' - a beauty blogger who has grown up with eczema and various food allergies. Having grown up with these, she has a wealth of experience behind her. She is, moreover, able to do something that I cannot - which is tolerate soya. So, following my own post about dairy free cheese, she has very kindly agreed to write contribute this post about dairy free 'cheese' made with soya.

Thank you, Sugarpuffish, over to you!

I was diagnosed with allergies during my childhood. In those days there were no Free From aisles at the supermarket, soya milk was prescribed by my GP and I simply went without cheese.  I have watched the Free From market developed and the most exciting part for me has been the invention of dairy free cheeses. Unlike Dairy Free Baby and Me, I can tolerate soya so I am going to tell you about my favourite dairy free "cheeses". Before I get started people will moan at me that dairy free cheese is not very nice and tastes nothing like the real thing. I do not disagree there are some grim alternatives but for me the real thing is a distant memory and I think that what makes them easier for me to digest. Plus manufacturers are always improving techniques. I always say forget about what you are trying to replace and you can then embrace the alternatives.

My favourite hard/block cheese replacement is Sheese and I buy it at an independent health food store. There are eleven styles to choose from – Blue, Cheshire, Cheddar with Chives, Edam, Gouda, Medium Cheddar, Mild Cheddar, Red Cheddar, Mozzarella, Smoked Cheddar and Strong Cheddar. I personally like the Medium Cheddar style. I enjoy the stronger flavours as the milder varieties taste a little bland. I use hard cheeses for pizzas, sauces and topping off dishes like spaghetti bolognaise or nachos. Sheese also have spreadable varieties which I enjoy.

Tofutti is the brand I have known the longest and its from the USA.  The choice of products available in the US is larger than here and makes me rather jealous.  Tofutti is available to buy at Holland & Barrett or Goodness Direct and they usually stock spreadable cheese, slices and grated mozzarella style. Let’s start with the spreadable varieties. This is the one I most enjoy on crackers and I love the Garlic & Herb.  My Holland & Barrett also stocks Original and Herbs & Chives but I see Goodness Direct also offer French Onion, Country Vegetable, Chopped Olive and Sour.  I think it’s the flavouring that makes this dairy free cheese more enjoyable than others on the market. I have been told the Original version is excellent for Vegan cheesecake recipes.

Tofutti slices are similar to dairy counterparts. It tastes and looks fake so for that reason I think its best suited to sandwiches and burger buns. I am not going to lie it does have a distinct flavour and I have learnt to love it over the years. It is a convenient alternative to grating or chopping. It will melt but it does smell unpleasant and will affect the flavour so I do not recommend using it in this way. 

Other brands to look out for are Cheezly and Vegusto.  I buy Cheezly when I cannot get hold of Sheese. I think that Sheese is slightly superior in taste and texture but they are fairly similar. One problem I do have with Cheezly is it goes mouldy quickly. As for Vegusto, I tried this at the Allergy & Free From Show and found the texture grainy and not to my liking. Others do rave about their cheeses and it has won awards.  It retails online or at independent stores so not the easiest for me to get hold of. This is a plant based cheese alternative which is gluten, dairy and soy free.

I hope you have enjoyed reading. Thank you to Dairy Free Baby and Me for the opportunity to guest post on her blog.

Click here to check out my blog

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And there's more... Milk substitutes

Look what I found!

Lookee here!  Not content with soya, and almond, it seems like Alpro is going all out to become the milk substitute of choice! Alpro has now brought out a 'hazelnut drink' (spotted in the chiller cabinet at Tescos the other day and also on the shelf at Waitrose). 

Although I think choice is a good thing, I'm not sure that bringing out more nut based milk substitutes is a good idea. It makes me wonder what Alpro's rationale is - especially as nut allergies are so common these days. 

I haven't tried it yet, I wonder if anyone else has given it a go...

Personally, what I'd like them to do, is to expand their dessert and yoghurt ranges  - making them with something else other than soya (as many people who are intolerant of dairy also cannot tolerate soya). Now there's an idea!

An Addendum to Winter Warmers

The new kid  on the block!

Stop Press! Excitement of excitements - another update! You may have read my post, the other week, on dairy free hot chocolate. Well it seems that I no longer have to make mine the old-fashioned way, using cocoa powder - as I found out in my most recent trip to my local Tesco Extra. 

Not to be outdone by Oatley, Alpro and the like, Kara, (who make coconut milk) have now brought out a chocolate version! And yes! I have not wasted any time - I have already purchased some and tried it! 

To my mind, it tastes very similar to the kind of hot chocolate instants you can buy (if you are able to tolerate dairy) like the one produced by Galaxy. It's very sweet, kind of syrupy in flavour. However, having become recently reacquainted with my old-fashioned version (made with Green and Blacks) I'm not sure how ready I am to like this new version. Still you never know, I've got most of the carton left and it may yet grow on me! 

Hmm! Now, I wonder how it might taste cooked with some pudding rice for a few hours? It could be good, or... well I've never claimed to be a Nigella now, have I?

Update: Kara, has since been renamed 'Koko'