Category Archives: Dairy Free Foods

Sweets: Milks favorite cookie has no milk?

by kristi | Leave a comment

Yes! You read it correctly.  Oreos have no milk! They were one of our most shocking but exciting finds.

 

This Momma LOVES her sweets- seriously, if I could eat them 24×7 I would!  Finding sweets that both taste good and are safe for all of us to eat are one of my many life missions! (I wish I was joking!)  Here’s my short list safe as of 9/2016:

  1. Enjoy Life products- all their products are free of the top 8 major allergens; their chocolate chips and their chocolate chip cookies two of our favorites.
  2. Pillsbury Flaky Turnovers- Apple and Cherry flavors only are safe. They are good, really good!- they are near the refrigerated biscuits.
  3. Pillsbury Ready to Bake Shape Sugar Cookies- these are the break apart pre-decorated cookies.  They come out with each of the seasons and holidays: hearts, shamrocks, snowmen, pumpkins etc…
  4. Marie Callender’s Lattice Apple Pie- super quick and easy to take on the go for family get-togethers.- located in the freezer section.
  5. Oreos- super easy to find and fun for kids, double stuff is okay!  This is a staple item in our house.
  6. Mrs. Freshley’s Oatmeal Cremes & Honey Buns- Both can be bought at the Dollar Tree for $1 a box! Not the healthiest but they taste just like any other honey bun or oatmeal creme pie.
  7. Haribo Peach Gummies & Gold Bear Gummy Bears- I buy these at the dollar tree as well.
  8. Dum-Dum Lollypops- these are also free of many allergens.
  9. Juicy Fruit Gum
  10. Smarties
  11. Twizzlers
  12. Wonka Pixy Stix
  13. Skittles
  14. Coastal Bay Candy- this too can be found at the Dollar Tree.  We love the peach rings, orange slices, and strawberry flavored hard candy.  Everything I have seen that they make appears to be dairy free.
  15. Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup- Yes, I know hard to believe.
  16. So Delicious Co Co Whip- This is a perfect substitute for coolwhip. Same consistency with a slight hint of coconut flavor.  This is another staple item in our home.
  17. So Delicious Ice Cream- They are coconut, cashew, or almond based and are truly so delicious!  They make tons of different options, our favorite are the ice cream sandwiches, traditional tubs of ice cream, and chocolate covered ice cream on stick.
Want to know our other family favorites?  Check out all of our Favorite Finds

Love Sweets are much as me? Comment below with your favorites!

Meats in Milk?

by kristi | Leave a comment

Meats are tricky.  They are not FDA mandated but regulated by the USDA.  They follow the same practices, but the milk can sometimes be hidden.  I find their labeling to be a bit more lax, don’t know if that’s just my experience, or if anyone else shares the same struggles. (Either way I wanted to warn you!)

A couple of things to be aware of:
Lactic acid starter culture is very commonly found in processed meats.  Another thing to call the manufacture about is the “spices” or “flavorings” they use.  Sometimes there is milk in them. For more info on other milk keywords to look out for check out What’s Safe, What’s Not.
Cross contamination is one of the other issues when it comes to meat.  Purchasing meat from the deli is super risky, a risk we choose not to take.  Meat slicers tend to also become cheese slicers and the lack of changing gloves between slicers really means even though they are ‘cleaned’ they are hugely contaminated with milk. Definitely something I would urge to stay away from.

Here are the meat brands that we use regularly- And I’m a visual person and need pictures to help me know what to look for when shopping, so I included pictures, hopefully it’ll help you some too:

 

Land O’ Frost- We’ve used most their ham, chicken, and turkey flavors.  I always double check ingredients, but so far they have been dairy-free.

Applegate Farms- We’ve used their lunchmeats and hotdogs.

Jennie-O- We use a lot of their products.  Their hotdogs are a family favorite in our home.  We also regularly buy their: turkey bacon, ground turkey, turkey burgers and keilbasa.

Smithfield- They are our go to for large hams & traditional bacon.

Butterball- Whole turkeys; really look at other brands ingredients, they almost always infuse them with milk.  Yes, I am serious!!

Tyson- They are our go-to for chicken nuggets.

Have other favorite meat brands? Comment below!

What more info on how products can be labeled?

Check out our Product Labeling & What’s Safe What’s Not?

Milk, Yogurt, and Butter- Oh My!

by kristi | Leave a comment

Typical ‘dairy’ items and almost a necessity in the everyday

household.  Here are our top picks.

Milk- We use Silk Almond Original, Silk Almond Vanilla, Silk Soy Original, and Silk Soy Vanilla. We use them all for different reasons:

Almond Original because that is what is most comparable to fat content as traditional cows milk, and what was recommend to us by both the pediatrician and allergist as a substitute for cows milk after age 1.

Almond Vanilla because this Mommy slipped up and grabbed the vanilla once and the threenager, at the time, pleaded with us to buy that kind instead of the ‘regular’ kind… Opps!

We started using soy when our daughter turned 1 after her showing slight sensitivity to almonds. She wouldn’t touch the  Soy Original and seemed to like the Soy Vanilla, so that’s what we stuck with with her.  Again it was the 2nd most comparable to the fat content that is recommend for children after 1 year.  Thankfully she was and still is (26 months anyone?!) a boobie girl.  So she got everything she needed nutrient wise from me and her Soy Vanilla milk was more of a transitional thing.

We use the Soy Original flavor for baking and cooking.  It has less of a taste when adding in than the almond, and this way our whole family could enjoy.

My favorite pick? Silk Vanilla Soymilk.  So good! In fact, when one of our nieces comes over she always asks for some of cousin Harper’s ‘milkshake milk’ and prefers that over juice!

Yogurt, Silk to rescue again!

Just last year the Silk company unveiled their yogurt line.  It is so, so good!  Its soy based, 100% dairy free, and made in a dairy free facility as well (as of 7/2016).  Blueberry and strawberry are our favorites.  Only downside, just like most dairy free items, its not super cheap, but definitely a healthier option so we keep in the house on the regular.  For the amount of Silk products we buy on a weekly basis I should really start to think about investing in this company!

Earth Balance gave us ‘Butter’ options

Finding dairy free butter is actually pretty easy.  Every grocery store I’ve been into the past couple years has had a dairy-free option (read these labels super carefully- see Product Labeling & What’s Safe, What’s Not for an in-depth explanation labels and dairy keywords)

Our go-to for butter is Earth Balance Original Flavor.  This brand has several dairy free options but to me the original has the most butter-like taste.

Have other favorites? Comment below!

Check out our other Favorite Finds.

100% Dairy Free Cheeses (that don’t taste awful)

by kristi | Leave a comment

About a year into Brayden’s dairy allergy I gave up on finding a cheese that tasted even remotely edible.  We tried all the popular brands from our local grocery store chains and were anything but impressed.  I wish I was bluffing when I say they tasted like plastic, but I’m not!

Another year later I was on a mission for our boy to try cheese for the first time; surely there had to be one, right? A 45 min drive to Whole Foods and it was like I had hit the jackpot!

We can finally say CHEESE and mean it!

Earth Balance Vegan Chedder Squares– taste just like the ever so popular kids snack ‘Cheese-It’s’-  The fact that its Non-GMO and Vegan= win, win!

Field Roast Chao Cheese Slices- seriously taste just like mozzarella.  Delicious! Since finding these we have completely quit buying any other ‘cheese’ slices (other than the slices mentioned below).  They melt perfectly and taste good on their own too.

Follow Your Heart cheeses- are a new favorite in our home.  Just recently we moved to a smaller town, so I’ve started doing part of my shopping a local health food store.  Last time I was there, I was so sad to see they didn’t have any of our favorite Chao cheese in-stock.  On a whim, I picked up their Follow your Heart American Cheese Slices and I was so impressed! Again, great cheese flavor and absolutely no yucky taste. Very, very similar taste to the Chao and most defiantly something we will buy again.  A quick google search also shows they have shredded cheeses and block cheeses too, so many possibilities with this brand!

After all the work in finding our dream cheese slices you’d think that would be that right?! Nope, both toddlers completely refuse to eat.  Probably because its not a hotdog or a muffin and that’s all they like to consume these days! Ha!

 

Have any other favorite ‘cheese’ finds? Comment below, would love to hear from you!

Check out my What’s Safe, What’s Not for help shopping dairy free.