Dairy Free Diet

Violet_Isle

Can anyone recommend the best dairy free milk and butter products (and other products if possible)

I've just been advised to go on a dairy free diet for a while and this morning I tried asdas organic soya milk and it was disgusting. I also tried their own dairy free spread and it doesnt taste of anything

Can anyone recommend better alternatives?

Kimitatsu

Is it completely dairy free or lactose free you need to be on?

I ask because if it is lactose free then you can get goats milk butter and milk, but if it is completely dairy free then really you are restricted to soya products.

I used alpro for a bit (but get the unsweetened variety from the chiller) which was ok, but I could never find a spread that wasnt horrible!

newlywed

I prefer rice milk, almond milk or cashew milk. Much nicer. Rice milk is usually available in supermarkets but almond and cashew are usually in health food shops.

Best dairy free icecream is Swedish Glace (again sometimes in large supermarkets but often in health shops). Its in a hexagonal tub so easier to spot. Chocolate one is best

Sorry can't help on the spread as I usually carry on with flora/bertolli but again try a health food shop for advice.

dondo

My wife doesn't do Dairy and has found that the Alpro light is the best soya milk.

In regards to spreads she rates Pure (the sunflower one), Vitalite and M&S

Most of the supermarkets do a "free from" range which includes dairy free items- we have found that Tesco and Sainsbury have the best selection

And echo the Swedish Glace endorsement

Sultana

Alpro soya cream is a good cream substitute.

I find that I can make perfectly acceptable sandwiches without using a spread at all. If you need something to make it all stick together then mayonnaise is dairy free (or should be). And try experimenting with interesting teas that can be drunk without milk - I was drinking mine without milk for years before I discovered I was lactose intolerant - my subconscious must have been telling me something.

Most chinese/far eastern food is dairy free so you could try some of those recipes.

Smashing

Rice milk is far nicer than soya. Also, you can just use most pure sunflower spread instead of butter.

Justie

don't expect them to taste the same especially in tea and coffee and different people like different brands - have a look on the vegan thread on the Green and Ethical board and there are posts on there with suggestions and they're a good lot to ask.

lebly

The cheapest and nicest dairy free spead is vitalite.

Violet_Isle

Oh I didnt realise that vitalite was dairy free we have had that a couple of times and liked it. Thats a bonus because I can buy it for all the family instead of having special products just for me. I cant have bertoli as I'm actually allergic to olives as well. A friend of mine cooked me a meal back in March with olive oil and I was ill for about a week.

I'm going to give rice milk a try. What I don't like about soya milk is that it seems to have a greasy texture - hopefully rice milk will do the trick

I do drink other teas - I drink green tea and chamomile tea and sometimes lemon - but I do need some caffeine each day to keep me going andhave to mix that lot with coffee and normal tea

Violet_Isle

I feel a little less deprived now!

Does anyone know of any cheese substitutes? It doesnt matter if its block, slices and spreadable

melancholly

I only found a parmazan cheese alternative, i think from sainsbury's.

I had to be dairy free for 9 months a couple of years ago and the first month was not fun - I went with rice milk first, but then after a few weeks soya didn't taste so bad (you might not believe me on that now though!).

You should be able to find sorbets instead of icecreams. On the whole I found chaging my diet to be easier, rather than going for replacements. I personally found that the alternatives just were nowhere close to what I wanted to start with (but a few months in it tastes great!). For cooking you could try all the various types of vegetable oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil etc that aren't olive oil.