WARNING AND DISCLAIMER: Always read the labels!! Currently these items are not made with dairy but the manufacturers can change their ingredients at ANY TIME - so again, ALWAYS read labels. Also, these items are not made with dairy but many are made on shared equipment. So if you are extremely sensitive to dairy, these items may not work for you.
Okay, now that that's out of the way, let's get started! This is going to be a pretty long post, there are lots of great products out there!
Milk Substitutes
I love almond milk and hemp milk for cooking and baking, the flavor is smooth and they are fatty enough to use in many recipes. Namely I like Tempt Hemp Milk, Almond Breeze Original Almond Milk or Silk Almond Milk. And Silk Dark Chocolate Almond Milk is amazing - especially with a shot of Kahlua - just saying.
Depending on the recipe and desired flavor, I also enjoy using coconut milk. I will use canned coconut milk for baking (I like Imperial Dragon) or beverage grade coconut milk (like So Delicious Coconut Milk) for drink recipes or those not needing as much fat.
If you're allergic to nuts your other main stream options are soy or rice milk. Although you may be able to tolerate hemp milk as hemp is not a nut, it is a seed. First soy. I try to keep my soy intake to a minimum because too much of it makes me a basket case - seriously I walk around with PMS symptoms on steroids, it's bad. But of the soy beverages I have had I've found 8th Continent to be my favorite.
As for rice milk, this is another beverage I don't use too often. Although it is my favorite for dipping Oreos because it's thin enough for the Oreos to absorb the liquid. I don't cook or bake much with rice milk because it just doesn't have enough fat. If rice milk is all you can cook with I suggest substituting 1/4 of the rice milk with oil to give it a little more oomph. My favorite is Rice Dream.
Butter, Yogurt, Cream and Cheeses
I have always been an advocate of Earth Balance - it tastes delicious and is extremely versatile. They also have a spread that is completely soy free, love love love that! However, it can be very difficult to find in my area. I usually have to go to specialty shops. Because of that, I have recently discovered Best Life Spreads at my local Walmart. While they aren't soy free they are versatile, tasty, easy to find and less expensive than real butter!
As for yogurt you just can't beat Amande Almond Milk yogurt and So Delicous Coconut Milk yogurt is a close second - their Raspberry is "so delicious". I have had soy yogurt in the past and for whatever reason, even though soy milk doesn't bother me, I just can't stomach soy yogurt.
If you have a recipe that calls for cream I would recommend MimicCreme . It's really rich and yummy. It's also great for chowders or cream potato soup. Yum! And if you need sour cream I just love Sour Supreme. Yes, it's all soy, so I have to be careful how much I eat, but it is so good!
Lastly, cheeses. I hate to tell you that I have not found ONE dairy free cheese I enjoy. They all taste so...uck. *shiver* There's just nothing like the real thing when it comes to cheese. But if you're lokking for cream cheese Tofutti's Better Than Cream Cheese is a good substitute! Again, it's soy, but it tastes good! Great for pumpkin rolls.
Chocolate
It can be hard to find dairy free chocolate, but I've been fortunate enough to find a few good options. In the town I used to live there is a FABULOUS chocolate shop, I've mentioned it before, called Zoe's Chocolate. They now ship their handmade delicacies, many of their dark chocolate items are dairy free. They are a little pricey but make an amazing gift.
A good choice for baking is Ghiradelli Semi Sweet chips. Yum! I like to just snack on these too. Last time I checked, the generic Food Lion semi sweet chips were also dairy free and tasted good.
As for chocolate candies I recently discovered Cella's Dark Chocolate Covered Cherries are dairy free! This was life changing for me and I ate a whole box in a weekend because I had gone without chocolate covered cherries for FOUR years! Seriously, you have no idea how happy that discovery made me. Another love of mine are the Dark Peanut Chews. Sweet, salty, caramel-y, so so so good! I could eat my weight in those things too.
Lastly, Ghiradelli Double Chocolate cocoa mix is dairy free. It's strong, so young children may not care for it as much as adults, but if you throw a little Hershey's syrup in there you could fix them a quick cocoa.
Random Products
I have been pleasantly surprised that many of my favorite crackers, Club, Ritz and Wheat Thins are dairy free. (Some generic brands are not so again, read the labels!)
Stove Top Stuffing is good for a quick fix when going to a party where there may not be much safe to eat. I generally stay away from the stuff because of the sodium, but it is wonderful to have on hand in a pinch!
Nature's Path granola bars in Choconut (my favorite) and Peanut Choco are dairy free and very good. I like to keep a box of these in the car for those "just in case" moments.
A Little Advice
With the exception of crackers, I have found many name brand products containing dairy are often dairy free in the generic brands. You can't afford to be a brand snob when you have allergies, check every ingredient list on every brand - you might be pleasantly surprised to find you can eat more than you originally thought!
Don't forget to stop by my friends' blogs to read about more Christmas related topics!
A Slob Comes Clean - Getting Your Home Company Ready
Feels Like Home - Christmas Traditions
Somewhat Crunchy - Christmas with Dairy Allergies
Spell Outloud - Children's Books
Mama's Learning Corner - Children's Crafts
Many Little Blessings - Edible Gifts
Sunflower Schoolhouse - Decorations
An Oregon Cottage - Christmas Cookies
Catholic Icing - Wishing Jesus Happy Birthday
The Traveling Praters - Traveling
The Homeschool Classroom - Gifts Kids Can Make
Mama's Laundry Talk - Laundry Gifts
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