Dairy free help!

[mistermagpie]

I need to go dairy free for a while (not weight loss or ethics related, in case that affects the recommendations!) and have no idea where to start.

I don't drink milk on its own but I love milky coffee, drink a lot of tea and eat cereal, have butter on sandwiches etc. I have yoghurt most days but could live without cheese.

Can anyone recommend some good dairy alternatives? I've tried oat milk in tea before and it was awful!

I haven't read all the replies so apologies for repetition!

I am cow's milk protein free and would recommend the following:

MOMA barista for tea- the only alternative milk that i think isn't gross in tea!
Oatly or sainsburys own oat milk for coffee, cereal etc
Elmlea plant-based cream
Oatly creme fraiche for cooking- genuinely can't tell the difference
Booja booja chocolate truffles for a treat
Nomo chocolate- prefer it to anything else now!
Flora plant butter - seen lots of recs for that on here and it's delicious on toast
Naturli butter for baking- yum but pricey
Alpro fruit yoghurt, also do good custard

Good luck!

P.S. what a great thread, getting so many tips! Vegan babybels?! Yes please!

The vegan almond and salted caramel magnums are worth a shout out too

I had to go dairy free when breastfeeding few years ago and never went back in terms of milk as was never really a fan of dairy milk.

I have alpro unsweetened soy on my cereal and in tea and then Oatly barista in coffee.

I tended to use vitalite in sandwiches and for baking.

Never really liked the soy yogurts, but even now I don’t have to be dairy free really love the coconut collab plain yogurt with some granola and fruit, they do fruit flavours as well but not tried.

Oatly whole (fresh) was the one milk alternative I could stand. I didn't mind the taste of soy but it made me feel unwell.

Stork baking block is my go to dairy free thing. A bit of salt and it tastes like butter. It cooks really well.

I avoided cheese substitutes.

I actually don't know! Basically I've had chronic sinus and throat issues for the past three years, I've had all the investigations but no real answers other than that I seem to produce more 'snot' than I should. I'm not allergic to anything (well, dogs but I don't have a dog) but the GP suggested cutting out dairy to see if it helps.

I figured if I replace butter, milk and yoghurt then that would do as a test?

These suggestions are all brilliant, thank you so much! I had no idea there were so many options. I bought some coconut milk in Aldi earlier and had that in my coffee - definitely passable. But I will be getting a few of the suggested ones for tea because I that's the main thing I can't live without!

Vegan sorbets from Aldi are delish.
food heaven whipped squirty cream from Sainsbury - my DH almost scoffed the lot, didn’t know it was vegan. It was also cheaper than real cream. All the choc desserts in sainsbury are very good.
vegan ice cream from Lidl also amazing.

It probably won't work as a test unless you eradicate all dairy for at least a few weeks to get it all out of your system. Then if you find symptoms disappear, you could test if it's just lactose by adding in some lactose-free products and seeing if your symptoms are still gone (meaning lactose is the issue) or come back (meaning it's dairy as a whole, or the protein at least). Good luck!

For what it's worth, going vegan accidentally cured my chronic sinus and congestion issues so I do think there's something in what the doctor is suggesting.

I too am mostly dairy free due to breathing / sinus issues. I can have a coffee made with cows milk a day; but any more dairy than that and I'm having problems again.

Aldi do decent brownies. Lidl do a banana and chocolate chip ice cream made with almond milk.

Oatly custard and yoghurts are nice. Tesco free from yoghurt isn't too bad.

Sweedish Glace ice cream (only had vanilla) is quite nice.

Nescafe do vegan latte sachets; they're ok. (coconut, oat and almond) If you have a Tassimo machine, you can currently get coconut latte pods.

Alpro or any own brand hazelnut milk in coffee is delish! (but a bit sugary). Most of the soya yogurts are great (e,g Alpro or own brand) - you mostly can't tell the difference.

The Alpro greek plain yogurt is really good. Any of the vegan mayos usually great and you can make your own very easily with soya milk / oil / apple cider vinegar in seconds.

I'm not a fan of the coconut substitutes for any dairy things - always leaves a coconutty aftertaste in case that's not your thing.

Oatly Creme Fraiche sub is great! And their single cream alternative too

Pure spreads are good enough but there are a load of butter alternatives these days that are decent.

If you want to add creaminess to soups etc and have a high speed blender e.g. nutribullet - soak cashew nuts for 5 mins in hot water then add to blend well - really tastes great.

silken tofu blended can be an excellent sub in cheesecakes etc.

for cheeses the best i have come across so far are the applewood smoked vegan, and the mexicana vegan (not sure of brand - you can get it in asda).

Soft cream cheeses are usually universally good especially garlic and herby ones although I am less keen on the Violife one - something synthetic tasting about it.

Ben and Jerry's make delicious vegan ice creams.
Nomo caramel chocolate bars.
Gu vegan vanilla and chocolate cheesecakes
Galaxy vegan hot chocolate
Vegan Horlicks

Buttermilk (strange name for vegan products but stay with me) do a nougat bar (like a Mars bar) and a cinder toffee one (like a crunchie), Choccie Dodgers are vegan, M&S do nice vegan brownies and 'cheesecake' slices, Sainsbury's do vegan tiramisu and cakes (their own chocolate/lemon ones and Oggs), Asda do vegan cupcakes ... just need to check the ingredients before you buy because recipes sometimes change

Also Options now do a vegan instant hot chocolate

Alpro yoghurts are not bad
Applewood smoked vegan cheese is good.
Aldi do a good blueberry yoghurt
The free from selection in Asda is good
Oatly do a cream, a crème fresh, custard as well as a couple of different milk subs & icecream.
You can get vegan squirty cream
Swedish glacé ice cream is good

Depending on how dairy free you need to be watch out for items you think should be fine. Most types of crisps have lactose powder on them or are a may contain!

Naturli butter is the best for baking.
flora plant life is really good or Vitalite or Pure.

Violife soft cheese is nice and applewood smoked vegan cheese. My DS likes Violife cheese.

Milk is hit and miss we buy the oat no sugars from Alpro but that’s because there is a lot of sugar in them all.

Loads of food has milk or milk powder in it, some crisps for example that you wouldn’t expect. Or bread. So you need to check everything if you’re going to do it properly.

Also don't assume vegan means dairy free. It doesn't always and so much vegan food is a may contain.

I'm dairy free and have been for approx 7 plus years. Still have snot problems lol. I think nasal drip is official term. feel your pain. lots of great suggestions here btw

Alpro no sugar oat milk for me in coffee, I actually prefer it to cow's milk now, I find cow's milk too sweet.

Naturli is good, it’s palm oil free. I buy the cheapest unsweetened soya milks, alpro has apple juice in it.