Whipped Delight

When you have a kid with a dairy allergy, whipped cream is a no-no. Add a tree nut allergy and whipped coconut cream is also off limits. In addition to that, all non-dairy whipped toppings actually have milk in them. As such, the first five or so years of Matthew’s life were completely free of any creamy whipped delights. He didn’t know any different, but I really missed that creamy genre of foods.

When Matthew was six or seven, a food challenge with positive results brought whipped coconut cream onto the menu and that created a lot of possibilities. While I’ve taken advantage of canned coconut cream whole heartedly since then and always keep a couple of cans in the back of the fridge, the one thing they don’t really have is convenience. As vegan eating has gained popularity over the past few years, I’ve seen more and more dairy free whipped cream and whipped topping options hit the market, but they are never safe for Matthew. They either have cross contact with milk, peanuts or tree nuts or they contain pea protein. 

In past years, many products used soy protein as a stabilizer and that was not a problem for Matthew. But as more things have become increasingly “allergen free,” we are running into the use of pea protein instead of soy more and more often. And Matthew is allergic to peas which means we’ve actually lost some foods that he used to enjoy. His favorite brand of dairy free ice cream changed their recipes and now their entire product line is off the menu. That was a rough day for us, very emotional and disappointing. But realistically, those kinds of disappointments are pretty common for him. It’s just a part of his life as a highly allergic individual. 

But once in a while, things go our way. Today was one of those days. I have some fun food plans for the next week because it’s Christmas and intend to employ some heavy use of whipped cream in a can for the ease of preparation. I had planned to whip some coconut cream for Matthew, but I’m always on the lookout for new options and while I was at Sprouts this morning, I happened to spy a can of oatmilk based dairy free whipped cream. Oatmilk is fairly new on the market, and I’ve been seeing it used in more and more products because of the creamy quality if brings to foods. I’ve used oats in dairy free ice cream and can attest to the fact that they do indeed make things super creamy. So I was intrigued. I read the can, not expecting much due to past experience. And then the excitement came. Oatmilk. Coconut milk. No peas. No cross-contact warnings. I read the can three times to make sure it was safe and then I sent a picture to Matthew and put the can in my cart. And then Matthew was excited as well.

I intend to make use of the whipped cream for breakfast tomorrow, but that was too long for Matthew to wait. He had to try it right away. We have some fresh berries in the fridge, also intended for breakfast in the morning, but I figured that giving him a vehicle for his taste test of the whipped cream was a good idea. And guess what? The whipped cream is good. I tried it and liked it. There is a slight aftertaste of oats, but other than that, it tastes like whipped cream. But more importantly, Matthew liked it. His eyes lit up. In fact, his whole face lit up. And then he needed a few more berries. And then he experienced the nearly unavoidable overspray associated with whipped cream in a can. And it did nothing to taint the experience. In fact, I think it enhanced it.

Days when we can add new foods to Matthew’s diet are good days. Today was a good day.