So where do you go, when you need Dairy Free, Nut Free Dairy Alternatives?

If you are one of those who are affected the the changes that Alpro are making (all their dairy free products will soon have to carry a 'may contain nuts' warning) you may be wondering what other products you can try. 

I've been doing a little research and have compiled a list of products. I cannot say how good they are as I'm not an expert in nutrition and everyone's tastes vary, so we will make no value judgements, as such, however this list may just give you somewhere to start.

Dairy Free, Nut Free Milks For Very Young Children

The bad news? At the moment, Alpro's Soya Plus 1 is the only dairy free alternative, available to buy, that up to now, has been recommended by medical professionals as a main milk drink - although others can be used in cooking. This is unless your child is allergic to soya, of course. It worries me that the only future alternative (once Alpro changes its manufacturing procedures) may perhaps be a hypoallergenic formula - for which you will need a prescription from your doctor, as they come with a hefty price tag!

We've relied on this

I have heard that there may be another product in the pipeline, but things are as yet at a very early stage, so don't pin your hopes on it, just yet!

Dairy Free, Nut Free Milks For Older Children and Adults

Koko 

Koko coconut milk is dairy free, soya free and nut free. It is enriched with calcium and it's original milk is also enriched with vitamins D2 and B12. It is widely available from supermarkets and is nut free. This is what they told me in confirmation of this: 

Our product it’s self  is completely nut free, coconut is a tree fruit and there are no nut based ingredients added. Also the factory where we produce Koko Dairy Free is a nut free site, no nut products are produced at the site.

The nice thing about Koko, is that their milk now comes in three flavours: original, strawberry and chocolate. They also come in smaller packs which are suitable for lunchboxes.

Oatly

Also widely available from supermarkets, Oatly oat milk is dairy free, soya free as well as nut free. Regarding nuts, they say:

I am pleased to confirm that all the products under the Oatly brand are nut and egg free and the factories where the products are manufactured, do not handle any nuts on site or make any other products where nuts are present.

Apart from the Organic version, it is enriched with calcium.  Although Oatly consider themselves 'low gluten', it will not be suitable for you/your child if you/they are intolerant to gluten or have coeliac disease.See here.

My Dairy Free Dream

Have to admit I steered away from My Dairy Free Dream in the beginning. I thought all they made was rice milk and I had been told to avoid rice milk, as I was breastfeeding. Rice milk is not usually considered suitable as a main milk drink for children under the age of 4.5 years (unless there are multiple allergies involved and there is nothing else to use).

Now, however, they've expanded their range, to include other types of milk. Despite the fact that they are now making Almond and Hazelnut milk, the rest of their range is nut free and all except Hazelnut are gluten free. I love this page that they have on their website, which shows clearly what their products are free from. I sincerely wish all companies would follow this example and be as transparent about their products.

Tesco Organic Sweetened Longlife Soya Milk

This dairy free milk I first heard of through Louise Jones of Nutmums. See here. However, being organic, it will not be enriched with calcium.

Waitrose Soya Milk

Fortified with calcium, I hear from Two Baby Foxes on Twitter that this has been recommended by their allergy nurse - who told them it was almost as good as the Alpro Plus One. It is, however, still lower in energy and therefore not recommended as a main milk drink for children below the age of two. 

Two Baby Foxes was kind enough to inquire about this one for me, and Waitrose confirmed that their milk is indeed nut free and is currently processed in a nut free facility. Let's hope that this is to continue - I'm not keen on the use of the word 'currently,' in case that means that they too, like Alpro, may change! 

Vivesoy

Relatively new to the UK market, Vivesoy sell a range of flavoured soya drinks. They are available in most large supermarkets alongside the other long life dairy free milks. According to their FAQ page on their website, all their drinks are fortified with 120mg of calcium per 100 ml - basically 15% of your RDA. 

Vivesoy have announced (via Twitter) that they are (and intend to remain) nut free. Huzzah!!!

Good Hemp Milk

Hemp milk has many fans, because it has lots of good attributes. This brand is another that we have reviewed in the past. See here, if you're interested in what I thought.

This milk is dairy, soya and nut free. They say:

All of our products are completely nut-free and do not come into contact with nuts at any stage of processing. 

It is fairly widely available in large supermarkets, Holland and Barrett and independent health food shops.

Dairy Free Nut Free Yoghurt

Wot no dairy?

This dessert is made with pea protein and is enriched with calcium. It is dairy free and soya free as well as nut free. They say:

Wot no Dairy? Yoghurts are produced on a nut free site, and that the ingredients have a nut free statement too!

These desserts come in five flavours (cherry, raspberry, strawberry, plain and peach and apricot). They can be obtained most easily from Holland and Barrett, although health food shops tend to stock them too. They are long life and the pot is just the right size for a lunch-box. 

Just right for a lunch box!

They are enriched with calcium (270mg per 100g). Please read our blog post, for more information.

Co-yo

Another product we have previously reviewed. See here. It is a dairy, gluten, soya and nut free product, made from coconut. They say:

Our natural yoghurt is made with just 3 ingredients and none of these come into contact with nuts; our factory is a nut free environment, we do not produce anything with nuts in it... We believe very strongly in preparing our product in an allergen free environment...

The pots are a little large for a lunch box, and can be bought from many health food stores, as well as through Ocado. 

Co-yo

Co-yo is only made from three ingredients and is sugar free. They tell us that it contains 14mcg of calcium per 100g of yoghurt. As such it is not fortified, but they may do so in the future. Because it is made from coconut, I have been advised that Co-yo will contain saturated fats, about which one ought to be careful.

Joya

These yoghurts are made from soya. They are dairy, egg, gluten and nut free. They say:

We can confirm, that the recipes for our sojagurts don`t contain any milk, eggs, nuts or gluten.

Our sojagurts, however, are produced in a factory that also handles milk, cereals containing gluten and nuts. To reduce the risk of cross-contamination to the technological minimum appropriate measures are taken, for example cleaning of equipment. The success of the measures are verified by accurate controls, for example each batch is tested for milk protein.

They are a nice size for a lunch box, come in a couple of flavour and can be bought from the chilled aisle in Sainsbury's. Concerning calcium, they told me:

Our Joya soya base for the soyagurts contains ca. 20mg / 100 ml, which is 2,5% of the daily requirement of calcium.

New kid on the block

Dairy Free Nut Free Cream

Please note: none of these appear to be enriched with calcium.

Oatly

The cream, like the milk is made with oats. It is similar to single cream, can be used in cooking and is widely available from supermarkets but unfortunately it is not enriched with calcium.

Soyatoo

This cream is made from soya or rice or coconut, depending on which product you buy. It comes in several forms, variously suitable for whipping or in a spray can. It is dairy free and does not contain any nut ingredients. Soyatoo tell us:

Our Soyatoo! products are dairy and nut fee, however our focus is on vegan and organic foods, not on foods for allergy-sufferers. Our creams are not made in a protected environment and are processed in a plant that also processes products other than ours. Therefore, although the facility is thoroughly cleaned before batches and our analyses have shown no trace of allergens so far, we cannot guarantee that no unintentional cross-contamination will ever take place. For this this reason we do not make any allergen-related claims and to be on the safe side cannot recommend our products for consumption by people who react to smallest traces.

However, I have heard from another allergy mum, who blogs (@parrlox on Twitter), and is quite particular about such things, that her family have been fine with them.

They can be obtained easily online through good Vegan outlets, such as the Vegan Store, and some heath food stores stock them too.

For our review of some of these products, see here (but ignore the second product - it's not nut free).

The lesser spotted rice version!

Mimilicious

This 'clotted cream' is made from oats. It is dairy and soya free and appears to be nut free, in that no nuts are listed in the ingredients. When I checked with them earlier in the year, they had this to say:

The product itself has no nuts in it, nor any ingredients derived from nuts. The equipment used to make it is solely used for this product. However the building itself is not nut–free and we cannot guarantee the cross contamination issue with regard to the ingredients either as we don’t know what environments they came from.

As this was about six months back, you may wish to check with this company for yourselves, if at all unsure. 

Look! A dairy free 'clotted cream'!

Mimilicious can best be obtained by mail order, as far as I know. Find out more by reading our review, here.

Dairy Free Nut Free Desserts

That'd be none, that I know of - that are like Alpro's dessert pots and custard! I thought I saw some desserts in Holland and Barrett today, but then I realised that they were made by Provamel - Alpro's sister company!

Orgran

However, Orgran make these Chocolate mousse mixes, which are free from most allergens, including nuts and dairy. As well as this custard mix. They are both available online through 'Free From For Kids'.

Swedish Glace Ice Cream

You could try Swedish Glace ice cream though - another recommendation by Two Baby Foxes! It is made from soya and is easily available through most UK supermarkets as well as Holland and Barrett.

Meanwhile if you're thinking of making your own, Dribble Delights recipe book may be worth buying. See here.

AND today a dietitian I follow on Twitter put together this post about making similar desserts for little ones, using other dairy free milks. 

And Finally

I sincerely hope this post helps all those who need it. We ('Baby' and me), although dairy free, are not nut free ourselves. However, we are affected by this issue personally, as she belongs to a group for little ones that has recently become nut free. Also we are soon to choose a school for her and both our current preferred choices for school are nut free too. his means that she will not be able to take her current milk to school, or the dairy free Alpro desserts, that she loves.

This list is by no means exhaustive. There may be additional information to follow, which I shall publish via our Face Book page, before adding to this blog post. 

If you know/think you know of any other products that we have left out, please leave a comment below.

Please note: 

This is not the place for people to comment on how evil soya or rice milk might be. It is not helpful to those struggling with this current situation, so I'm afraid that such comments will not be published. People with multiple allergies do not have multiple choice!

The Creme de la dairy free Creme

Oo! How I love/loved cream!! 

Along with cheese, it's like the Holy Grail of my dairy free world! It's fine if you can tolerate soya - many dairy substitutes are made with soya, but I can't. 

I don't know about you, but I've tried a few.

In the early days of going dairy free (pre-discovering I couldn't tolerate gluten) not being able to tolerate soya, I used to use Oatly as my milk replacement and Oatly cream as an accompaniment for a dessert. 

Like many dairy replacements, the Oatly cream needed a good shake, before you opened the carton - as the contents tend to have separated a bit, whilst they've been sat on a shelf. I didn't get as far as baking with it, although it says that you can on the carton, but I did like a blob of it on my apple crumble. By itself, it was bland enough and didn't leave any nasty after taste.

One thing I found, though, was that the cream would start out fairly thick, in consistency, but would soon go runny, once it came into contact with the heat from the apple crumble.

Apple Crumble and 'cream' - delicious!

Once I became gluten free, as well as dairy and soya free, I really thought that my options were limited, until I came across the following, by Ecomil.

Look carefully,  when shopping, it's actually quite a small carton.

Basically, it's a 'cream' that's made with almonds, and, like Oatly, is suitable for cooking. I've used it on desserts ( as with the apple crumble above and now, also, to make a rich chocolate sauce (which I'll tell you more about another time).

On it's own, it tastes fairly bland, but actually works well as an accompaniment, I think. It's fairly thick in consistency, but doesn't work well in coffee - I should know, I've tried. It was an experiment too far!

Look, how it's split!!

It didn't taste bad, but it looked awful, as you can see!

I didn't manage to get hold of any more for quite a while, until I moved to our current location and found that it was stocked by my current 'local' health food store.

So, for a while, I was cream free, until thanks to my friend Sarah (@Sugarpuffish on Twitter) I was pointed in the direction of The Vegan Store and the somewhat misleadingly named Soyatoo.

I say misleadingly, because although they do make products from soya, they also make 'cream' from rice and coconut.

The first product of theirs, that I tried, I think I actually found locally. It was an aerosol cream, made of rice - very similar to the actual cream one I remember we sometimes had as a treat, when I was growing up. At the risk of making you drool, I have to tell you that I thought it was perfect on top of a hot chocolate, although the heat did make it melt in to the drink!

Deep joy!

Obviously not meant for cooking, I also tried it with strawberries - my favourite fruit! By itself, it had no real particular flavour, but I thought it had a nice enough taste and accompanied the strawberries quite nicely.

Just right for Wimbledon!

However, the spray button caused me a bit of trouble. I don't know if I was being thick, but I could only get tit to work properly the first time. On subsequent occasions, despite following the instructions on the can, to the letter, the nozzle didn't seem to spray too well. How disappointing!!

Once opened, I refrigerated it though, and this may have been the problem as it was meant to be kept at ambient temperature apparently, but for no more than two or three days. This I discovered, once I emailed the company.

Since then I have discovered that Soyatoo also make a dairy and soya free rice whipping cream (sold by The Vegan Store). It is long life, so it can be stored in the cupboard for some while - ideal to keep handy in case you suddenly feel the need! 

Having tried it, I think it makes quite a good alternative to cream. There's no unpleasant after-taste. It is easy to whip up cream, but is best chilled first - when chilled it becomes a little more solid and holds shape well. 

One to try!

Although I am still breastfeeding, I felt fine to try these, as it's not like I am planning to eat them everyday!! (If you'd like to know why I am avoiding rice milk, whilst breastfeeding, you might be interested in reading this earlier post.) However, for those who are scrupulously avoiding rice milk, Soyatoo also make a coconut whipping cream.

This is it:

Sorry about the photo quality, here, folks!

On first opening the carton, I couldn't help noticing the smell of the coconut, from which it was made and it didn't look too appetising when I emptied it out into a bowl to be whipped. I planned to use to as an accompaniment to my Christmas pudding. With an electric whisk, like the rice whip, it didn't whisk up too badly, at all. 

Christmas pudding soon being off my list of 'foods I can eat,' I tried it instead with, yes, you've guessed it - crumble! Raspberry and apple this time!

Yes, there's a LOT of cream in this picture but it made lot and I was the only one eating it!

And again, with Strawberries - only this time I combined them with a meringue nest. Hey presto! A mini pavlova!

Obviously, whipping cream is just that - and can only really be used for a topping. Funnily enough that is just what it reminded me of - Dream Topping! The flavour was more artificial, I think, than others I had tried. I could cope with it, but it wasn't my favourite. The consistency was good, though - it held shape well. It did occur to me, that because of this it could be frozen (once whipped) and eaten as a kind of ice cream, but I haven't tried it myself.

However, there's another kind of cream that you might want to try. I've come across it, in blogs, but not yet tried it myself. It is, however, probably the most easy to find in your local stores - canned coconut cream! Canned Coconut Cream can be whipped up and in this blog, by Oh She Glows, there is a really good demonstration of how it can be done. 

Now, I'm supposed to avoid canned food - I don't think it does anything too nasty to me, but it brings out quite a rash on my face, which is itchy and gives me exactly the same reaction as I get from my nickel allergy. Despite my funny rash, I think one day that I might give it a go. After all, you only live once!  :)

Other posts about dairy substitutes can be found by following this link.

Update - I've found another vegan cream:



Vegan Devonshire 'Klotted Kream'

Remember, remember the fifth of November...

"Remember, remember the fifth of November,

Gunpowder, treason and plot.

I see no reason, why gunpowder treason

Should ever be forgot."

I vividly remember writing these verses, as handwriting practice, when I was a child and learning all about Guy Fawkes, who plotted to blow up the English Parliament of his day, and was put to death, as a result. 

One year, my brother and I made a lopsided 'Guy' but of course, the only thing I used to really think about on November the fifth was not so much Guy Fawkes, his religion, politics or Gunpowder Plot, but fireworks! 

The fun of fireworks in the back garden!

'Bonfire Night' was one of the highlights of my childhood! I loved the lighting of the bonfire and the makeshift fireworks display that my Dad would fire off in the back garden. Of course they didn't always work properly, but there was still something magical about them.

It being chilly, in November, in this little part of the globe, winter warmers were required, both during and after our little displays.

Tomato soup was a family favourite, along with hot dogs. 

These days, the politics behind the Gunpowder Plot are largely forgotten and my tastes have, shall we say... (ahem) matured! Mulled wine would go down very nicely, but as I am still breastfeeding, I'll be giving that one a miss. 

So, I think that this year, I'll be looking at sampling some of the following:

Well, soup is still an option!

Soup of the month - hope it sticks around!

I love tomato, but these days I also love butternut soup. Being no Nigella, I'm reluctant to make my own, but often find that many soups are made with wheat or cream or are canned (I avoid canned food, due to the rash it causes on my face). Recently however, I tracked down this soup, by Covent Garden, which I think will hit all the right buttons for me.

Failing that, this Morrocan Tagine, by Clive's Pies, would be a delicious and hearty alternative. The gentle spices in this tagine, are just right for warming one up, on a cold autumnal night.

A hearty alternative to soup.

Bangers are still definitely an option too!

These days, I love The Black Farmer's sausages, or even The Black Farmer's Daughters. They are gluten and dairy free and taste great! They're not soya free, but don't seem to affect me, for some reason. I also love Rankin's, but those are soya free. Other sausages I like are by Jamie, Jimmy's farm and Debbie and Andrew - all available at major supermarkets.

Black Farmer's are yummy!

As for a gluten and a dairy free bread roll, to go with my banger, Warburton's work for me - all be they a little bit on the dry and crumbly side!

Should I opt for a burger, Laverstock Park Farm make some gorgeous organic Buffalo burgers! These will be sandwiched neatly, within an Antoinette Saville gluten free bread roll. Both of these products can be obtained from Waitrose. 

For a side, I would love some sweet potato fries. Even I can bake these!

An ideal dessert would be a lovely baked apple, made with dairy free margarine, rather than butter and packed with a few dates. These would be great accompanied by a splodge of custard - made with coconut milk, Bird's custard powder and a generous helping of golden syrup! Either that, or some Bessant and Drury dairy free vanilla ice cream.

Topping off the evening for me, would be a mug of hot chocolate! My current fave is made with hazelnut milk, that' been heated, then mixed with Green and Black's cocoa powder and half a teaspoon of sugar. If I can get hold, of it a splurt of Soyatoo 'cream,' on the top, would really help it go down nicely. Failing that, a few gluten free marshmallows might do the trick!

One for Baby and one for me!

Now that's my ideal menu, but since The Hub and Baby have very different tastes to mine, I'll probably just end up with a few bangers and some hot chocolate! 

Now let's just hope Baby enjoys the fireworks too!

What about you? What food will you be having?

Of course whatever you do, stay safe (see below)!! If you'd like to see the animated version of this guide please visit Bonfire-Night-Safety.co.uk.If you'd like a free printable version of this cheat sheet to use as a teaching aid, visit the child development resource PDF