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Eating Dairy Free

Contributed by: Melinda

After trying an elimination diet for dairy products, I reached the conclusion that I need to avoid them as much as possible. I set out to replace milk in my coffee, and to start using butter alternatives made from soy products. After a week I got used to the soy milk in my coffee. After two weeks, I wasn't craving milk, cheese or butter. When the month had passed and I hadn't had a headache at all, or any sinus difficulty, I was less disappointed than I expected. The motivation to continue eating dairy free was the observable success of the changes I'd made.

Eating Dairy Free is both easy and hard. If you normally eat mostly whole foods¹, you can just avoid adding cheeses, milk, cream or butter to anything. Eliminating the cheese from most recipes that call for it typically works perfectly. Substituting Soy or Almond Milk on cereal or in recipes is a direct substitution. There are many butter alternatives, but most of the ones in the dairy section at the market contain milk products, so look in the health food or natural foods section for one that is a true dairy alternative. That is the easy version.

If you tend to eat processed foods¹, it's much more complicated. Many non-dairy alternatives sold in markets contain Casein and/or Whey which are from cows milk. Many other prepared or processed foods contain Lactose. These will appear on processed food labels as Casein, Caseinate, Whey and Lactose. If a food is marked Vegan you know it's completely free from dairy products, and also foods labelled Pareve or Parve which are dairy free Kosher foods.

When you start looking for alternatives to dairy products, you'll find quite a few choices. It's both expensive and time consuming to decide what you like best. I chose soy products, because I'm not allergic to them (some people are), there are many organic, whole and non-gmo food items available made from soy. However, I still read labels, because health food sections in most supermarkets don't only have 'healthy' food relative to your body. You need to be thinking about your specific health concerns when you read labels.

I'm telling you now, there is absolutely no substitute for cheese...except as an ingredient in some dishes. As I mentioned before, any Vegan products are safely dairy free, but still read the labels before you buy stuff...any kind of prepared foods usually have too much sodium and preservatives to be safe for everyday. Learn to read every label. I don't used canned soups, because they have dairy and are packed with sodium and preservatives. (See Food Allergies: A Note on Preservatives)

Finding alternatives to the foods you crave can be very expensive. They are expensive to buy - for example I have found a Soy Cheese product that works well and tastes good as an ingredient, either cooked or not that is excellent. It mimics real cheese properties in texture and melting characteristics, and it's taste isn't bad (many are BAD). However, to purchase a block of this will cost $6.00. It costs as much as a gourmet cheese. And it doesn't have the same shelf-life as real cheese. It also does contain Casein. Most of the alternative cheese-type products do contain Casein, they shouldn't be an everyday ingredient.

There are some obvious and simple alternatives. The first most important thing in having a healthy-for-you diet is to eat as close to the earth as you can. That means, don't buy prepared foods. Don't buy frozen or canned unless you must, and don't buy anything preseasoned or modified. If you can use unprocessed foods and fresh vegetables and fruits, organic whole flours and grains, and antibiotic free meat products you'll be able to exercise a great deal more control over your health.

Here is a list of the replacement products I've found that I like, and why I chose them.

To Replace	I Use	Reason:
Butter	Olive Oil	I buy Kalamata at Trader Joes or imported unfiltered at a local market. Both have excellent rich, fresh flavor. My alternative choice for spreading on bread as a condiment and for salads and cooking.
Butter	Earth Balance Buttery Sticks or Spread	Although I don't care for it spread on bread, when heated this has an excellent buttery flavor, so I use it in combination with olive oil to add a buttery element to hot dishes.
Butter	Rendered Bacon Fat	Some dishes that are simmered or sautéed need a deeper flavor than olive oil, and on those occasions, I will use 1-2 tbl bacon fat. I save it when we do bacon and store it in the refrigerator.
Milk	Westsoy Soymilk Drink, Plain	It tastes best to me, with fewest calories per 8 oz. (It contains tricalcium phosphate which is a calcium salt. It is used in food as a preservative and is sold as a calcium supplement under the name Citracal among others.) This works perfectly as a milk replacement in recipes.
Cream in Sauces or Soups	My vegetable gravy	I control the ingredients.
Cheese, Firm or Shredding	Soya Kaas or Lisanatti Brands of Soy Cheese	Outstanding melting and blending qualities, just like real cheese. There is not an off-flavor to me, although it isn't exactly the same as cheese if eaten alone. They do contain Casein which is a milk derivative, so they aren't a perfect alternative. I use them infrequently. Also, Veggie Shreds Parmesan Mozzarella blend is tasty, but doesn't melt well as a topping. It also contains Casein.
Cream Cheese, Sour Cream	Tofutti Brand	These are pretty close in flavor to real cheese and sour cream, but this is a personal taste issue. I have used the cream cheese on bread and bagels, and the sour cream works well in the spinach dip recipes.

Notes: ¹The term 'whole foods' refers to foods that are as close to the earth as nature made them. For example, a head of broccoli should have been cut from the plant and transported to the market for immediate sale. This is whole food. On the other hand, a package of frozen broccoli (even labelled Fresh Frozen or IQF) will typically have food additives to preserve and sometimes to enhance the flavor. It has been pre-cooked and it sometimes will come with additional flavorings and ingredients. Some cooking methods can significantly reduce the beneficial nutrients in a food. This is not whole food. This is processed food. In the present market, a big hint to determining whether a food is whole or processed is whether or not it has an FDA label. If it does, it's processed and may very well contain something you're allergic to.

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