If you’ve given up dairy, come here.

[thelurkylulu]

How do your survive without cheese? I want to try to be dairy free and I know I’m going to miss cheese. That and Greek yogurt are really the only dairy products I think I will struggle with. SOS give me tips or tell me I don’t need cheese.

[brandy0331]

I try to stick to meals that I wouldn’t normally put cheese on or taste fine without it. I know some people like to use nutritional yeast for a cheese flavor, but I don’t like it. I have found that if I use coconut cream blended really well with soaked raw cashews that it is a nice way to thicken meals that would have normally called for milk or cream.

[litebright]

I developed lactose intolerance a few years ago and I get sick if I eat much dairy. It doesn't matter how much I miss pizza with cheese, or grilled cheese, or mac & cheese (or yogurt or ice cream, or or or ...) I can't have it or I end up feeling sick as a dog.

I miss it, I won't lie. But nothing is worth putting myself through how bad my physical reaction is. I count myself lucky that I can still tolerate butter in small amounts, so I haven't had to drastically change most of my basic cooking. I have found substitutes for a lot of things, even special dishes (coconut cream-based creme brulee, for instance) and otherwise I just don't make the dishes that are cheese heavy. I rarely make casseroles any more, for example.

It would be harder if I was doing this by choice. But the short answer is, it makes me sick, so I do without.

[mrsfarmer]

There are other versions. I found real FETA cheese made from sheep's milk at a store. You can also find goat cheese, goat milk yogurt and other non-dairy yogurt options.

[wambam]

I find that a lot of times when I want cheese, I actually want something savory and sort of semi solid. Guacamole is applicable in a lot of those situations.

[emilyinchile]

Oct 17, 2019 9:02:49 GMT -5 mrsfarmer said:

There are other versions. I found real FETA cheese made from sheep's milk at a store. You can also find goat cheese, goat milk yogurt and other non-dairy yogurt options.

This is all still dairy, it's just not cow's milk.

OP, I do eat dairy, but I've cut down on cheese gradually. Honestly, you just sort of get used to not having it on sandwiches and burgers and stuff like that, and I don't make cheesy recipes because BF has a hard time with dairy. Pizza I think is the main thing I would miss if I totally cut it out, but I haven't tried some of the more highly recommended dairy cheeses to know what they're like. Maybe do some experimenting with those and the non-dairy yogurt options to see if anything works for you?

[brooke77]

I had to cut out cow’s milk for a year due to my DS’s allergy when he was nursing.

I won’t sugarcoat it. It sucked. Milk is in EVERYTHING. So if you are truly going dairyfree, read the labels. I had to avoid many types of bread, crackers, salad dressing, etc.

Oil is a good substitute for butter. If I was craving cheese, it was usually because I wanted fat, so I would add avocado to everything.

I was able to eat buffalo and sheep milk cheese, which were good for pizza. But it sounds like you may be avoiding those as well.

[tarzanswife]

I've been lactose free about 10 years. I really missed cheese at first but now when I accidentally get some, I can tell immediately and the reaction in my body is quite unpleasant. I really like the Daiya brand of cheese. They have all different kinds and I haven't found one yet I don't like. I especially like making grilled cheese with their sliced cheddar cheese.


Daiya

[DarcyLongfellow]

I had to give up dairy for 2 years (1 year for each of my kids when I was nursing them because they were intolerant to dairy protein). It sucked, seriously. But it is SO much easier now than it was a decade ago when I did it for the first time. There are some great substitutes for milk now with all the different plant based milks and even coffee creamers. They even make coconut milk and almond milk yogurt, although they definitely aren't the same.

As for cheese, I never found anything that was supposed to be a "cheese substitute" I was willing to eat. I just made do without it. I did find that *eventually* I didn't miss it as much as I thought. A lot of times I just tried to add more vegetables and other flavors to things to take the place of cheese. Like, when we had tacos, instead of using cheese I'd make sure I sauteed some mushrooms and spinach and roasted some peppers to have so I wouldn't miss cheese. Same idea with pizza -- I'd just put tons of veggies on pizza so I wouldn't miss not having cheese. Lots of toppings on sandwiches.

Amy's does make a dairy free, gluten free mac and cheese in the freezer section that my goddaughter loves. I always stock it when she comes over, but I've never eaten it myself.

[azalea]

Oct 17, 2019 8:57:23 GMT -5 litebright said:

I developed lactose intolerance a few years ago and I get sick if I eat much dairy. It doesn't matter how much I miss pizza with cheese, or grilled cheese, or mac & cheese (or yogurt or ice cream, or or or ...) I can't have it or I end up feeling sick as a dog.

I miss it, I won't lie. But nothing is worth putting myself through how bad my physical reaction is. I count myself lucky that I can still tolerate butter in small amounts, so I haven't had to drastically change most of my basic cooking. I have found substitutes for a lot of things, even special dishes (coconut cream-based creme brulee, for instance) and otherwise I just don't make the dishes that are cheese heavy. I rarely make casseroles any more, for example.

It would be harder if I was doing this by choice. But the short answer is, it makes me sick, so I do without.

If you are lactose intolerant (as opposed to a dairy allergy) - try Cabot cheddar cheese. All of their cheddars are lactose free and state so on the label. www.cabotcheese.coop/lactose-free-cheese

[pandorica]

Oct 17, 2019 19:38:14 GMT -5 azalea said:

Oct 17, 2019 8:57:23 GMT -5 litebright said:

I developed lactose intolerance a few years ago and I get sick if I eat much dairy. It doesn't matter how much I miss pizza with cheese, or grilled cheese, or mac & cheese (or yogurt or ice cream, or or or ...) I can't have it or I end up feeling sick as a dog.

I miss it, I won't lie. But nothing is worth putting myself through how bad my physical reaction is. I count myself lucky that I can still tolerate butter in small amounts, so I haven't had to drastically change most of my basic cooking. I have found substitutes for a lot of things, even special dishes (coconut cream-based creme brulee, for instance) and otherwise I just don't make the dishes that are cheese heavy. I rarely make casseroles any more, for example.

It would be harder if I was doing this by choice. But the short answer is, it makes me sick, so I do without.

If you are lactose intolerant (as opposed to a dairy allergy) - try Cabot cheddar cheese. All of their cheddars are lactose free and state so on the label. www.cabotcheese.coop/lactose-free-cheese

Another vote for trying Cabot! H's family is filled with lactose intolerant people and all use Cabot without issue. Lots of shredded Kraft cheeses used to be lactose free as well, but I'm not 100% sure if they still are.

[gastro]

I’ve had to give up dairy because I’m nursing and baby can’t seem to tolerate dairy.
For alternatives for yogurt and milk I find cashew based products to be the best (over coconut or almond). Also ripple (pea protein) products.

[VillainV]

I am lactose-intolerant and ha e had to cut out most dairy.

- Cashew-based cheese is good on pizza
- Daiya slices are good on sandwiches
- Silk makes a coconut-chocolate dairy free yogurt that’s really tasty
- There are several good almond-based coffee creamers
- I have even found almond whipped cream
- So Delicious Salted Caramel Cashew dairy-free (cashew) ice cream is literally the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted
- Guac and Hummus are good stand-ins on sandwiches and wraps
Lurk in the dairy-alternative section of your grocery store (near the dairy stuff but on the side). There are a lot of good options that are widely available.

[twilightmv]

I haven’t entirely cut it out but I’ve cut back substantially. My husband is also lactose intolerant. There’s a ton of dairy free products now that taste really similar to me. My favorite are primal kitchen salad dressings and Sir Kensington sauces (not all are dairy free but they have a bunch).

[atarianna]

I’ve been dairy free 3 of the last 6 years. I love cheese, especially Mexican queso, but really love all dairy. For me, it wasn’t really a choice, so I think that made it easier to stick with it. The first steps are to cut out obvious dairy. For me I stopped adding cheese to sandwiches, wraps, salads etc. I switched to almond milk in my cofffee. Instead of substitutions, I just went without yogurt, sour cream, ice cream, butter etc. I changed how I cooked and use olive oil instead of butter for all the dishes I make.

The first couple of months were hard. Trying to really get the hang of it was challenging and I ate a lot of PB&J just for ease. One thing I do hate is asking for food modifications while out. Some places are more accommodating to requests than others but I always feel like such a burden.

[winecat]

There's a line of lactose free dairy (cream cheese, sour cream, yogurt, etc.) I found at Vitamin Cottage: greenvalleylactosefree.com/. I tried the sour cream because it was on sale and it was good. Organic Valley has lactose free half n' half as well.

[rooster222]

The only cheese substitutes that I've liked so far are all cashew based.

Trader Joe's and Whole Foods both carry some cashew cheese queso dips that are really good. I've made cashew ricotta at home and just a cashew herb spread and they are pretty good but don't convince anyone that they are cheese.

I have not found any shredded cheese that I really like but the Amy's frozen vegan pizza is the only one I will eat again because the cheese on it is ok.

[rooster222]

Oh and Target has some non-dairy ice cream that is good. I think it's their Archer Farms brand. The vanilla cake cookie dough one is good and even my kids like it.