It wasn't long after having my baby that we noticed dairy did not agree with him. As a first time mom I felt like I had no idea what I was doing, let alone my first time breastfeeding. Doctors told me to limit my dairy intake, all while my poor baby just kept screaming all the time. I just could not believe "oh he is just a colicky baby" was the answer. I decided to cut out every bit of dairy in my diet after reading lots of articles. This was extremely hard when it came to eating out. After a year of going dairy free, and probably longer, I hope to help any new moms that may come across this Challenge. Below you will find what I ate at most fast food/franchise restaurants to help give you an idea of what is safe to eat dairy free.
Fast Food Dairy Free Options:
- McDonalds: I Tried to avoid McDonalds at all cost due to dairy being on fries and possible contamination.
- Burger King:
Breakfast: Sausage Patty and Hashbrowns
Lunch: Hamburger with no cheese and fries
- Taco Bell: I tried to avoid due to cross contamination, but I did no issue when I ordered soft tacos with no cheese.
- Chick Fil La:
Breakfast: Grilled Chicken English Muffin with egg and no cheese and hashbrowns
Lunch: Grilled Nuggets with French fries or fruit
- Japanese Places: Most of them use Margine, if not I ordered my regular meal and requested them to substitute oil for butter.
- BBQ Places: Pulled pork, plain sweet potato and baked beans were always safe. Or sliced pork. I was very mindful of butter in vegetable. Sonny's BBQ puts butter in most sides including corn.
- Steak Houses: Texas Roadhouse/Longhorn- Steak with side salad with no cheese and honey mustard dressing. Request no butter on steak at Longhorn. Fries were always safe as well.
- Olive Garden: Minestrone Soup and breadsticks. YES! the Breadsticks are Dairy FREE!!
- Bojangles: Breakfast: Hashbrowns and sausage patty. Lunch: Chicken, Cole slaw and fries
- Zaxbys: Salads with no cheese and honey mustard dressing or boneless wings with honey mustard dipping sauce and fries.
Overall, places with easy access to talk with management was the easier option because many waitresses did not fully understand what dairy consist of. I hope the above list can help get any new moms started on the right foot.