I'm a vegetarian with chronic gastritis... need to go dairy free.. help!

[Sonolanona]

As above. Came out of the blue 3 months ago and confirmed with emergency endoscopy (as I lost weight very fast) PPis not worked... 7 months wait (!) for Gastro.
I've cut out all alcohol (sob) and my GP has advised cutting out all dairy too. My diet is usually pretty good, simple food, home grown veggies from my allotment etc...but I do love cheese, and can only tolerate very small meals at the moment so can't eat lots of pulses.

I LOVE cheese...and real butter :( What are the tastiest alternatives? I need to keep my calories up as I'm now heading for underweight, which I do not want..I look haggard enough as it is.
No meat, no dairy, nothing acidic... (and I hate bananas)... what CAN I eat?

Can you tolerate plain yoghurt? Lots of people who struggle with dairy (as opposed to being actually allergic) can eat that - my oldest DD being one of them. You can use it for breakfasts, to make creamy sauces (mmmmm korma), for potato salad, to make yummy dips (mixed with tahini, or with avocado and coriander mashed in).

Smoothies? I bloody love one made with frozen cherries, a banana (I hate bananas but can manage one in this), maple syrup, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, a dollop of almond butter, and some non-dairy milk. Mmmmmmmmm...

Silken tofu is your friend! You can blitz it with rehydrated mixed mushrooms and the liquid and it makes a amazing creamy sauce and some garlic (you honestly don't know the dairy is missing).

Asda also do a vegan dried cheese sauce mix it's pretty awesome can be added to cooked blitzed butternut squash to make a cheese sauce (add some oatmilk to thin down). Add it to pasta/cauliflower etc.

You can make your own pesto using vegan cheese and cashew nuts and good glug of olive oil.
The tescos free from "cheese" spread/soft cheese is also pretty good.

Easy calories is fats so add coconut oil to hot rice etc. Coconut milk based drinks/smoothies. Barrista oatmilk is also really good
Peanut butter also good as are avocados.

Nutritional yeast gives a good cheesy taste - I use it as a Parmesan alternative to sprinkle over things but really you can add it to anything including soups etc

My son is dairy free. The best cheese alternative I have found is an online shop called kinda co. They have loads of different types although you have to get a few to get delivery and it's not cheap.
Try adding nutritional yeast to food like homemade pesto instead of cheese.
I'd second oat milk barista, it's very creamy.
Oh, he has just discovered that they make vegan Kit Kats!

Should also say that we have found Minor Figures oat milk to be by far the closest to cow’s milk - DD is a fanatic and spent months taste testing, trying to find the best alternative to use in her iced lattes! All of the best independent coffee shops use it

Oh op, I feel for you. Out of nowhere, I seem to have suddenly 2 months ago got the most awful stomach/digestion. My stomach is so noisy too. I have an appt tomorrow with the Dr, I’m so miserable. I’ve spent the last 6 weeks driving myself round the bend thinking of what could’ve caused it. I’ve coffee/alcohol/milk out too.

I can’t afford to lose weight so I have been trying to eat peanuts & cashews between my small meals.

Can’t be much help sorry but just wanted to let you know you’re not alone.

Coconut milk, great for coffee, you can boil it
Tofu instead cheese, meat, greens for your calcium
Fish

Another vote for kinda Co cheese here!

And yes to the good fats - olive oil, avocado, nuts and seeds

I think you need to just eat whatever your body needs at the moment. Chronically inflamed stomachs don't absorb nutrients or vitamins very well, so you need to eat foods containing iron, vit D, calcium especially and avoid processed and spicy foods.

Dairy alternatives are highly processed as are meat substitutes, excluding Tofu.

Fish and veggies are the best things you can eat at the moment.

Naturli is the best spread they also make a block for cooking with it's not cheap but do much better tasting
Most vegan cheese is disappointing, but the worse is cathedral city it tastes like sick and smells like weeks old gym kit
The longer you leave tasting cheese the better, because you know the difference, Lidl do a greek style which is ok violife squares and threads are ok the chedderton is gipping Lidl also do nice mayo as does Sainsbury's ( Morrisons vegan mayo is gipping)
Sainsbury's or Waitrose tofu is good (firm)
You can do so much with tofu, silken tofu is basically magic
I love my tofu press ( £6ish eBay)

Apparently lurpak now have a dairy free spread. I've not spotted it in shops yet. Flora do a night block butter and spreadable butter that's just like real butter.

Plenty of vegan/dairy free options in most supermarkets now.

Vegan lurpack tastes 'slippy' it's quite odd was what a lady told me today in Waitrose!

can you eat eggs? they are very good for getting calories and protein and can boost up lots of recipes. And a fried egg on top of almost any meal can improve it.

for example, you can make a great banana cake with nuts and eggs in it (no butter, just a bit of oil).

Eggs eggs eggs! Is goats milk/cheese or sheep’s cheese a possibility? I know some people who can’t drink cows but are fine with goat products. I hope you get some good ideas from here

Is it dairy or lactose you need to cut? I cut right down on dairy due to acid reflux, but am okay with lactose free milk/cheese, and can eat low lactose cheese too - goats cheese and feta are both fine, and Parmesan has very low lactose. I found vegan cheese and chocolate both intolerable but maybe I was eating the wrong ones.

I know you said you can eat many pulses but beans , chickpeas and the like are far nicer in jars than tins (+ less trumpy!) rinse well. They are also cheaper in the "world food" section
Oh and yep banana's are rank! Often used in vegan baking to replace eggs, but there's many other options eg flax "egg" or applesauce

I found a small glass of celery juice ultimately very effective, over time.

Heal your Gastritis with Celery & Cabbage Juice, These Work! - The Calm Gut

Why has your GP advised cutting out dairy for gastritis? What's the reasoning? The science? Are they just attempting to look proactive whilst the long 7 month wait for the treatment ensues?
Of all the things that could irritate an inflamed stomach, a cup of creamy yoghurt and a dash of butter would be at the bottom of the list.

I had (bacterial) gastritis as a teen and there was no specific dietary advice beyond "no crisps, no spice, no lemonades, no large meals" - time & medicines took care of the rest.

I have gastritis and cheese is not a trigger. Coffee and tea are though so avoid. What medication have you been given? Do you know what caused this? (Mine started out because of overuse of ibuprofen when I had a tooth abscess) I wasn't given proper dietary advice and carried on eating /drinking as normal. Then I had another big flare up and gave up alcohol, tea, coffee, acidic foods. Dairy doesn't really cause me issues but vinegar would make me feel incredibly unwell for days. The Acid Watchers diet is a helpful book even though the cover says it's for reflux.

Oh good to know. Saves me wasting my money. I quite like the flora plant butter anyway and the spreadable one tastes like how I remember lurpak to be.

If you are using vegan replacement cheese substitutes, be wary that the ones I have seen don't contain anything like the protein of dairy cheese so although you may get the taste, you aren't getting the same nutrients .

Thank you for all the suggestions and advice so far!
GP has suggested cutting out dairy mostly as a ' can't think what else might help' measure I suspect. I only eat hard cheese anyway as I'm moderately lactose intolerant ..haven't had milk in 30 years, but I do love cheese...and onions, garlic, tomatoes... all things I now apparently need to stop eating.
@catsinaflat I'll take a look at that book, thank you. At this point I am ready to try anything as I am so miserable with the constant discomfort.
I only have one pathetically weak black coffee a day, but really can't give that up yet!!

Most vegan cheese is disappointing if you're a recent cheese eater and will compare it. Applewood smoky cheese best for me. Try nutritional yeast in sauces of sprinkled as parmesan. Butter - Flora has a decent vegan spread (the yellow butter one) and block. Also Tempeh is so delicious fried with soy sauce for a 'blt' sandwich. Lots of ways to keep your protein and calories up.

Flora buttery. One child dairy intolerant but we've all converted its so nice.

Cheese is more difficult - vegan applewood is nice and available in blocks. Melts well.

Oatly whole - available as chilled and ambient. Cannot tell difference in taste. One usually cheaper than the other.

Have you seen a dietician yet?

I have been in your shoes. I was a cheese-loving vegetarian who developed dairy-triggered IBS. I ended up eating meat again. I got drunk one night and asked a friend to take me to Gaucho for steak on the spur of the moment.

There are more vegan alternatives around than when I developed my issue but it is still very restrictive and I was concerned I wasn't getting the right nutrients.