So, I reached out to friends on Facebook to inquire about dairy-free cheese. I've got a buddy whose dad is allergic to milk, so he and his wife have been a huge resource. They are actually the ones who recommended most of my ice cream choices. I've heard the horror stories about dairy-free cheese, so I hoped they would have some suggestions. So far the only good brands I've gotten recommended to me are Chao and Treeline (although I've also heard good things on forums about Daiya and Kite Hill). Since the stores by me don't carry any of these options, and some are rather expensive, I decided to to some investigating.
Go Dairy Free actually had some great suggestions, and even shared a recipe for feta! I love feta, and while I haven't tried this yet it sounds delicious. This recipe is actually an excerpt from Miyoko Schinner's book The Homemade Vegan Pantry. Now, I'm not vegan, and since the recipe was already posted (with permission), I have not picked up this book...yet. There are apparently some more cheese recipes and things like custard so it could still be worth a look. However, it was enough to make me look at Miyoko's books and I found (and bought) Artisan Vegan Cheese. This was a super exciting find for me and includes some more favorites of mine like sharp cheddar (also shared w/ permission by Alisa at Go Dairy Free), chevre (or goat cheese), parmesan, and brie.
I'm hoping to make a trip out to some of the more "specialty" grocery stores in the area to pick up teh ingredients and give the above mentioned cheeses a go. Be sure to check back for reviews and pictures once they happen!
Monday, August 8, 2016
Monday, August 1, 2016
Ben & Jerry Dairy-Free Ice Cream
Based off the recommendation of many friends, and given that it is the only other dairy-free option at my Jewel, I picked up a pint of Ben & Jerry's The chunky monkey came highly recommended, but I'm not a banana person so I went for Chocolate Fudge Brownie.
Taste: Holy crap, this tastes just like brownie batter. It's thick and succulent. There is a hint of almond flavor (given that this is made with an almond milk base), so that may catch you off guard at first. However, going in knowing that it should not deter from your enjoyment.
Texture: This is creamier and softer than the So Delicious coconut milk ice cream. When it melted, the texture was as expected. This was definitely closer to ice cream.
Overall: Highly recommended. The almond flavor definitely comes through, so if this is something you dislike stay away. Otherwise the flavors they are offering are good and the texture is wonderful. I will definitely be buying more and trying more flavors as they become available (minus the Chunky Monkey lol).
Taste: Holy crap, this tastes just like brownie batter. It's thick and succulent. There is a hint of almond flavor (given that this is made with an almond milk base), so that may catch you off guard at first. However, going in knowing that it should not deter from your enjoyment.
Texture: This is creamier and softer than the So Delicious coconut milk ice cream. When it melted, the texture was as expected. This was definitely closer to ice cream.
Overall: Highly recommended. The almond flavor definitely comes through, so if this is something you dislike stay away. Otherwise the flavors they are offering are good and the texture is wonderful. I will definitely be buying more and trying more flavors as they become available (minus the Chunky Monkey lol).
Thursday, July 28, 2016
Recommendations?
Being new-ish to dairy-free, I reached out to friends to get their tried and true recommendations for dairy subs and where to find them. Below is a summary of their answers:
Stores
Woodmans
Jewel (St. Charles, IL)
Target
Trader Joe's
Whole Foods
Fruitful Yield
Cheese
nutritional yeast (sauces, mac & cheese)
Chao
Treeline (very expensive though)
Ice Cream
Ben & Jerry's dairy-free
Milk
almond milk
Sour Cream
soy premade (found at Jewel in STC)
Cream Cheese
soy premade (found at Jewel in STC)
Butter
Fleischmann's unsalted margarine
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter light
Also, some things I was warned against:
soy shredded cheese (apparently tastes like sawdust)
Stores
Woodmans
Jewel (St. Charles, IL)
Target
Trader Joe's
Whole Foods
Fruitful Yield
Cheese
nutritional yeast (sauces, mac & cheese)
Chao
Treeline (very expensive though)
Ice Cream
Ben & Jerry's dairy-free
Milk
almond milk
Sour Cream
soy premade (found at Jewel in STC)
Cream Cheese
soy premade (found at Jewel in STC)
Butter
Fleischmann's unsalted margarine
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter light
Also, some things I was warned against:
soy shredded cheese (apparently tastes like sawdust)
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
Dole Whip
I've come across this recipe in the past, but it popped up again on my feed today and in light of my new adventure I decided I wanted to give it a try.
First of all, if you attempt this I highly recommend a food processor. I've tried this in both a large blender (although maybe not high power enough? also I only did 1/4 of the recipe for a single serving), and a small personal sized blender (16 oz). I was not able to get the pineapple fully processed, so those chunks were rather jarring in terms of both texture and flavor.
That being said, I love this! Oh so smooth and creamy. The pineapple is such a subtle flavor, which surprised me given the 4:1. This is so light and refreshing, and reminded me of a sherbet. I'm seriously considering attempting this with other fruits (especially lime...man, do I miss lime sherbet). Also, for those of you who don't like or can't have pineapple, I think it would be worth attempting with other fruits. I'm sure you could use any non-dairy milk of your choice, as Gemma even says she's used the light coconut milk so you know fat content isn't make or break.
I'm getting a suspicion that most of what you will be reading about here will be ice cream related...Over time hopefully that will change! Then again, nothing wrong with a dairy-free dessert blog, right?
Update 9/16/16: If you have a stick/hand/immersion blender, I have found that works rather well when making a single serving. If it came with a vessel, pour everything into there, otherwise use a tall/narrow container large enough for your blender to fit into.
First of all, if you attempt this I highly recommend a food processor. I've tried this in both a large blender (although maybe not high power enough? also I only did 1/4 of the recipe for a single serving), and a small personal sized blender (16 oz). I was not able to get the pineapple fully processed, so those chunks were rather jarring in terms of both texture and flavor.
That being said, I love this! Oh so smooth and creamy. The pineapple is such a subtle flavor, which surprised me given the 4:1. This is so light and refreshing, and reminded me of a sherbet. I'm seriously considering attempting this with other fruits (especially lime...man, do I miss lime sherbet). Also, for those of you who don't like or can't have pineapple, I think it would be worth attempting with other fruits. I'm sure you could use any non-dairy milk of your choice, as Gemma even says she's used the light coconut milk so you know fat content isn't make or break.
I'm getting a suspicion that most of what you will be reading about here will be ice cream related...Over time hopefully that will change! Then again, nothing wrong with a dairy-free dessert blog, right?
Update 9/16/16: If you have a stick/hand/immersion blender, I have found that works rather well when making a single serving. If it came with a vessel, pour everything into there, otherwise use a tall/narrow container large enough for your blender to fit into.
Thursday, June 16, 2016
Cookie Dough Protein Bites
My mom sent me this recipe and it tastes just like chocolate chip cookie dough! These little bites are quite filling too. 1-2 is a great snack and will fill you up for a while. I made a few tweaks though, so I am sharing the updated version. If you want to beef up the protein you cold add some vanilla or chocolate protein powder (no more than 1/2 scoop).
1 c oats
2 Tbsp flax seed
1 c almonds
1 tsp vanilla
3 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp coconut oil
3 Tbsp dark chocolate chips
Blend oats, flax, and almonds together until powdery. Alternately, you could use ground flax meal and almond flour (that's what I did, and I left the oats whole). Stir in the remaining ingredients. Form into balls or bites and refrigerate. I normally pack this into a small square container, let it set up over night (or freeze for a couple hours) and cut into 16 bites.
If you don't have coconut oil, you can sub in coconut butter but you will need an additional 1/2 Tbsp coconut butter and honey to get it to mix up and stay together.
1 c oats
2 Tbsp flax seed
1 c almonds
1 tsp vanilla
3 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp coconut oil
3 Tbsp dark chocolate chips
Blend oats, flax, and almonds together until powdery. Alternately, you could use ground flax meal and almond flour (that's what I did, and I left the oats whole). Stir in the remaining ingredients. Form into balls or bites and refrigerate. I normally pack this into a small square container, let it set up over night (or freeze for a couple hours) and cut into 16 bites.
If you don't have coconut oil, you can sub in coconut butter but you will need an additional 1/2 Tbsp coconut butter and honey to get it to mix up and stay together.
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Lactose Intolerance or Dairy Allergy?
So I've been trying to figure out if I have lactose intolerance or a dairy allergy. This is a non-scientific experiment on my part where I've been feeling out the differences. For those if you looking for information though, here's some background:
Lactose Intolerance refers to the body's ability to digest lactose (natural milk sugar). This is fairly common in adults (tends to run in families), and actually more likely to show up as you age (even suddenly). Biologically, mammals do not consume milk once they are weened. Humans are the only mammal to continue to drink milk (and milk of other mammals at that), so it is not surprising that as we age and gain a solid diet we become intolerant. Lactose intolerance occurs when the small intestine does not produce enough of the enzyme lactase to break down and digest lactose. The symptoms can be mild or severe, and can include bloating, abdominal pain/cramps, gas, noisy stomach, loose stools/diarrhea, or vomiting. These symptoms typically occur within 2 hours. You can be tested to confirm, but there is no cure and treatment can include taking the lactase enzyme when eating dairy or refraining from lactose in your diet (which now, due to scientific advancements, does not necessarily mean a dairy-free diet).
Dairy Allergy refers to your immune system seeing the milk proteins (casein and/or whey) as foreign invaders. Often those with a cow milk allergy also have an allergy to sheep and goat milk (although you can have your doctor check this for you with tests). There is also some small correlation between dairy and soy allergies. Family history, atopic dermatitis, other allergies, and age (young children are more likely to be allergic) are all factors in the likelihood of developing a milk allergy. As with intolerance, the symptoms can be mild or severe. They can include hives/itchy skin rash, coughing/wheezing, swelling of lips/throat, runny nose, watery eyes,vomiting, loose stools/diarrhea, bloody stools, or abdominal pain/cramps. However there are more concerns such as cross contamination and anaphylaxis (a medical emergency, the signs of which include difficulty breathing, facial flush, itching, and shock). While these symptoms are usually instant, there can be a delayed allergic reaction. There is no cure or medication, and a dairy-free diet is required. Epinephrine may be required if symptoms become severe.
Aside of these, it is also possible to have a milk protein intolerance. Chron's Disease is often confused with lactose intolerance as well.
For me, most of my reactions are digestive which certainly point towards intolerance. However, I also have been suspecting dairy is a migraine trigger, which certainly can be its own thing unrelated to either intolerance or allergy, but it also could be an indicator of an allergy. Using Lactaid solo has become very ineffective (especially the pills, which I and a friend both find to work less than the chewables). Lactaid and Benedryl in combination seem to be working. At least the digestive issues are almost gone, and the migraines are not occurring. Benedryl itself has been undetermined...certainly helping with the headaches, but hit or miss with GI.
I may go in and get tested, but the results are definitely causing me to lean 1 way. I do not want to be taking Benedryl on a regular basis, so it may be time to start exploring dairy-free options. This will certainly be tricky as the BF loves milk and dairy. I am certainly a fan of cheese and ice cream too, so it will be an adventure!
Update: As of July 2016, I have begun to notice more symptoms indicating an allergy: itchy arms, stuffy sinuses, and runny nose. Due to some work w/ my GP, I've also realized the stuffy sinuses could have been precursors to my migraines (I have a very high pain tolerance, but have been instructed to make an active effort to identify headaches before they progress to migraines). Yes, yes...I am a very stubborn person and thought I could mitigate the symptoms, but over the years it has progressively gotten worse and I am now hunkering down and truly exploring alternatives.
Lactose Intolerance refers to the body's ability to digest lactose (natural milk sugar). This is fairly common in adults (tends to run in families), and actually more likely to show up as you age (even suddenly). Biologically, mammals do not consume milk once they are weened. Humans are the only mammal to continue to drink milk (and milk of other mammals at that), so it is not surprising that as we age and gain a solid diet we become intolerant. Lactose intolerance occurs when the small intestine does not produce enough of the enzyme lactase to break down and digest lactose. The symptoms can be mild or severe, and can include bloating, abdominal pain/cramps, gas, noisy stomach, loose stools/diarrhea, or vomiting. These symptoms typically occur within 2 hours. You can be tested to confirm, but there is no cure and treatment can include taking the lactase enzyme when eating dairy or refraining from lactose in your diet (which now, due to scientific advancements, does not necessarily mean a dairy-free diet).
Dairy Allergy refers to your immune system seeing the milk proteins (casein and/or whey) as foreign invaders. Often those with a cow milk allergy also have an allergy to sheep and goat milk (although you can have your doctor check this for you with tests). There is also some small correlation between dairy and soy allergies. Family history, atopic dermatitis, other allergies, and age (young children are more likely to be allergic) are all factors in the likelihood of developing a milk allergy. As with intolerance, the symptoms can be mild or severe. They can include hives/itchy skin rash, coughing/wheezing, swelling of lips/throat, runny nose, watery eyes,vomiting, loose stools/diarrhea, bloody stools, or abdominal pain/cramps. However there are more concerns such as cross contamination and anaphylaxis (a medical emergency, the signs of which include difficulty breathing, facial flush, itching, and shock). While these symptoms are usually instant, there can be a delayed allergic reaction. There is no cure or medication, and a dairy-free diet is required. Epinephrine may be required if symptoms become severe.
Aside of these, it is also possible to have a milk protein intolerance. Chron's Disease is often confused with lactose intolerance as well.
For me, most of my reactions are digestive which certainly point towards intolerance. However, I also have been suspecting dairy is a migraine trigger, which certainly can be its own thing unrelated to either intolerance or allergy, but it also could be an indicator of an allergy. Using Lactaid solo has become very ineffective (especially the pills, which I and a friend both find to work less than the chewables). Lactaid and Benedryl in combination seem to be working. At least the digestive issues are almost gone, and the migraines are not occurring. Benedryl itself has been undetermined...certainly helping with the headaches, but hit or miss with GI.
I may go in and get tested, but the results are definitely causing me to lean 1 way. I do not want to be taking Benedryl on a regular basis, so it may be time to start exploring dairy-free options. This will certainly be tricky as the BF loves milk and dairy. I am certainly a fan of cheese and ice cream too, so it will be an adventure!
Update: As of July 2016, I have begun to notice more symptoms indicating an allergy: itchy arms, stuffy sinuses, and runny nose. Due to some work w/ my GP, I've also realized the stuffy sinuses could have been precursors to my migraines (I have a very high pain tolerance, but have been instructed to make an active effort to identify headaches before they progress to migraines). Yes, yes...I am a very stubborn person and thought I could mitigate the symptoms, but over the years it has progressively gotten worse and I am now hunkering down and truly exploring alternatives.
Monday, January 5, 2015
So Delicious Coconut Milk Ice Cream
Given the results of my recent experiment, I decided to try out a non-dairy ice cream. The Jewel by my house has very few options, including So Delicious (coconut milk) and Lactaid (which defeats the purpose since I'm pretty sure this is an allergy at this point). My two favorite flavors are butter pecan and mint. Luckily So Delicious has a mint chocolate flavor so I picked it up.
Flavor-wise, this is delicious! It does not taste like coconut at all (not that I would mind, but in case you were concerned...). The mint flavor is great and perfectly refreshing. I really love how this ice cream tastes and am definitely curious about the other flavors.
Texture-wise, it's a bit lacking. The coconut milk freezes harder than a dairy ice cream and has more of an initial texture of sorbet. Not that this is a turn-off, but definitely something to keep in mind if you are really craving that creaminess. The part where it started to bug me was as it defrosted and softened up. I usually let my sorbet sit a bit to soften up, and given the lack of dairy it becomes liquidy faster than ice cream, so this is what I was expecting with the So Delicious. Unfortunately it seemed to get gummy as it melted which I found off-putting. Maybe I'll get over this over time, but initially I am not a fan.
Overall: delicious! This is really good. But the texture as it melts will take some getting used to. I will definitely come back to this and give it another try at any rate.
Flavor-wise, this is delicious! It does not taste like coconut at all (not that I would mind, but in case you were concerned...). The mint flavor is great and perfectly refreshing. I really love how this ice cream tastes and am definitely curious about the other flavors.
Texture-wise, it's a bit lacking. The coconut milk freezes harder than a dairy ice cream and has more of an initial texture of sorbet. Not that this is a turn-off, but definitely something to keep in mind if you are really craving that creaminess. The part where it started to bug me was as it defrosted and softened up. I usually let my sorbet sit a bit to soften up, and given the lack of dairy it becomes liquidy faster than ice cream, so this is what I was expecting with the So Delicious. Unfortunately it seemed to get gummy as it melted which I found off-putting. Maybe I'll get over this over time, but initially I am not a fan.
Overall: delicious! This is really good. But the texture as it melts will take some getting used to. I will definitely come back to this and give it another try at any rate.
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