Talking Allergies

I have seen some posts from Moms who say they have made lasagna with soy cheese. I have never tried it and I am curious what people use in place of cottage cheese and parmesan. We have a good mozarella alternative, but I have no idea what to do about the other two cheeses.

I love lasagna and think my kids would too and would appreciate any suggestions.

there is lactose free parmasan cheese in the vegatarian sections of the super markets i shop in (never thought to pick it up tho i'm not a big fan of of parm)

hmmm as for the cottage cheese if you cut up tofu into small enough pieces it has a similar look to cottage cheese, but the texture and taste would be off (and i'm not sure how well kids would accept tofu)


i've made lasgnas with no cheese, it's kind of messy but when you LOVE lasgna and cheese isn't an option (lactose intollerant but pills don't help not alergic for me) and you're not a big fan of the soy cheese options (that refuse to melt) it tastes pretty darn good without the subsituations just the removal of it... or at least to these taste buds

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allergies - penicillin, benadryl, dust mites, enviornmental & chemical
conditions - dermatographism, eczema, well contorolled asthma
dietary - lactose intollerant, vegatarian

lactose free parmesan does not equal dairy free.


for dairy free lasange, i use nutritional yeast, and make my own ricotta with tofu.

true, i haven't looked that closely at it if it's completly soy or if it's got any milk ingrediants but there is some vegatiran (or maybe vegan) alternatives out there for parmasan but you'd have to look to see if it meets your specific needs, i didn't want to say it's dairy free cause i honestly don't know

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allergies - penicillin, benadryl, dust mites, enviornmental & chemical
conditions - dermatographism, eczema, well contorolled asthma
dietary - lactose intollerant, vegatarian

Your best bet is to do an internet search for milk-free or dairy-free lasagna. I search for vegan recipes as our daughter has allergies to both egg and milk.
If you have a suitable mozzarella, you could probably substitute firm or medium tofu in place of cottage cheese or ricotta. You may want to use an egg to set it.
I like to use a pinch of nutmeg to get a creamy sort of flavour but don't over do it. SAlt it as well as cheese is quite salty.
Let us know if you find a great recipe.

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Moderator
Daughter: asthma, allergies to egg, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, most legumes (not soy) & penicillin. Developing hayfever type allergies.
Husband: no allergies
Me: allergies to some tree that flowers in May
Cat: allergic to beef, pork and lamb

Hi
I always make lasagna. As a matter of fact I make about 10 at once and then freeze. We eat one every 3 weeks. My kids love it and so do we!

Here is what I use:
-lasagna noodles - you can use barilla dry
-earth island mozzarella flavour "cheese"
-tomato sauce
-meat sauce
-sauteed spinach
-roasted vegetables

If you grate the "cheese" it actually melts. I've served lasagna at dinner parties and no one "caught on" that it was dairy free! It really is delicious

Thanks for the feedback.

I made the lasagna last weekend. I used the Earth Island cheese (we also use it on pizza and nachos). I used well drained firm tofu for the cottage cheese substitute and I could not tell a difference (I think the trick is using your fingers to break up the tofu and mix it with the spinach and herbs). Otherwise, I made the recipe I used pre-allergy times (with spinach, italian sausage and pasta sauce and of course the noodles).

I was amazed how it turned out.

Thanks you guys - we've been talking about trying to make something with our Earth Island faux cheese... I will let you know how it turns out. (It would help if my dairy allergic guy liked our pasta sauce more...)

K.

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Karen, proud Mom of
- DS1 (12 yrs): allergic to cashews, pistachios, Brazil nuts, potatoes, some legumes, some fish, pumpkin seeds; OAS
- DS2 (1o yrs): ana. to dairy, eggs, peanuts; asthma

I brought a vegan lasagna to our New Years Eve Party and it was a huge hit!
I used:
Noodles
2 pkgs Risopia lasagna noodles

Vegetables
3 small zucchinnis cubed
1 eggplant cubed
1 1/2 cups mushrooms thickly sliced
olive oil
3 pkgs frozen chopped spinach squeezed dry

Sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion chopped
1 carrot chopped
2 stalks of celery chopped
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp basil
1 bay leaf
1 can crushed tomotoes
1 can diced tomatoes
1 7 oz can tomato paste
2 tbsp grape jelly
1 cup water

"Ricotta Cheese"
2 pkgs medium tofu
1 pkg firm tofu crumbled
1 tsp salt
2 tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp olive oil

Topping
1 1/2 pkgs Earth Island Gourmet Mozzarela flavoured Soy Cheese grated

I tossed the eggplant and zucchinni with olive oil and roasted at 350 for approx 15-20 minutes. Set aside
I sauted the veggies for the sauce and threw the rest of the sauce ingredients in and let that simmer while I prepared the noodles. Set aside
Processed the medium tofu in a food processor until lumpy/creamy stirred in the seasonings, oil and firm tofu. Set aside
To assemble:
Add a little olive oil to a huge lasagna pan. Smear a couple of ladlefuls of sauce on the bottom of the pan. Cover with a layer of noodles, 1/3 sauce, roasted vegetables, spinach, "riccota cheese" and repeat 2x. Finish with the soy mozzarella.
Cover with foil and bake 350 for 45 minutes, remove the foil and place under the broiler to brown.

Everyone who tried it loved it!

_________________
Moderator
Daughter: asthma, allergies to egg, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, most legumes (not soy) & penicillin. Developing hayfever type allergies.
Husband: no allergies
Me: allergies to some tree that flowers in May
Cat: allergic to beef, pork and lamb

My DH made a DF lasagna for my littlest guy tonight and he actually ate it! Our biggest hurdle wasn't actually the "cheese", as I mentioned before, it was the sauce, as my youngest doesn't like spaghetti sauce - not even my DH's delicious homemade sauce. But he's on a big Garfield kick these days, having watched "A Tale of Two Kitties" multiple times -- -- and insisted that we make him some lasagna, so we did. I really didn't think he'd like it, but he ate two pieces.

My DH pretty much made basic lasagna, but used Earth Island mozzarella and Tofutti faux parmesan cheese as subs. I got a tiny taste (we also had regular lasagna as the fake cheese is quite expensive) and it was good!

Susan - your recipe looks yummy. I will print it out and see if we can get my youngest to eat some veggies...

K.

_________________
Karen, proud Mom of
- DS1 (12 yrs): allergic to cashews, pistachios, Brazil nuts, potatoes, some legumes, some fish, pumpkin seeds; OAS
- DS2 (1o yrs): ana. to dairy, eggs, peanuts; asthma

susan that recepie looks AMAZING the next time i need to make myself lasgna (i have about six portions in the frige) i'm trying it

i have a question tho, does this earth island "chese" melt cause that's my biggest hurtle with my vegan lasgna attempts, and if it does where would i find it? (i see you're in ottawa and i work in ottawa so just tell me where to go)

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allergies - penicillin, benadryl, dust mites, enviornmental & chemical
conditions - dermatographism, eczema, well contorolled asthma
dietary - lactose intollerant, vegatarian

Dustytiger-The cheese does melt! I placed the lasagna undr the broiler for this reason. I used to be able to find the cheese at the Great Canadian Super Store in Westboro but haven't lately. I now am getting it at the Loblaws in Barrhaven and sometimes at the Independant Grocer in Barrhaven. I would suggest you try any of the Loblaws or Loblaws affiliates in your neighbourhood. I don't tend to shop at Loeb, so I don't know if they sell it. I would imagine most customer service representatives could advise you on their store inventory before you head out.
Here is the website and this company also makes a great eggless mayonaise:
http://www.followyourheart.com/cheese_products.php

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Moderator
Daughter: asthma, allergies to egg, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, most legumes (not soy) & penicillin. Developing hayfever type allergies.
Husband: no allergies
Me: allergies to some tree that flowers in May
Cat: allergic to beef, pork and lamb

sweet!! melty soy cheese thank you, i usually shop and the indpedant grocer in my town, but the one in stitsville has a better slection, and if i don't find it there my best friend lives in barrhaven and i can ask her to look for it for me before i go out there... so happy melty soy cheese!! theheeh

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allergies - penicillin, benadryl, dust mites, enviornmental & chemical
conditions - dermatographism, eczema, well contorolled asthma
dietary - lactose intollerant, vegatarian

Susan - we tried a variation of your lasagna the other night, with our own pasta sauce and your ricotta cheese recipe (subbing soy cheese for the firmer tofu plus adding a bit of white wine and lemon juice and cayenne pepper) and it was awesome! You could never tell that it was dairy-free. If the ding-dong soy cheese weren't so expensive I would serve it to visitors all the time.

By the way - I've been finding the Earth Island mozzarella at the Herb & Spice store on Bank St. near Gladstone, in case you're interested.

Thanks again for the recipe and the idea to try a faux-ricotta cheese!!

_________________
Karen, proud Mom of
- DS1 (12 yrs): allergic to cashews, pistachios, Brazil nuts, potatoes, some legumes, some fish, pumpkin seeds; OAS
- DS2 (1o yrs): ana. to dairy, eggs, peanuts; asthma