Your dairy free tips, please

[lifeofsiam]

I've been advised to go dairy-free and would love to hear your top tips

Especially what to have in tea and coffee (cappuccino) instead of milk.

Thanks!

Almond milk or cashew cream are both delicious. Making them yourself is a faff, but at least they're then free of additives etc. Alpro have some alternative milks, but I can't tolerate all the crap they add in.

Coconut milk is good in sauces (not just curries).

You stop missing cheese after a while. ..

Check labels on everything, especially bread, as milk or milk powder is in a lot of stuff.

Ghee, cocount oil or grapeseed oil for frying/cooking instead of butter.

Dark choc and nut butters as treats.

There are lots of blogs with great dairy-free recipes. Google clean eating. I like Against All Grain and Prüv blogs, for example.

Have a look at the allergies board as there are some good threads there.

Milch ghee is clarified butter so technically dairy

Thanks, that's all great advice.

Tesco do some great dairy-free ice creams, in the style of magnums and cornettos.
You can get pizzas made at the counter in the supermarket. Ask for no cheese, just add your own lactofree cheese when you get home.

Oat milk is fab in coffee. Coconut yogurt v good for breakfast with mashed strawbs - think Eton Mess. Some excellent recipes online for baking with avocado as a substitute when making ganache, 'buttercream' etc. You'll have to spend more time and effort prepping food but will get some fab tasting stuff.

Oh yes, the Jamie Oliver website has a great dairy-free section.

Oh yes, the Jamie Oliver website has a great dairy-free section.

Oh yes, the Jamie Oliver website has a great dairy-free section.

Argh sorry! Stupid iPad

Agree with checking labels, even if you've bought it before and it was df, they sometimes change recipes and don't let you know.

I couldn't get to grips with alternative milks in tea and coffee so I swapped to herbal teas for a while and now just drink both black.

I use vitalite for baking and toast and almond milk on cereal.

Going df can be daunting but for me it has been brilliant once I got my head around it.

Lidl do a mean lemon sorbet it you fancy something sweet

I use pure sunflower spread in cooking/ baking instead of butter which works well. Be careful of using lacto free - this isn't dairy free just lactose free (I have to avoid dairy so cant use lacto free).

I use almond milk in things like pancakes or Yorkshire puddings, coconut milk is good in cooking and I also like hazelnut milk.

It is a case of checking all labels but you get used to it.

Thanks again everyone.

Sorry, yes, it is clarified butter. I'm dairy-intolerant but can eat ghee in small quantities (like scrambling eggs etc), so added it without thinking.

The one I buy is lactose-free though, and I have heard anecdotally that a lot of people can tolerate it even if they're dairy-free. Not sure why, maybe the processing of it?

Lactose free isn't any good if you're df because you have CMPA though and the poster hasn't stated her reasons for going df

Soya milk will look like it's curdling in your coffee but it's still ok to drink, how ever the stronger the roast and if you go for the sweetened soya then it won't curdle.
I second that Tesco have a great range of dairy free products, DD2 (the intolerant one in our house) doesn't like the dairy free fruit yoghurts so I tend to get the plain kind and add stuff for her.
Own brand Tesco stuff is just as good if not better than alpro.

Ocado also have good dairy free stuff. Pudology yoghurts are the only ones DS will eat (yes, he has expensive tastes!).

When baking I do a straight substitute of Vitalite or Free From for butter; the Trex website has a conversion tool that works perfectly for the amount you need, as you don't need as much as butter due to the water content.

Coconut oil is also brilliant. I use KTC when I don't want the coconut flavour, and Biona or Lucy Bee when I do.

DS likes Violife cheese, but none of the other cheese subs we have tried.

Check the lables of everything, even if it seems absurd - we had an allergy incident the other week because we bought a different brand of chicken stock cube, which had dairy in it. Deoendibg on your reason for dairy free though, you may or may not need to be that strict.

I can report back that Oatly barista milk makes a great cappuccino but look at the additives. I'm trying to work out which of those makes it foam, and if I can make something similar at home.

Also, I am giving up dairy on the advice of a nutritionist- I have adult acne and apparently dairy causes inflammation. So, it's not life-or-death if I have dairy, but I want to be free of horrible skin if I can.

I've got CMPA and one of the symptoms for me was terrible acne. Hope cutting out dairy works for you, like it did for me.

The brown Oatly has no additives but probably doesn't foam - I've never tried to foam it.

Sainsburys do a list each month of foods you can eat if you are df, here.

I had to give dairy up when BF DD as she has a severe allergy. My skin was amazing so I hope it works for you! It's actually not too bad when you get to grips with it!

Tips

Oatly does a cream too nice for when you want a treat. You can make crumble with pure for example.

I like m&s fresh oat milk the best

Full fat Mayo is dairy free as is hummus which is nice for sarnies or salads

Lindt 85% dark chocolate for a snack

As you don't have an allergy as such you should be ok but dairy is in so many things from medicine to bread! So just check labels