Dairy free at Xmas - what do I avoid?

[ashaj92]

Already following the dairy free Christmas food list thread - absolutely fab!
Just wondering if there’s anything obvious I should be definitely be avoiding over Christmas? I’m ebf my 6 week old DS who seems to have cmpa and silent reflux (both unofficially diagnosed but he has improved dramatically since I dropped the dairy! So continuing with it with medical approval and observation).
Obviously chocolate and cheese are a no-go is there anything I should definitely avoid like over Christmas dinner??

Yorkshire puddings
Check vegetables don't have butter on

Most Xmas puddings have cream in. Mince pies usually have dairy in the pastry.

Keep an eye on the gravy too, if it’s instant or used certain stock cubes it might have lactose or other milk proteins in.

Oh and the turkey might be butter basted.

Stuffing if from M&S, bread sauce, some gravy - you will need to read the packaging as it's hidden everywhere!

Also posh pastry in mince pies.

If your cooking yourself from fresh it's easier than using the pre-prepped stuff. Use dairy free butter for things (stork block marg is as good as any other butter for cooking). That way you can still have Yorkshire puds/butter on veg etc. Most pastry doesn't have butter in, and there are plenty of mince pies out their milk free. Check stuffing, some people use a knob of butter in the stuffing, although the mix itself doesn't normally contain it.white sauce will obviously contain milk unless your making it yourself.
Christmas puds are a no go, but dairy free ones do exist. Tesco have a good range in their Christmas isle of dairy free. You can get dairy free cheese, bigger supermarkets will stock more than standard vegan cheddar.

Thanks so much for all of your replies this is really helpful!
ImAMarshmallow do you know of any decent dairy free cheese that doesn’t taste like regenerated cardboard? I tried a ‘mature cheddar’ from Tesco and it was vile!! 😷😷

The violife range is quite good and readily available at Tesco and Sainsbury’s now. We use their standard cheddar alternative but I’ve bought their Parmesan and it’s pretty good. Keep an eye on your calcium intake though because there’s no calcium in their cheeses even though they are the nicest.

I’d recommend taking a good Vitamin D and Calcium supplement too.

Ham and sausage is always one to check, unless it’s Naice ham of course

Oh and bread. Bread is a nightmare for anyone avoiding dairy.

@crumbsinthecutlerydraw I do like the violife range, they’ve brought out a ‘vegan cheeseboard’ for Xmas this year in Sainsbury’s but haven’t managed to get my hands on one yet! Went to our local one last night and they’d completely sold out 😩

@EveryoneTalkAboutPopMusic I’m taking an every day multi vitamin that contains calcium and a vitamin D supplement already, do I need to take a calcium supplement too?
We’re currently using Kingsmill 50/50 bread as that seems to be okay ingredient-wise and we haven’t had any noticeable reaction from it so far.