The Milk-Free Kitchen : Living Well Without Dairy Products

Rating:
Summary: I've used this book for four years!!!
Review: My son was diagnosed with severe milk allergies when he was three months old. Before that time everything I cooked was topped with cheese. Since then I've searched frantically for a recipe book for people who don't mind eating meat, can't afford the prices at our health food store, and like normal cooking. This book is a godsend. I use it on a daily basis for everything. Guests at our house don't even know I cook milk-free. The recipes are great, the cooking instructions are simple, and my kids (ages 7, 4, and 2) like the food, something that doesn't happen with most vegan cooking. I only wish the author would come out with a new edition; I'd buy it in a moment, and mail it to her to autograph!!!

Rating:
Summary: Not a Savior But Not A Disappointment!
Review: My son, now 2, was diagnosed with Galactosemia at birth. This inturn for those who don't know, is an enzyme deficiency aimed at galactose (found in Milk and Milk Proteins).
I have to say this book was helpful on many levels but also the same as many other books. An introduction to food allergies and what not I've read many times. I was however happy to see not only an explaination on allergies but also a lactase/galactose digestion topic coverage section. My son is unable to have the other options described as goat milk and what not. And yes, some of the recipes in this book are already known to not contain milk and not just to substitute soy in everything! I'm so tired of eating like a vegetarian because all of the recipes around are soya this and soya that. This is not like that at all! And it is nice to have all of these recipes in just one book instead of 5 books.. or cards. This book has a variety of recipes from breads to entrees to cookies and cakes. One thing that caught my attention was the Chocolate Chip Cookies. Something I had given up on quite a while ago. I decided to look for chips without milk in them one last time. I am happy to say my son will eat chocolate chip cookies for the first time ever, this christmas! This book has yielded more opportunities for my family and myself since we restrict our diet to make him not feel any different from the rest of us. Thank you Ms. Kidder.

Rating:
Summary: My Cooking Bible
Review: My young son has severe milk allergies and nut and egg allergies as well. I always refer to this book first when trying to find new meals and desserts. Sure, you can just substitute oat or soy milk for regular milk in most standard receipies, but this book offers alternatives to using any type of "milk" product. The apple brown betty/crisp is great as is the eggless applesauce cake. I've also used it for meatloaf, ham and other receipies that would have nothing to do with milk but are easy and tasty.

Rating:
Summary: It saved my life!
Review: The Milk Free Kitchen saved my life! At the very least it saved me from a diet of deprivation, if not total boredom! Over the past 7 or 8 years I became increasingly more lactose intolerant, until finally my only option was a dairy-free diet. The change over was hard for me, as I loved milk and baked goods, and pizza, etc. Eating became rather dull until I discovered this book. Beth Kidder has it all...recipes for pancakes, chocolate cake, cookies of all variety, even doughnuts! as well as main courses that include pizza, fried chicken, chicken under a biscuit, stuffing, meatballs, etc. etc. Not only does she have great recipes that taste every bit as good as those with milk, she also gives wonderful tips on cooking in general. Beth gives pointers too on how to eat a milk free meal in a resturant and what ingredients to avoid in premade foods. The only down side to this book is that she never wrote, to my knowledge, a sequel with even more recipes.

Rating:
Summary: Margarine?
Review: There is one glaring problem in this book. Nearly all margarine contains milk. I did not find a warning about this anywhere in her book. Many of her recipes call for margarine.

Rating:
Summary: Margarine?
Review: There is one glaring problem in this book. Nearly all margarine contains milk. I did not find a warning about this anywhere in her book. Many of her recipes call for margarine.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good
Review: This book is not for vegetarians! It does contain recipes that call for meat, fish, and chicken. This book was written primarily for those who are lactose intolerant or allergic to milk protein (two separate allergies.) It contains helpful sections on how to shop for foods, reading ingredient listings to find "hidden" dairy additives, and how to request that your food be cooked properly in restaurants to avoid allergic reactions. The section on which processed foods are "safe" and which are not is rather outdated and no longer useful. Some of the foods she has listed as "safe" are not safe now, as manufacturers often change formulas and rarely make this known. I'd prefer to just see the list of additives that may contain dairy or dairy derivatives and maybe some examples of package listings showing how to look for these ingredients. The recipe section is creatively done - too many allergy cookbooks rely heavily on substitutions that result in the finished food having a strange texture or flavor. These recipes contain "real" foods. There aren't many better books out there for those with dairy allergies.

Rating:
Summary: good basic cookbook
Review: This is a good basic cookbook for the lactose-intollerant. I particularly like the breads section as most "normal" bread and muffin recipes rely on milk products, and it's hard in general to find good breakfast recipes that do not include milk products. Also, this cookbook doesn't use unusual ingredients, which is a big plus to me.