Going dairy free... meal/snack ideas please!

cycle_queen
cycle_queen Posts: 49 Member
in Food and Nutrition
After a long struggle with dairy, I have come to terms with the fact that I need to omit it from my diet in order to live a fuller life.

Since this is a new concept for me, I am looking for dairy free meal and snack ideas to inspire me. I generally eat multiple meals a day and love eating fish and vegetables. I will eat small portions of meat as well. :embarassed:

I work 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. in an office hence my interesting meal planning:

:heart: Breakfast 8-10 am
:heart: Early Afternoon Snack 12-1 pm
:heart: Lunch 1-3 pm
:heart: Afternoon Snack 4-5 pm
:heart: Dinner 7-8 pm
:heart: Evening Snack 8-10 pm

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Please feel free to add me as a MFP friend.

Sincerely,
Sarah

Replies

  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    Don't eat cheese, yogurt, or milk. Not hard to avoid those. If you're going hard core no dairy in anything ever then you either need to eat no processed foods or read labels on everything. Many processed items contain some form of dairy.
  • auntiecorri
    auntiecorri Posts: 53
    Hi Sarah,

    One of my favorite snacks is raw veggies (bell pepper, carrots, celery) with hummus. I vary the veggies and usually have 3 flavors of hummus on hand at any given time. Another idea is half of an apple, sliced with 1 tablespoon peanut butter.

    I roast up a batch of veggies; eggplant, zucchini, red onions, red bell pepper and mushrooms, and use them in a variety of ways. Stuffed in a pita pocket (w or w/o hummus), drizzled with balsamic- cold or warm, mixed in pasta or with whole grains.

    Hope this helps-
  • jennabean27
    jennabean27 Posts: 3 Member
    I have cut dairy from my diet also. My baby girl has bad acid reflux and since I am breast feeding, her doctor said it could help to stop drinking milk, eating cheese, yogurt etc,... So I did a little research.

    Most coffee creamer is non-dairy (but watch out for carbs)
    Soy, rice, and coconut milk. Margarine. Earth balance is pretty awesome. I was bummed about removing butter from
    my diet especially because I love me do ash potatoes . Yummy buttery mixed with half and half. :( oh man thanksgiving is gonna be hard)
    Tofu.
    Make your own 'ice cream' with silken tofu or plain old bananas.
    I haven't found a yummy cheese substitute yet . If you find one please share.
    I know it seems petty but I love parmigiana and Romano cheese on top of my pizza, pasta and inside my meatballs.

    Snacks...
  • smc864
    smc864 Posts: 570 Member
    I'm lactose intolerant and avoid most dairy. Watch out for protein shakes as most of them use milk proteins (whey, casein). I am able to use Muscle Milk because it is lactose free. You may want to look into hemp protein if you like shakes.

    Sorry I don't have more options to share but I live a pretty fulfilled life without dairy... although I miss ice cream like crazy!! :sad:

    There are a lot of vegetarian and vegan alternatives at your local health food store. Most use tofu to create foods with the same consistency as different dairy foods. I can't think of any off hand aside from a product called Nayonnaise, which is a vegan mayonnaise (not really dairy, I know)
  • feelin_gr_8
    feelin_gr_8 Posts: 308 Member
    Die....that would be my option. I ate yogurt twice today and had cheese...I eat twice as much dairy as protein easily. Good luck though!
  • lucyloutoo
    lucyloutoo Posts: 522 Member
    I don't eat any dairy at all....and feel so much better for it.
    I still miss cheese, cake and chocolate, but giving all that up has made me fitter.
    Watch out for crisps/chips, there's dairy in a lot of them.
    I love peanut butter, and that's become my go to snack...either with some or rice cakes.
    I also easy a lot of homemade soup...with beans and veggies.
    Hummus is another good one.
    Other than that is pretty much what I ate before, just not having the dairy.


    I'm pretty sure mayonnaise is dairy free...but the full fat version.. Just use less.
  • xanister
    xanister Posts: 2 Member
    As someone who recently discovered she can't eat dairy (allergic to the protein in milk) it's not nearly as hard as people say it is.

    Substitutes:
    Soy milk, especially Silk chocolate soy milk is a great way to get Vitamin D and Calcium and it's tasty. Rice milk is great for cooking with especially the vegan mac n' cheese you can buy. I recommend Road's End Organic.
    Margarine/Butter: Becel makes a wonderful vegan margarine which is comparable in price and calories of normal margarine. Earth Balance is great too.
    Cheese: Daiya is amazing if you can find it. It tastes good, it melts and you can treat it like normal cheese.

    Favourite snacks for me are:
    Kale or Kale chips
    Celery and peanut butter
    Hummus is a great option
    Salsa and either baked tortilla chips or a pita cut up
    Oreos are completely milk free!
    Beef jerky!
  • AddieOverhaul
    AddieOverhaul Posts: 734 Member
    I am also allergic to dairy and have decided to give it up again to feel better. I gave it up for a few years in my early 20's when there were way less alternatives but I went back to it as my symptoms weren't that bad. However, they have gotten worse again.

    An added challenge for me is that soy tends to upset my stomach.

    Feel free to add me if you are dairy free, I'd like to get ideas and share challenges.
  • twixlepennie
    twixlepennie Posts: 1,074 Member
    I do a lot of baking for someone who has a dairy allergy and there's lots of recipes for muffins, cookies etc out there-almond milk and Earth Balance vegan 'butter' are really good substitutes for baking. But, dairy is in so much stuff, especially things you wouldn't think of. Really pay attention to labels. Some random things that have dairy in them-sausage links and other meat (meatballs etc), frozen veggies with sauce, salad dressings,including some Italian ones, most breads/baked items and the list goes on. It's doable but there's a large learning curve that goes along with it. My relative has been dairy free for about six months now and she still struggles with it.
  • SigSauer1911
    SigSauer1911 Posts: 1 Member
    If you're missing ice cream try Almond Dream, should be right next to the ice cream, it's non dairy and wicked yummy!

    These are a couple of yummy treats I have...

    Coconut Macaroons
    Makes approximately 48 macaroons
    Ingredients:
    6 egg whites
    ¼ teaspoon Celtic sea salt
    ½ cup raw honey
    1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
    3 cups unsweetened coconut
    Directions:
    In mixing bowl, whisk eggs and sea salt. Add in raw honey, vanilla and coconut. Drop batter on to parchment paper on cookie sheet. Pinch off each at the top like a chocolate kiss. Bake and 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned


    Raw Cheesecake Pudding
    Serves 2 to 4
    Ingredients:
    1 cup raw cashew butter
    1/3 cup lemon juice
    1/3 cup raw honey
    4 dates
    1 teaspoon vanilla
    ½ teaspoon Celtic sea salt
    Honey Graham Crackers
    Directions:
    In a blender, chop dates first to make sure they will integrate into the pudding smoothly. Combine all remaining ingredients in blender. Blend until smooth. Refrigerate overnight. Serve spread on honey graham crackers.

    Banana Oat Cookie
    2 rippened bananas
    1 1/3 cup of oats
    You could try adding walnuts or pecans too, and these are super filling!
    Bake at 350 for 15 mns

    Kiwi, Avacado, Lime Smoothie
    1/2 perfectly ripe large avocado
    2 kiwi- peeled
    1/8 C lime juice + 1 T
    1/8 C-1/4 C Almond milk, soy milk, coconut milk, aloe juice, fruit juice- just enough to get the blender going.
    honey to taste 1-2 T
    2-3 ice cubes

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