Oo! Ah! Christmas Chocolat! 2015

My first dairy free Christmas was decidedly bleak - we were brand new to being dairy free and had no idea of what was out there that was safe to eat. This year, there is a good amount of choice available and so hopefully there's something for everyone. As usual, I've tried to track where these can be found. And, as at Easter, I've decided to cut down the waffle and provide some easy comparison charts to help you find the dairy free chocolate that's right for YOU!

This table shows the range of products available and where to find them:

	Advent Calendar	Selection Box	Chocolate Novelty Figures	Chocolate Boxes	Chocolate Coins	Tree Decorations
Ayni	Shapes for Advent calendars – online only	x	Online only	Online Only	x	x
Booja Booja	x	x	x	Waitrose, Sainsbury’s Holland & Barrett Ocado	x	x
Choices (also make Tesco, Sainsbury’s & Asda’s free from chocolate)	Sainsbury’s Tesco Asda Holland & Barrett Ocado	Holland & Barrett Ocado	Sainsbury’s Tesco Asda	Sainsbury’s Holland & Barrrett Ocado	Sainsbury’s Tesco Asda	X But see this post!
Cocoa Libre	x	x	Holland & Barrett	x	x	x
D & D Chocolates	Online only	x	Online only	Online only	x	Online only
Kinnerton	By pre-ordering online only	x	Asda Ocado	x	x	x
Moo Free	Sainsbury’s Waitrose Ocado	Sainsbury’s Ocado	Waitrose Ocado	x	x	x
No Muu	Shapes for Advent calendars – online only	x	Online only	x	x	x
Plamil	Holland & Barrett	x	Holland & Barrett	x	x	x

Please note, you may need to shop in the larger supermarkets to find these products and avoid disappointment. Holland and Barrett may well hold some great promotions nearer Christmas, if you can hold your nerve and wait until then!

The Choices Advent Calendar under the Sainsbury's label

You may see larger ranges of chocolate listed elsewhere as dairy free, but many of them contain traces or are made on the same production lines as milk products. All of the chocolate in this table is definitely dairy free - no may contain dairy or traces of dairy in this little lot! 

This table shows key allergen information for these dairy free chocolate brands:

	Dairy Free	Gluten Free	Soya Free	Egg Free	Nut Free	Vegan
Ayni	y	y	y	y	y	y
Booja Booja	y	y	y	y	x	y
Choices (also make Tesco, Sainsbury’s & Asda’s free from chocolate)	y	y	*Lecithin	y	y	y
Cocoa Libre	y	y	*Lecithin	y	y	y
D & D Chocolates	y	y	May Contain	y	y	y
Kinnerton	y	y	*Lecithin	y	y	y
Moo Free	y	y	y	y	x	y
No Muu	y	y	May Contain	y	y	y
Plamil	y	y	May Contain	y	y	y

Y = yes

*Soya Lecithin is the oil from the Soy bean. Technically, this should not cause a reaction in those allergic to soya, as the protein has been removed, but those who are particularly sensitive may still react. If unsure please consult with your Doctor/Dietitian.

Brand Lowdown:

Ayni

Ayni make handmade raw chocolate, which is naturally dairy free. Unfortunately only available online, it is quite reasonably priced and there is a good range of novelty shapes and lollies, some of which are made with white dairy free chocolate. They even make a chocolate house kit! Check out their products here.

Booja Booja

Booja Booja chocolate truffles are simply LUSH! They are on the somewhat pricey side, but they taste worth it. A small box from Waitrose or Sainsbury's will set you back about £6.95/£6.99. Larger boxes can be purchased from Holland and Barrett, but the largest selection by far can be found on Ocado.

A little luxury!

Choices/Celtic Chocolates

This brand originates from Ireland. They produce chocolate under their own label, as well as for Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury's free from label. They make a good range of Christmas chocolates. You can get best value by buying it under Asda's label, on the whole. Their Advent calendar is noticeably more expensive at Tesco and Holland and Barrett! Most of their chocolate is 'milk' chocolate, but they also make a white chocolate Santa and some dark chocolate mints.

Tesco? Choices actually!

Sainsbury's? Choices! Same product, different wrapper!

These Santas come in white or milk style chocolate

Cocoa Libre

I first came across this brand the other year and loved it. It is gradually becoming more available and I'm really excited to see this brand now available on the High Street at Holland and Barrett. Woo hoo! Otherwise the full range of their chocolate can be found online here. By the way, if you can't find it in your local Holland and Barrett, you can order online and have it delivered to your local store.

Love these cheeky little penguins - available in mint or milk flavour

D & D Chocolates

D & D chocolates use Plamil chocolate to make a nice range of seasonal offerings, including Christmas tree decorations!! You can find their range here. Their chocolate is a bit darker and firmer than some other dairy free chocolates, but I've heard their mint chocolate snowmen are lovely and won an award the other year! D & D Chocolates also make a carob range for those who can't have chocolate.

Kinnerton

This brand of dairy free chocolate is decidedly dark, rather than milk chocolate. Unfortunately, if you want one of their Advent calendars, you've missed the boat for this year. However, if you join their mailing list, they'll warn you next year. If you shop in Asda, you may well spot their hollow chocolate Santas, which would make perfect stocking fillers.

Actually quite a nice size in real life - kiddo loved hers last year!

No Muu

No Muu is a small family business, whose aim is to make safe dairy free treats suitable for kids. Their Lego men (not Christmas I know, but such fun) are pretty cute! Their range of novelty chocolate shapes includes white chocolate as well. Check out their Christmas range here.

Moo Free Chocolates

This brand is very popular with those who miss their normal milk chocolate. Usually Sainsbury's and Waitrose stock the Advent calendars and Mini Moo Santas, but I haven't seen them there this year just yet, although Sainsbury's have got their selection boxes. Waitrose always tend to take longer to get seasonal free from stock in. 

Their selection box includes one of their chocolate Mini Moo Santas

Plamil

Plamil's range can usually be found in Holland and Barrett. Their cheeky little chocolate snowmen are a hit in our house! They also make Holland and Barrett's own label chocolate products, such as their Advent calendar. If you can't find what you want in store, check out Plamil's online shop, here. 

You can now buy the Plamil snowmen in mini packs - great for stocking fillers!

Online

The good news is that should you find it difficult to find dairy free chocolate locally, there are places you can buy it online. Try the following websites if you are struggling to find dairy free chocolate locally:

Alternative Stores

Free From for Kids

Goodness Direct

Tasha's Dairy Free Delights (also make own dairy free chocolate products using Plamil)

The Vegan Store

Vegan Town

And... chocolate that is not quite dairy free enough for us

Not all 'dairy free' products are equal! Although Vegan products are made without milk, they may be made on factory production lines where other products that do contain milk have been made. This could mean that they contain traces of milk, which can cause problems for those who are quite sensitive to milk. However some people choose to be dairy free and those who are allergic to dairy have varying levels of sensitivity, so here are a few other brands that might interest those of you who are okay with traces of milk:

Aldi 

Hotel Chocolat

Lidl

Montezuma's dark chocolate

Zero Zebra - claim to be allergen free but are made on production lines where allergens have been handled and have caused mild allergic reactions in some allergic individuals.

Finally:

Hopefully this post has provided you with the information you need to find the chocolate that is right for you. The information included in this post may change over time, so follow @dairyfree on Twitter or Dairy Free Baby and Me on Face Book, to keep track of any updates.

Please note: 

This post is not an advert. I have not been paid to write this post. I am not sponsored in any way, even by advertising. I do not receive products free to review, although I have often been offered them. This is to try and maintain an unbiased approach. All views expressed are my own (unless I've asked for The Hub's or Kiddo's).

Related Posts:

Dairy free ways to decorate your tree



Kinnerton Dairy Free Advent Calendars

Cocoa Libre Dairy Free Milk Chocolate

May Contain - Explained

NEW Tesco Sweetened Almond Milk

From time to time, we notice the big supermarkets remove products by known 'brands' from their shelves and replace them with new ones, under their own label. Sometimes these changes are for the good, sometimes the new products are a bit inferior. 

Now, as far as I'm aware, Tesco are unlikely to replace Alpro, with their 'own' brand, but are merely offering their dairy free customers a bit more choice. They've already done so with their own soya milk, rice milk and coconut milk, it's interesting to see them choose to branch out with a ambient (long life) almond milk.

Here it is!

A bit of a fan of Alpro's almond milk, I was interested to see how Tesco's new almond milk would stack up, against my preferred brand - at £1.40, it's 30p cheaper than Alpro, so I thought it was worth a look.

Here's what I found...


Ingredients:

Basically, these are the same, although quantities may vary between the two. The only noticeable difference was in the stabilsers and the fact that Alpro lists Vitamin E. Tesco uses Carob Gum and Gellan Gum as their stabilizers, whereas Alpro uses Locust Bean Gum and Gellan Gum. This fact will only be of interest to those who have discovered they can't tolerate one type of gum, or another. Most of us shouldn't be affected by this.

As is usual with commercial almond milk, both packets state they contain 2% almond. Some people are shocked when they stop to think about this, as it seems like a low percentage, but it is not surprising when you consider that almond milk is basically made by running water through ground almond. Nuts are not exactly something that you can squeeze and the juice comes out!

 Nutritional Values:

Typical Values per 100ml	Tesco Sweetened Almond Milk	Alpro Sweetened Almond Milk
Energy	130 kJ	102 kJ
	31 kcal	24 kcal
Fat	1.9 g	1.1 g
of which Saturates	0.2 g	0.1 g
Carbohydrate	2.8 g	3.0 g
of which Sugars	2.8 g	3.0 g
Fibre	0.5 g	0.2g
Protein	0.5 g	0.5 g
Salt	0.1 g	0.13 g

The main difference here lies in the higher fat content and energy and calorie count in the Tesco product. This would make it marginally better for any younger children, who require a higher calorie and fat content in their milk. Anyone watching their weight may prefer the Alpro version, or the Unsweetened Almond Milk that Tesco have also brought out.

The unsweetened version

Vitamin/Minerals:

Typical Values per 100ml	Tesco Sweetened Almond Milk	Alpro Sweetened Almond Milk
Vitamin D	0.8 µg	0.75 µg
Riboflavin (B2)	0.2 mg	0.21 mg
Vitamin B12	0.4 µg	0.38 µg
Vitamin E	-	1.8 mg
Calcium	120 mg	120 mg

Almond naturally contains Vitamin E. Alpro apparently add extra, to add to the nutritional value of their milk.


Allergen Information:

Both state that they are dairy and gluten free. Otherwise allergen informatio will only be of interest to nut allergy sufferers - depending on which nuts one might be allergic to. The Alpro version may contain hazelnut, whereas the Tesco version is less specific - stating it may contain traces of other nuts.


What is it like?

Darker in colour, I found the Tesco almond milk sweeter than Alpro's version, even though there's meant to be less sugar. I think it was also slightly less viscous, but that is slightly hard to measure! I think I still prefer Alpro's almond milk, although the Tesco version is certainly palatable enough.



Cost:

Here's where the difference between the two milks really comes into play! Costing £1.40 - 30p cheaper than Alpro (according to Tesco pricing), the Tesco almond milk definitely wins! Enough to make me break with Alpro?? I'm not sure!

Please note: 

This post is not an advert. I have not been paid to write this post. I am not sponsored in any way, even by advertising. I do not receive products free to review, although I have often been offered them. This is to try and maintain an unbiased approach. All views expressed are my own (unless I've asked for The Hub's or Kiddo's).

Related Posts:


Which dairy free milk is best?



Anyone for almond milk?



Are you getting enough - calcium?