Vegans !

[Dairyfreedaisy]

sorry for clickbaity title, just a bit desperate for advice here from vegans or dairy free people

I’ve been unwell for a while and we have discovered it is due to lactose and dairy. I’ve removed it from my diet altogether, but I’m struggling with substitutes and so far I haven’t liked all the diary free things I’ve tried in place of chocolate, biscuits, ice cream and just general dairy based snacks and treats. I miss being able to eat chocolate without being unwell and I’ve got some dairy free chocolate to try but i didn’t like the taste or texture

does anyone have any go-to yummy vegan/dairy free treats or favourite brands/shops?

ive been contemplating going vegan for the last decade and never quite doing it so this has been my motivation to do it once and for all

also does anyone have any good places for recipes recommendations for dairy free baking and cooking or cookbook or website recommendations? I’d like to start meal making from scratch but a lot of things use cheese or cream so didn’t know where to start

thanks xx

There are recipes for very dark chocolate tortes made with almond that are delicious.

Can you have egg? A meringue pie if you get the texture right I find has a creamy texture that hits the spot.

Tbh though almost all substitutes are horrible, particularly if you have any expectation of them tasting remotely like the real thing. Vegan cheese especially.

Phenomenal recipes on this site
www.badmanners.com/recipes

@InChocolateWeTrust No, they aren't. Spoken like someone who doesn't get it.

If it’s lactose rather than full dairy you can buy enzyme tablets from Holland and Barrett which aid digestion.
www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/holland-barrett-super-lactase-enzyme-softgel-capsules-125mg-60018952?gbraid=0AAAAAD96OoLwF5Xeb0n-7tSsYlMycLmAH&skuid=046920&utm_campaign=shopping&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&&gbraid=0AAAAAD96OoLwF5Xeb0n-7tSsYlMycLmAH&gclid=CjwKCAjw7vuUBhBUEiwAEdu2pC-a1CR0IsfuiWVsMBsyPmayFGXZXpVkeaNqxuRtoCvJFysiuW-jIxoC3BYQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Swedish glacé vanilla ice cream is nice. So is Booja Booja, there are loads to choose from.

Alpro cream for cooking

Alpro chocolate soya based dessert (in little pots like yoghurt)

M and S vegan chocolate cookies are delicious.

Hotel chocolate do a couple of lovely vegan praline chocolates and their nutmilk choc is great.

Cheese...mozarisella. its rice based rather than coconut like the others. Much more authentic. They do basil slice one which is lovely for biscuits and wine or a plain mozzarella one which is great for lasagne and cooking.

Butter....Flora solid block or pure. Only on very hot toast though. You get used to it after a couple of months.

Milk, I used almond as couldn't stomach the oat milk which I found too sweet. Basically had granola and canned all cereal which only tasted good with real milk.

It gets way easier. As a side note some white wine contains dairy due to hiw they process it.

Good luck

So many biscuits just happen to be vegan.

Hobnobs, Oreos, many bourbons, fig rolls

Some Tony’s chocolate is vegan too.

Ah, I see that most of my ideas have come up already!
Flora plant b*tter is amazing! I can have hot toast and butter again… (it’s not the same with marg!)
Swedish glacé ice cream
Barista Oat milk
Smoked applewood “cheese”, Violife block or grated (it even has a mature version)
I had a very realistic Camembert called “Nutrisse” or something like that, and I’ve completely forgotten the name, but a vegan parmigiano reggiano type cheese worked well in my pesto and risottos.

I just don’t eat chocolate any more and don’t miss it.

Almost forgot, Alpro soya cream for cooking and making ganache and Ben and Jerry's fudge ice cream!

Pure chocolate is technically dairy-free - the dairy-free chocolates are flavoured fats so avoid those. Try HU chocolate.

You have to buy the good stuff OP!

Own brand DF stuff in the main is a bit crap, with the exception imo of Sainsburys Plant Pioneers - most of that stuff is excellent.

For chocolate I like Rhythm 108 although the vegan Cadbury’s isn’t bad tbh. Vegan Boursin is excellent.

Tbh though almost all substitutes are horrible, particularly if you have any expectation of them tasting remotely like the real thing. Vegan cheese especially

Ah, but that’s the trick @Innocenta , don’t expect it to! You’ve got to learn to love these things for themselves. I actually really really love vegan cheese now!

Haha, I'm quite lucky in that I never liked dairy so never felt I was losing anything by going vegan! But the idea that vegan food isn't 'real' is a bit... Certainly tastes real...

Loads of things have no milk these days.
did you know extra mature cheddar, Parmesan, Gouda, emmenthal, butter oil (in after eights) and ghee (clarified butter) are all lactose free.
the cheese has to be authentically matured and because it’s been left for so long the lactose disappears.

The Co op do a box with 4 mini ice cream tubs in that are nice. Vegan magnums are lush, especially the almond ones.
Lots of sweets are vegan.

Frys chocolate is vegan. Nesquik is also I'm pretty sure, although it's definitely dairy free. Oat milk is fab, Aldis own is the best and cheapest. Bourbon biscuits, ginger biscuits, oreos, a lot of chocolate cake mixes are dairy free and you can add egg replacer if you don't want egg. Flora margarine is the best. Not the buttery one as they recently added buttermilk.

Just going to add that some people who are dairy intolerant are also sensitive to soya. Two of my dc cannot have either.

Me too 🤣🤣

Melted dark chocolate bltized with silken tofu makes a yummy dessert with some raspberries too

@Innocenta as I understand the post OP has dairy issues and doesn't want to go vegan therefore can eat egg!!

@Innocenta as I understand the post OP has dairy issues and doesn't want to go vegan therefore can eat egg!!

I have an intolerance to dairy but tbh I'm still learning to navigate it. It's important to figure out whether you problem is lactose or dairy. I won't recommend brands because I'm not in the UK so it would be pointless! I can give you some general advice...
First of all, if your problem's lactose: you're a lucky one and I'm deeply jealous. There's plenty of stuff at the supermarket but be careful at first because there are things you wouldn't normally expect to have milk in but they have "lactose (powder)" or "milk proteins" or "whey" added to make it taste better. e.g. some sausages and some ready-made meals.
If your problem is dairy you can still have: sorbet, vegan everything (do check the ingredients because some people don't really don't know what they're talking about if you go to a restaurant/café) and jello (you can make snacks with orange juice and powder gelatin in ice cube trays). I've found I like a lot of the baby snacks (they don't have a lot of ingredients and some are quite tasty tbh). There's really good vegan cheese (you won't be able to tell the difference) but it's hit or miss, so don't be put off. Get a blender and you can add powder jello to regular juice and have a tasty dessert.
Tesco had really good stuff made of soy, I loved their soy yoghurts. There's also plenty of tasty soy desserts too.
The BBC and the New York Times have interesting recipes. Some of the NYT regular ones will tell you how to make the dairy-free version
cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021238-vegan-frozen-coconut-lime-bars?action=click&module=Global%20Search%20Recipe%20Card&pgType=search&rank=2
cooking.nytimes.com/search?q=dairy%20free (over 2000 recipes)
www.asaucykitchen.com/coconut-lime-chicken/
I suggest you stock up on herbs and spices too!

We cater for vegans at least once a week. Asda are great for little snacky bits. The pork pies and sausage rolls are apparently lovely. Also, Topic and Bounty have just released a vegan ish version. I say ish because it warns that it may contain milk, but that’s just because it’s made in the same factory so it’s fine unless you’re deathly allergic. It comes in a flat packet. I’ve tried the Topic and it’s actually not bad.

Skittles and lots of the Swizzle sweets are accidentally vegan. Also, Sainsburys are really good for crisps made from vegetables, chick peas etc. There’s even a vegan cheese and onion flavour now. Ready salted & bbq Pringles are both vegan. Candy Kittens are expensive but very nice.

Lilt is not vegan.

Lidls have a nice range of tubs of vegan ice cream at the moment - just picked up some chocolate brownie. Our local bakery was able to tell me that their German Biscuits and Apple Turnovers are vegan as they’re made with margarine not butter.