Whole Foods

I finally got to hit up Whole Foods in Wheaton, IL. After Trader Joe's (which I still love, so will hit up again when I have more time), and not super successful web searches, I went in with an open mind but not very high results. Holy crap you guys! SO MANY OPTIONS!

I wanted to sample everything, but actually had multiple choices everywhere so had to hunker down and pick and choose between them. I tried to spread this across brands, but also will admit I looked at the prices and sales (dairy-free is expensive!).

In the end this is what I walked away with:

• Chao original slices
• Follow Your Heart American slices
• Earth Balance soy free sticks (*already have original in tub from Jewel)
• Kite Hill ricotta
• Daiya plain cream cheese
• Nancy's cultured soy plain yogurt
• Thai Kitchen Coconut Cream (*have tried Goya cream of coconut - which is more like sweetened condensed milk, btw - and coconut milk already)

Unfortunately I didn't see any Greek style yogurt, which is what I really wanted. However, I know it's available as I've seen people online that have found it. There were so many yogurts though I may have missed it, or it could just be something Whole Foods doesn't carry. I'll keep my eyes peeled, but the plain unsweetened still gives me a few options to play with.

I also picked up some of the other supplies I need to try out Miyoko's cheese recipes:

• brown miso
• xanthan gum

I still need to find a few items:

• rejuvelac (I know I can make it, but in the interest of time wanted to buy... supposedly this is possible, but I'm not finding it)
• agar powder/carrageenan powder
• coconut oil
• nutritional yeast flakes
• sea salt? (does it matter that much?)
• canola oil? (can I use olive oil instead?)

Avocado: The Miracle Fruit

I've heard of avocados being used in smoothies, pudding...brownies? (or was that just black beans...). I have not tried this yet, but am planning too. However, these recommendations are made because of the fatty, creamy texture avocados have. I haven't gone to check out the specialty groceries yet, but I've been getting avocados regularly (mostly for lunch/snack).

Last week, I made baked potatoes and wanted a way to enjoy to sour cream taste without the dairy. My local grocery only has a few flavored Silk yogurts, so playing with that or attempting to make my own quick version using yogurt as the base culture were not going to happen. Fancy shopping trip planned for the future, I decided to see what I could do with what I had. I grabbed an avocado, mashed it up, and added a large amount of lemon juice (like 2-4 times more than you would add to guacamole; yes I know it should be lime for guacamole :p). It was creamy, tangy, and really hit the spot. My only complaint: it was so much more filling than if I had used sour cream! I could barely finish the backed potato and ear of corn.

Today, I wanted to eat some falafel that I picked up at Trader Joe's. Having no luck finding a dairy-free yogurt at Trader Joe's, or unflavored at my local Jewel, I decided to use last week's avocado success and try it out. I mashed up the avocado and added lemon juice as before. Then I added some garlic powder, dried dill, and salt (I meant to add cucumber but forgot I ate it all!). It obviously would have been better if I used fresh garlic & dill (and cucumber), but this was actually quite satisfying and created a very filling lunch.

I definitely recommend giving these a try! They tasted great, were easy to whip up on demand, and overall were probably cheaper than the store-bought alternatives (even with avocados being ridiculously expensive in Illinois).

Trader Joe's

Based off some recommendations from friends and forums, I was really excited to hit Trader Joe's in Batavia, IL. They have a lovely selection anyway, but going in with a dairy-free mindset I had high expectations.

While they had a huge selection of milks and creamers, I found them lacking in regards to cream cheese (1 option...I forget the brand now but I've gotten it in the past and can say it's got a good taste, although the texture is a bit too grainy for my liking). I also did not find any yogurt, cream cheese, or regular cheese options (granted I only had 15 minutes to shop before getting back home for a meeting).

Not all was lost tough, I picked up some falafel! And some burratta...because that makes sense. It's so good though! I may have to figure out how to make my own dairy-free. Well, maybe one day... I need to get the basics down first.

Dairy-Free Cheese?

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!

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).

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)

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.