When I was diagnosed with a dairy “sensitivity,” it broke my heart. My favorite things in life involved dairy products: pizza, mac ‘n cheese, ice cream. Then, a few years later, I discovered that my son was allergic to both dairy and wheat. So out went the pasta, bread, chicken nuggets, and tons of other delicious treats. Regardless of whether you’re joining the ranks of the casein and gluten sensitive or you never met a fad diet you didn’t like, these products will remind you of yum.
Cream cheese: Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese. I don’t know about “better than” but it does have the taste and texture of cream cheese. It’s good with rice crackers or corn chips.
Yogurt: So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt. It definitely tastes like coconut, but if you’re a fan of the fruit, then you’ll like this yogurt. It’s comes in several of the sweet and goopy flavors you remember from your Dairy Days.
Ice cream: There are a lot of options that don’t taste too terrible, once you get used to them. My favorite is Soy Delicious’ Coconut Pomegranate Chip. It sort of tastes like a hint of a dream of Cherry Garcia, the best flavor in the world. Again, you have to like coconut.
Macaroni and cheese: Amy’s makes three varieties, one with rice pasta, one with fake cheese and one with both. The double whammy is oddly filling and very creamy. It can be microwaved and I love how they clearly label their products as non-dairy or gluten free.
Grain: Millet is a little like cous cous. And the kids like eating the little balls (although they do get all over the floor.)
Crackers: Instead of paying 6 bucks for a tiny box of gluten free crackers, try rice crackers. They’re naturally made without wheat. Annie Chuns’ seaweed squares also make for a nice salty snack.
Mayo: Veganaise. The taste isn’t totally mayonnaisey, but it does have a creamy texture. And it will hide the taste of your broccoli, especially with a little chili powder mixed in.
Bread: Fugedaboudit. Get a recipe book. Learn to bake. Everything we’ve tried is dense and flavorless.
Cheese: Ditto. It’s extremely difficult to find hard cheese with the correct consistency.
Luckily stores like Whole Foods carry a variety of gluten free, casein free products, and even large chains are now jumping on the dairy and wheat sensitive bandwagon.