Dairy free food recommendations

[TheVolturi]

I have recently (a month ago) gone dairy free as my ibs was really bad and it has helped, along with other things. I am finding that I have felt better in general without dairy so am going to continue. I will list some of the things that I have discovered that are dairy free and I would be really grateful if others can add to it so that anyone else who wants to try dairy free can see, because it's a minefield, there is milk in literally everything!
Also I find the actual dairy free versions of things can be a bit yuk and expensive and there are often other options, not listed as dairy free, that are anyway.
This is going to read like mostly sweet things, but I find they are the tricky things. Some of these things are not suitable for milk allergy as some products say may contain.

For spreading on toast, most sunflower spreads are dairy free, Flora etc but NOT Flora Buttery.

Lacto free cheese is amazing and I know its not dairy free but it's a rare treat for me.

Most own brand jaffa cakes are dairy free, but mcvities are not.

Ginger biscuits, fruit shortcake, rich tea, hobnobs and Oreo type biscuits are all dairy free.

Aldi dark chocolate digestives are currently dairy free.

As far as I'm aware, all Frys chocolate.

Soreen all types.

Most crisps that are not cheese flavoured are dairy free but you need to check because Walkers Sweet Chilli sensations do have milk in them.

I find oat milk the best, and for hot chocolate, Nesquik has no milk in.

I will add to as I remember, hoping others can too!

Stork in the foil wrapper is great for baking. But not the one in the tub. Lotus biscuits as well.

Lotus biscuits really!! Omg!

Lots of Bourbon biscuits are dairy free

Coconut Collaborative yoghurts. There are some without any added sugar. The vanilla one is lovely, and there was a raw chocolate one although i havent seen it for a ehile. A little goes a long way as it is rather rich.

I don't find that most sunflower spreads are dairy free. We stick to Vitalite / Pure / Aldi's - new - dairy free one for the kids as they need it.

Party ring biscuits and Oreos are both dairy free. I believe jammy dodgers are now dairy free too. As a PP said, most cheap Bourbon biscuits are now dairy free.
BBQ Pringles
For spread, the best one I've tried (and I've tried a LOT) is the Naturli one (get it from Sainsbury's).
Bournville chocolate used to be (with a May Contain milk warning) but they've now said that it will def contain dairy due to the manufacturing process and have added milk to the ingredients list.

if you log onto an online food shop you can filter it so only vegan/dairy free things come. That's how I ended up finding loads of things I otherwise wouldn't have found.

Aunt Bessie’s crumble topping mix
Hobnobs (the standard variety and the choc chip variety)
Morrison’s doughnuts
Jus Rol pain au Chocolat and cinnamon swirls
Ritz biscuits
Jacob’s cream crackers
Morrison’s dairy free salted caramel ice cream

Some really good suggestions here thanks!

Do some roast chicken flavour crisps still have dairy in? Also some gravy granules

I should say that I’ve been dairy free for 4 years, so my recommendations might be just because it’s been so long that dairy free tastes like a distant memory of dairy but…

Nomo chocolate tastes like milk choc to me but it’s dairy free.

The coop dairy free ice cream cornetto things are delicious.

KitKat now do a vegan version, full of sugar but just yummy (yes nestle are bad but please let me have this).

Borders ginger crunch are dairy free and delicious, like a cross between a ginger nut and a golden crunch.

The violife grated mozzarella stuff is fab thinly spread on pizza etc.

I’m with you on oat milk, but feel I should strongly recommend Koko super nine (it’s got a slight purple stripy ness to the packaging) is full of vitamins and minerals and was recommended to me by a nutritionist. It’s coconutty but not horribly so, I tend to have it in porridge.

The sainsburys own Thai sweet chilli crisps are dairy free unlike walkers.

@toomuchlaundry

Do some roast chicken flavour crisps still have dairy in? Also some gravy granules

The walkers regular ones don't but the sensations ones do unfortunately!

@Cheekyandfreaky

I should say that I’ve been dairy free for 4 years, so my recommendations might be just because it’s been so long that dairy free tastes like a distant memory of dairy but…

Nomo chocolate tastes like milk choc to me but it’s dairy free.

The coop dairy free ice cream cornetto things are delicious.

KitKat now do a vegan version, full of sugar but just yummy (yes nestle are bad but please let me have this).

Borders ginger crunch are dairy free and delicious, like a cross between a ginger nut and a golden crunch.

The violife grated mozzarella stuff is fab thinly spread on pizza etc.

I’m with you on oat milk, but feel I should strongly recommend Koko super nine (it’s got a slight purple stripy ness to the packaging) is full of vitamins and minerals and was recommended to me by a nutritionist. It’s coconutty but not horribly so, I tend to have it in porridge.

The sainsburys own Thai sweet chilli crisps are dairy free unlike walkers.

I will try these, especially the borders ginger and sainsbo version of sweet chilli sensations!

The smoked vegan 'cheese' by Applewood is the only nice vegan cheese imo
None of the yogurts are tangy enough which makes me sad because dairy is no good for me either.

I don't eat dairy either because I wanted to lower my cholesterol. Oatly milk and ice cream are really nice, as is Jude's vegan ice cream. I also really like Violife feta style cheese, it's a bit like goats cheese. Applewood smoked cheese is good too as PP said.

Naturli is a really nice spread, I also like vegan pesto, Sacla do a nice one. And today I got some oil from Ikea, it's rapeseed but it's butter flavour, i fried some onions in it and it did taste buttery.

Vitalite (with a light sprinkle of salt if you are missing salted butter). Rich tea biscuits, lots of the dark chocolate bars eg 70% plus. (Those two eaten together are ACE)...

Jammie Dodgers, Party Rings, most Bourbons, most ginger nuts, skittles, jelly tots, fruit pastiles, flying saucers, (yes I have no teeth) skips, hula hoops plain. Paprika Max crisps.

I'll add more tomorrow, these are just the first that sprung to mind. (Great thread, I also feel so much better since cutting out dairy 7 years ago, no IBS and no sinusitis- incredible!)

(That should read I feel so much better AND no IBS or sinusitis.)

You seem to be focusing on a lot of processed food. Maybe you'd feel better if you ate more food thalt was less processed and wouldn't contain dairy, anyhow.

I agree @PickAChew that the recommendations are all processed foods including mine. I’m sure the OP doesn’t just eat processed food all day, however sometimes you want to have a snack or a quick spread for a sandwich or something sweet and you just want to know what you can have.

When I went dairy free, inevitably, 95% of the time I cooked and still cook everything from scratch, but I do have a busy life and sometimes want to have a bit of junk and that’s fine too!

Sorry, you probably just want to point out some helpful advice, but it sounds a bit sanctimonious or perhaps I’m just defensive!

OP, there are vegan croissants and pain au chocolats in sainsburys too.

Yeah, I probably did seem a bit snippy. I was on my way to bed! I'm lactose intolerant and only tolerate small amounts of "safe" dairy and after years of struggling, I have has the biggest impact from cleaning up my diet a bit - not to an obsessive extent - but realising that the answer for me isn't substituting butter with palm fat and, again, for me, I didn't need the sugary stuff. I still snack but it's crisps and nuts that I enjoy.

Thanks @pickachew. You will be glad to know that my processed food intake consists of approximately 2 of the mentioned biscuits a day, usually with a cuppa to keep me going. Or a bag of crisps with lunch if I'm having a sandwich. Since knocking dairy on the head I have found that it forces you to cut out crap.
There would be no point in the thread if it wasn't to discuss processed food, because otherwise it would be what foods can i eat that aren't dairy? Oh yes, everything but dairy! 🙄🤣

@Cheekyandfreaky

I agree *@PickAChew* that the recommendations are all processed foods including mine. I’m sure the OP doesn’t just eat processed food all day, however sometimes you want to have a snack or a quick spread for a sandwich or something sweet and you just want to know what you can have.

When I went dairy free, inevitably, 95% of the time I cooked and still cook everything from scratch, but I do have a busy life and sometimes want to have a bit of junk and that’s fine too!

Sorry, you probably just want to point out some helpful advice, but it sounds a bit sanctimonious or perhaps I’m just defensive!

OP, there are vegan croissants and pain au chocolats in sainsburys too.

Thank you for understanding!

@willowtree81

Vitalite (with a light sprinkle of salt if you are missing salted butter). Rich tea biscuits, lots of the dark chocolate bars eg 70% plus. (Those two eaten together are ACE)...

Jammie Dodgers, Party Rings, most Bourbons, most ginger nuts, skittles, jelly tots, fruit pastiles, flying saucers, (yes I have no teeth) skips, hula hoops plain. Paprika Max crisps.

I'll add more tomorrow, these are just the first that sprung to mind. (Great thread, I also feel so much better since cutting out dairy 7 years ago, no IBS and no sinusitis- incredible!)

It's amazing that cutting out dairy can help so much isn't it? My Dr actually told me that our bodies aren't able to easily digest lactose, its so surprising that milk is in absolutely everything!

I’ve been df for two years and I’m nearly finally out of it (I’m bf a toddler with CMPA). You need to make sure your milk alternative has iodine in it, I know not Oatley and ASDA own milk does.