I work with a lot of my clients on gut-healing which includes leading them through a personalized elimination plan and reintroduction to pinpoint which foods are causing digestive symptoms. One of the main culprits for many is dairy. Sad but true, because cheese is so so delicious but sometimes we need a break from it in order to heal our guts. With my guidance, I always empower my clients to discover how foods make them feel, so that they can make decisions about what they eat on a day to day basis to feel their best!
I am therefore constantly on the lookout for new products, especially dairy free replacements if dairy is a no-go.
The market of dairy free products is a saturated one, with so many choices it can be hard to know which ones taste good and are made with good ingredients.
But all good, I have done the taste testing and label reading for you!
I have narrowed it down to my top 6 favorite dairy-free products that I always have on rotation when my tummy needs a break from the real thing.
1. MILK: Forager Project Cashew Milk. Doesn’t get better than this for taste and ingredients. Forager has been around for a minute and has perfected their milk. I love using for smoothies and chia seed pudding as it doesn’t leave a funky after taste like almond milks can.
2. MILK: Native Forest Simple Coconut Milk. This is the only coconut milk I have found that doesn’t add Xanthum Gum! You can buy it on Amazon if you can’t find this in your store. Make sure the label has the word “SIMPLE” on it ;)
3. CHEESE/CREAM CHEESE: Kite Hill Ricotta Cheese. One word – texture!! I don’t know how they do it but the texture is just like real ricotta and it tastes dang delicious. I am not a big fan of their cream cheese, because 4 out of 5 that I buy always have mold when I open them (what’s up with that?), but I have used this as a spread on bagels and it’s a better cream cheese alternative.
4. CHEESE: Miyoko’s Vegan Mozz. Holy crap this stuff is epic. It melts, browns and bubbles just like real mozzarella cheese. I kid you not. I would never lie to you! So the next time you want to make that panini or pizza dairy free, get this stuff pronto.
5. YOGURT: Forager Project Cashewgurt. I have tried so so so many dairy free yogurts. I still haven’t found a coconut one I like that is versatile, and the almond milk ones have weird aftertastes. There are oat milk ones out on the market now but the ingredients are shit. Forager has nailed it with the texture and mild taste. I don’t only just eat it with granola and fruit but also mix it into dressings and tuna salads.
6. BUTTER: Miyokos Vegan Butter. Vegan butters can be, errrrr, quite industrial with their ingredients. But this one is really good, made with coconut oil, and melts and bubbles in the pan, and is delicious on bread too!
Tada! Hope you enjoy some new ideas for products and leave in the comments your favorites! Always on the hunt for something new.