What shall we have for dinner?? Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Soya Free

When I first went 'dairy free', I can remember the panic. What were we going to eat?? 

It took me a while to realise that whilst some things had changed, not everything was going to be different. And after a while things became a whole lot easier, as we discovered things we could 'safely eat'. We then began to stick to a 'safe list'

Do you have one of those?? You know, a list of tried and trusted dishes.

Don't know about you, but it can be so easy to get stuck in a familiar rut, when it comes to making dinner. Occasionally I'll come across a 'new' (to us) dish and make it ad infinitum, but sometimes Kiddo decides she doesn't wan it and suddenly it's off the menu again, and we're back to the same old, same old...

However, what's MY 'same old' may be different from yours, so if I share mine, and you share yours... hopefully we can all share a bit of inspiration!

BUT, I'm NO Nigella... just so you know!


As in previous posts, this list is by no means exhaustive (especially as Kiddo is not fond of spice) but here's an idea of what we might eat:


Takes a while:

Roast Chicken - with roasted potatoes and veg. (use Bisto Free From gravy if gluten free like me, otherwise make sure that your chicken gravy does not contain milk)

Roast rack of lamb - with roasted potatoes and veg. and Bisto Free from gravy

Lamb Casserole (Knorr gluten free gravy stock)

Shepherd's Pie (Knorr gluten free gravy stock and mash made with dairy free alternatives)

Barnyard Pie - Chicken, bacon and leek, sweetcorn, mushroom, or whatever veg you like to add. It's made with gravy and topped with mash - much the same as Shepherd's Pie.

Lasagna - either making the sauce from scratch with dairy and gluten free alternatives, or using Dolmio smooth hidden veg and Tesco Free From lasagna sauce, with Violife or Daiya Shredded 'Cheese'.

Fish Pie - using white sauce made with Doves gluten free flour, Pure sunflower Margarine, Almond milk and Violife grated 'cheese'.

Sausage Casserole (suitable sausages - Tesco Finest Pork, Heck Pork, Rankin's Pork)

Paella (cooked with Kallo gluten free chicken stock) according to Jamie Oliver's instructions.

Fish and Chips (a la Hub!) Using the deep fat fryer and gluten free batter for the fish.

A wonderful dish to cook on a barbecue, but make sure you get the right pan!

Slightly less prep:

Chicken Fajitas (gluten free wraps/seasonings, Coyo coconut yogurt in place of creme fraiche, Violife grated 'cheese')

Spaghetti Bolognese (Dolmio smooth hidden veg sauce and gluten free pasta)

Jacket Potato (with various fillings)

Sausage Pasta Bake (gluten pasta & suitable sausages)

Chicken, Bacon & Mushroom Risotto

Bacon-wrapped chicken breasts (oven cooked and served with veg/potatoes)

Bacon-wrapped cod (oven-baked with vine tomatoes, served with veg/potatoes)

Sauteed potatoes with pan fried fish (salmon/mackerel/bream/sea bass)

Pan frying fish is so quick and easy!

Chicken curry (made with a ready made Free From sauce - Indian Butter Chicken)

Sweet and Sour Chicken with rice (Made with Sweet Mandarin Sweet and Sour Sauce)

Sausages and Mash ('safe' sausages with mash made with usual dairy free substitutes)



I'm in a hurry:

Pasta and Seafood with tomato-based sauce (Gluten free pasta, tomato-based sauce and fresh sea food mix from Waitrose)

Chicken/Prawn (or both) Egg Fried Rice or Noodles. The rice can be cooked in advance and cooled or you can use a packet of Tilda ready rice, or two! I stick to Tilda because I know it is specifically gluten free, but there are other brands out there. Amoy Straight to Wok Noodles are good too!

Egg fried rice is a real favorite in our house!

Pizza  (gluten free Schar base for me and Violfe pizza 'cheese' on top, toppings, whatever you choose)

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. Any products listed in this post are here purely because they genuinely are the products we have used and enjoy consuming. They are included here merely to point people who are new to suitable products that they too may enjoy. All views expressed are my own (unless I've asked for The Hub's or Kiddo's). I try to tell is 'as-it-is'.

Related posts: 

Let's do lunch!

Anyone for Breakfast?

A pud would be good!

Let's do Lunch! Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Soya Free

When I'm home:

If I'm at home, I might be tempted to be lazy, if there's no left overs to reheat, then some of the following might be an option:


Jacket potato and...

• Prawn mayo (if lazy get a pot from Waitrose)

• Tinned tuna and mayo

• Spaghetti Bolognese (leftovers or a 'Look what we've found!' sachet from Waitrose)

• Dairy Free Cheese - although that said, actual dairy cheese is far more nutritious than dairy free cheese, so I wouldn't normally choose this option, unless I was balancing it out with some other form of protein.

Sandwich/Baguette with...

• Cold chicken and Marmite (make mine Meridien gluten free alternative)

• Ham and salad with mayo and ketchup

• Prawn in rose marie sauce

• Scrambled egg

• Avocado and bacon with lettuce 

• Left-over bolognese

• Dairy free cheese and pickled beetroot (but if gluten free you may need to be careful with the vinegar)

Toast and...

I have to be careful with bread, even bread that appears to tick all my boxes doesn't agree with me, for some reason, but occasionally I still have:

• Ham and toasted dairy free cheese

• Scrambled/fried/poached/boiled egg

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Salad...

My favourite 'at home' salad (if I can be faffed), is Chicken and Aocado with cherry tomatoes and a mix of salad leaves. Add in some boiled new potatoes to warm it up.


Frittata

A great way to use up left over boiled potatoes! Mix up a couple of eggs, heat up some oil in a small frying pan, throw in the eggs, a handful of dairy free cheese and maybe some left over veg. Cook through and on both sides.


Pizza

You can make these from scratch, using a decent dairy free cheese alternative, or even these days buy them from the chiller in Sainsburys, Waitrose or Tesco. Dress them up or down by adding all your favourite toppings!


Ready meal...

If I'm really lazy, I'll heat up a Kirsties's ready meal, or an Amy's kitchen macaroni cheese, or perhaps one of Tesco's chilled Free From ready meals - I love the paella, and the lasagna.




Out and About??

If in busy cities or in London there's s many options, but in smaller towns/cities I might choose from the following:

• Marks and Spencer - sandwiches - depends on the season, but I've enjoyed their BLT, prawn mayonnaise. I have also enjoyed some of their 'Made without Wheat' products, such as pork pies and scotch eggs, but some of these options seem to have disappeared.

• Waitrose - sandwiches - depends on the season again but I think it's currently and egg and cress

• Costa - Chicken, Chorizo and Rice - can be heated.

• McDonalds - Chicken and bacon salad with the option of fries on the side

• Pret - Pret make a range of gluten and dairy free soups. My fave is Chicken, Rice and Broccoli, but sometimes I'll go for one of their salads (always check ingredients).

• Leon (mainly London, but branching out more) do a range of dairy and gluten free options. It's fast food, but not as you know it!

• Yo Sushi! - not much of the menu is suitable, but there's enough to keep me going. I love the Salmon Selection, the Ebi Nigiri, the Salmon Maki, the Kimchi Squid (it's hot) or the Salmon Avocado Temaki (has to be ordered).

• Five Guys - Naked burger (wrapped in lettuce) with fries

• Ask Italian - can do pizza with dairy free cheese and gluten free pasta options.

Linguine (minus the linguine but plus the gluten free pasta)  Con Frutti di Mare - Ask Italian

• Zizzi - Similar options to Ask Italian (they're owned by the same company.

• Pizza Express - Can now do gluten free bases and dairy free, soya free cheese, so befriend your server, find a basic pizza you like on the menu and they can amend it for you!

• Cote - Tuna Nicoise Salad - fries are safe too!

• Pub - the Wadsworth chain, is worth looking at, or St Austell breweries (in Cornwall). You can usually be sure of a safe Ham, Egg and Chips (separate gluten free fryer).

It's also worth checking out independent cafes, as they often include gluten free options, these days too!

HOWEVER, if you eat out, you might not always get a great range of puds - mainly just fruit sorbets, just saying!! That said, Zizzi also do some kind of chocolate praline torte - no good for me because of some other ingredient - looks tasty, though! They serve it with coconut ice cream!

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. Any products listed in this post are here purely because they genuinely are the products we have used and enjoy consuming. They are included here merely to point people who are new to suitable products that they too may enjoy. All views expressed are my own (unless I've asked for The Hub's or Kiddo's). I try to tell is 'as-it-is'.

Related Posts:

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Anyone for breakfast?? Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Soya Free

Living dairy free has become such a way of life now, that it kind of catches me out, when people ask what they can eat that's dairy free. I'm not only dairy free, I'm gluten and soya free and the honest truth is, there's lots you can eat. Sometimes it's case of adapting or using dairy free substitutes, but there's no way it has to be boring... unless routine is your thing and that's the way you like it!

If you need to find a dairy free substitute, there's plenty out there. Many like oat milk, others prefer coconut milk, my personal favourite is almond milk. My margarine of choice is usually Pure sunflower margarine (although they have undergone a recent recipe change, which I'm waiting to change back. Many supermarkets make their own branded dairy free margarines.

For more ideas regarding milk substitutes, see this page here.

Dairy free substitutes selected, we're good to go, starting with one of my faves:


Waffles

OK, so these require time and a waffle machine, so these are normally set aside for a lazy weekend.

We make ours with almond milk and Doves gluten free flour, and have never experienced any problems.

I love mine topped with fresh strawberries or raspberries and a good dollop of Coyo coconut yogurt, drizzled with golden syrup. Totally LUSH!

Kiddo prefers hers drizzled with chocolate sauce - Freedom is a good make, for those with multiple allergies.


Pancakes

You can make these completely from scratch, with your dairy free milk of choice. Coconut milk is a good choice, but almond milk can also work, although you'll get a thinner, runnier batter with almond milk. 

Being gluten free, I prefer using Mrs Crimbles pancake mix, as I like the blend of flours they use, but we've also used the Asda Free From Pancake Shaker.

Chopped banana and golden syrup make a fab topping for these, or fresh berries and Coyo, as before.

Sometimes we make a slightly thicker batter and make mini handheld pancakes, just for fun!

Eggs and...

Poached, fried (olive oil), scrambled (Pure margarine and  almond milk) or boiled and dippy, all work for me! usually with toast!

You really can't beat a slice of toast with a slice of bacon, topped with a fried egg.

If you've a little bit of time, eggy bread is a sure winner! Simply whip up some egg with a little milk, soak up the mixture in some toast and fry the bread (in olive oil) on both sides, until golden brown.

For a more indulgent version, poached eggs with avocado slices and some plum tomatoes on the side, get the thumbs up from me! Add a slice of toast and you're good to go!

For the full nine yards, go full English! Although don't forget to ensure your sausages are free of nasties too. I love Tesco Finest Pork Sausages, Heck Pork Sausages and Rankin's.

On a bit of a side note, if you're staying in a hotel, always get them to check what's in their sausages! Preferably, you want somewhere that will cook your food from scratch, so there's no chance of cross-contamination from the buffet. A good hotel will be happy to do this for you.

Nearly full English!

Bacon and ...

Well, obviously eggs (as above) but also in a butty, with ketchup. Not everyday maybe, but certainly bound to give you a tasty start!

Simple but tasty bacon butty! Mmm!

Potato Waffles and...

Yep! Those Kiddie tea time favourites. OK, you might not want to eat them everyday, but Kiddo has been known to eat these accompanied by a fried egg, or maybe fish fingers (make mine gluten free), or even chicken nuggets. They are super easy to cook, especially if you have an air fryer (we've recently invested)!

On a similar note, Kiddo also loves those 'Smiley Face' potato things. Kiddo's favourite thing with potato waffles, though, has to be a slice of bacon topped with a slice of dairy free Violife cheese! Not to everyone's taste, but she loves it!


Porridge

I've always loved porridge!! I love it made with coconut, almond or hazelnut milk and a tablespoon of golden syrup, although you could use honey of you prefer and dress it up or down, with fruit, nuts, etc. 


Cereal

Cereal is great for those days when you just need to grab something quickly and go! It's just a case of choosing your dairy free milk sub and then finding a suitable cereal. Being gluten free, I love a good gluten free Granola, or Nutribix, but if you're 'just' dairy free, you'll have a much wider range of options, e.g. Shreddies, Cheerios, Rice Crispies, Cornflakes, Weetabix etc. (always check ingredients, just in case they change).


Toast

If all else fails, there's always the option of toast (again make mine gluten and soya free). Many of the options are covered above, but if it's jam or marmalade, make mine homemade - preferably my Dad's!

There's always toast!

Now this isn't the most exhaustive list, but you get my drift - life doesn't end, when you become dairy free, it doesn't even (necessarily) take you in a new direction - just a slight curve!

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. Any products listed in this post are here purely because they genuinely are the products we have used and enjoy consuming. They are included here merely to point people who are new to suitable products that they too may enjoy. All views expressed are my own (unless I've asked for The Hub's or Kiddo's). I try to tell is 'as-it-is'.

Related Posts:

Which dairy free milk is best?

A pud would be good

Simple Shepherd's Pie

Sausage Pasta Bake