Eating a Dairy Free Diet
Dairy Intolerance can be quite a challenge because dairy is stuffed into so many foods. At first glance, it appears that dairy is just about everywhere! Also, it can be challenging to get a straight answer about exactly what is and isn’t dairy free.
Although milk may immediately come to mind, there are many other dairy containing foods out there that aren’t quite as obvious. Because dairy is often added to food for flavor and texture, you may find it in foods you wouldn’t expect.
The good news is that the vast majority of food out there contains no dairy at all. You can have a fulfilling, balanced, and nutritious diet - without ever going near a glass of milk.
What You Can’t Eat on a Dairy Free Diet
The following foods are all dairy-based and should be avoided on a dairy free diet:
Milk - Whole milk, 1% milk, 2% milk, powdered milk, condensed milk, chocolate milk
Yogurt - All flavors, Greek yogurt
Cottage Cheese - Fat-free, low-fat, regular
Butter - Buttermilk, salted, unsalted
Kefir - All varieties
Cream - Sour cream, cream cheese
Cheese - Swiss, cheddar, American
Whey - Whey protein powder, whey concentrate
Ice Cream - All flavors and varieties (including frozen yogurt)
In addition, here’s a list of foods that sometimes have hidden dairy in them:
Quick Breads - Banana nut, corn bread
Crackers - Gold Fish, Cheez-Its
Protein Bars - PowerBars
Baked Goods - Cookies, pastries
Breakfast Cereals - Granola
To stay consistent with your dairy free diet, it’s important to read foods labels. Just because the ingredients list doesn’t have “milk” as an ingredient doesn’t mean that it’s dairy free. Some of the more common ingredient terms to watch out for are: “casein concentrate” and “whey protein isolate.”
What You Can Eat on a Dairy Free Diet
Fortunately, there are a ton of tasty options available to you if you’re on a dairy free diet. In fact, many on a dairy free diet find that they eat healthier than they did before starting the diet. Also, a dairy free diet can get you out of your comfort zone, so you try new and exciting foods that you may not have otherwise given a shot.
These foods are dairy free and can be eaten liberally in a dairy free diet:
Grains - Rice, bread, barley
Produce - Fruits, vegetables
Legumes - Beans, nuts
Meat - Chicken, beef, pork
Fish - Salmon, tuna
If you absolutely love dairy and can’t imagine your life without pizza in it, there are dozens of dairy alternatives that taste great.
Dairy Free Milk - Soy milk, rice milk, almond milk
Dairy Free Cheese - Soy cheese, rice cheese
Dairy Free Yogurt - Cultured soy, coconut milk based
Dairy Free Ice Cream - Soy ice cream, rice
Dairy Free Dessert Recipes
Tapioca Pudding
Ingredients
- 3 cup Living Harvest Vanilla Hemp Milk
- 1/4 cup small-grain instant tapioca
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 tsp orange or banana extract (optional)
- toppings: sliced bananas, whole berries, fresh mint leaves, or jam (optional)
Preparation
- Over low heat, simmer the hemp milk in a medium saucepan until it starts to bubble. Add the tapioca, salt, and extract (if using).
- Stirring frequently, simmer the pudding for about 15 minutes, until the tapioca grains are translucent. (Tapioca doesn't take constant stirring, but you don't want to leave it alone for more than a minute or two. Otherwise, the grains will stick together and not cook.)
- Pour pudding into a large bowl and chill for several hours or overnight.
To serve: Dish into individual serving bowls with your choice of garnish (if using). Serves 6 to 10.
Ingredient note: If you can't find hemp milk or prefer to use a different non-dairy milk, you can substitute some or all of the hemp milk. You can substitute one can of coconut milk for about 1 1/2 cups of hemp milk, or you can use soy milk or nut milk at a 1-to-1 ratio. You can also substitute rice milk at a 1-to-1 ratio. But because rice milk is lower in protein, you will need to add a small amount of protein in the form of another milk, an egg, egg replacer, or protein powder.
Addictive Chocolate Tapioca Pudding
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons Instant Tapioca
- 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch or Arrowroot
- Pinch of salt
- 1/4 - 1/3 Cup Sugar
- 2 Cups Rice Milk
- 1/3 Cup Enjoy Life ® semi-sweet chocolate chips (milk allergy-friendly)
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
Preparation
Whisk the tapioca, cornstarch, salt, sugar and milk together in a saucepan. Let sit for 10 minutes. Toss in the chocolate. Over medium heat, whisking gently bring to a boil. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl. Cool slightly before stirring in the vanilla. Great eaten warm or chilled.
Strawberry Banana Smoothie
The trick to satisfying dairy-free smoothies is to forgo ice in favor of frozen fruit. This delivers maximum flavor and helps keep the smoothie from tasting more like a slushie. A mix of fresh and frozen fruit works fine, depending on what you have on hand; using at least 50 percent frozen fruit, I find, works best. When you have bananas that are about to get overripe, peel them and put them in a zippered plastic bag in your freezer--you can use them for your smoothies. They may get brown, but their flavor won't be affected. Add ground flax seed for a nutrional boost without affecting flavor.
