Dairy-free goodies for Christmas

[Deleted User] · 30 November 2015 at 10:02AM

Hi I was talking to my DGS Ben's girlfriend Katie yesterday and she is a lovely lass, but unfortunately has a great allergy to milk and dairy products .
I was wondering if there are any recipes from you lovely folk on here who are perhaps in the same position that I could use to make some Christmas goodies for her.She loves mince pies and all the normal stuff we would eat but sadly can't eat as her allergy has become stronger over the past year or so. Any thought you wonderful people I'm sure there are others who are in the same boat

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Greyhound9 · 30 November 2015 at 10:18AM

I recently found some dairy and gluten free mince pies in Waitrose. They're not cheap but very tasty. I don't know if they were from the free from section, but in a red box and a pack of 4. Otherwise you could make your own using jus roll pastry I think the shortcrust one in the fridge is dairy free (just check though). I'm vegan by the way. Many mince meats are dairy free too.

Justamum · 30 November 2015 at 10:37AM

As far as I know the Iceland mince pies in the blue box (12 in a box) are vegan. Most bought mincemeats are vegan. You can make pastry using Pure vegan margarine and Trex as a substitute for the lard if you want to make your own pastry, or buy Jusrol as Greyhound says.

I've bought a Duchy Organics Christmas pudding this year as a treat this year which is vegan. Normally I get the Waitrose Cider and Sherry one. It's only DH and I who eat Christmas pudding (for some odd reason my children don't like dried fruit!) so I can't be bothered making one for two of us. There's also a Waitrose Cider and Rum Free From Christmas pudding which appears to be vegan.

[Deleted User] · 30 November 2015 at 10:41AM

Morning JACKIE my youngest DD was dairy food allergic until she was 7 and I found the only way to ensure she stayed well was to read every ingredients label on every pre made product I bought, time consuming and you have to know all the 'dairy words' that manufacturers use to list dairy products.

I don't know if you have a copy but the Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall 'LIGHT AND EASY' cookery book is completely dairy free and wheat free and has some very yummy recipes including coconut macaroons, ultra choc brownies, chocolate and nut spread, cherry chocolates, cashew cream, hazelnut chocolate cake, banoffee split, along with a full range ofbreakfasts, main meals, desserts and baking recipes. Your library might have a copy to borrow or you might find a copy in somewhere like The Wor*s. Hope that's some use, Lyn xxx.

nuatha · 30 November 2015 at 10:54AM

As others have said, sweetmince is generally dairy free (I haven't come across one containing dairy in a while, except one luxury one a couple of years ago containing chocolate). The best ever mince pie pastry recipe floating around here is dairy free (and delicious).
Mashed potatoes don't need butter and milk to be creamy (if you need to add some fat, then Vitalite works, tastes buttery but is diary free. Custard or brandy sauce can be made with soya milk (Birds Custard Powder is dairy free - not the instant) There are soya and nut cream substitutes - they tend to be pricey and an acquired taste, but if she already uses them get the brand she uses.

General baking can be made diary free (Stork block margarine generally works well instead of butter) Stork or Trex make very acceptable buttercream substitutes (I was an adult before I realised that buttercream was supposedly made from butter).

Are there any things in particular that you would like for Katie? I'm fairly sure we could come up with recipes (or even shop bought versions). Incidentally, on the later, at the other end of the scale from the puds mentioned, Sainsburys' Essentials Christmas Pud is vegan (and works beautifully with Swedish Glace, a vegan ice cream substitute)

Maitane · 30 November 2015 at 12:19PM

Hi Jackie,

If these links are any good to you, there's quite a few good recipes. From my memory of the Daily posts and helping those new to meal planning, you're quite a skilled cook so shouldn't find any of these an issue:
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/category/special-diets/dairy-free/
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/dairy-free-christmas
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/dec/13/dairy-free-mince-pies-gluten-free-almond-pastry-recipe

You will find that a lot of dairy free recipes are also gluten free. It's fairly common for Coeliacs to have problems with dairy as well as gluten. When I was diagnosed and told to avoid dairy until we were sure it was safe, we found that swapping fats was the bulk of the work.

Where butter is used, try marg or even coconut oil. We found the Alpro soya cream (near the UHT milk) a real help and still use it now as it's great to have in the store cupboard and lasts a while.

THIRZAH · 30 November 2015 at 1:44PM

There's a gluten/dairy free/vegetarian cookbook by Ella Woodward-it's called "Deliciously Ella" . She also has a blog with the same name .

culpepper · 30 November 2015 at 1:52PM

We use vitalite or Pure for fat in baking or you can use coconut oil which is solid or of course lard.
For milk you can substitute soy milk or almond milk.
Various lactose free items actually have whey in them and so are not dairy free at all, just lactose free(she couldn't have those).
Custard can be made with substitute milks too.
There are quite a lot of Dairy free chocolate bars if you want to add chocolate to things and ordinary cocoa powder has no dairy in.
Some gravy powders have whey or milk in but not all. Its worth taking your reading glasses along when shopping and checking the labels.
There are some good dairy free ice-cream recipes on instructables dot com.

jemb · 30 November 2015 at 3:26PM

I'm lactose intolerant and most things are substitutable for me. We use vitalite for butter, and lactofree (although almond milk is meant to be good). Alpro do a cream which is ok too.

AnniMag · 30 November 2015 at 3:38PM

Hi Jackie I have been making this fruit cake since 2004 !It keeps for months and improves over time.You can vary the fruit and I use amaretto to soak the fruit.We keep it as a cut and come again cake and always have one on the go .It freezes as well

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=126535#post126535

Justamum · 30 November 2015 at 3:48PM

AnniMag wrote: »

Hi Jackie I have been making this fruit cake since 2004 !It keeps for months and improves over time.You can vary the fruit and I use amaretto to soak the fruit.We keep it as a cut and come again cake and always have one on the go .It freezes as well

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=126535#post126535

That sounds lovely. I think I might make one this week.

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Dairy-free goodies for Christmas

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