I have talked about what it is like going gluten free. I am also dairy free. Here are some tips I found that make these changes easier, or at least a little bit more tasty.
Gluten Free
Going gluten free showed me how big a fan of gluten my taste buds are. My taste buds had 50+ years of gluten joy and are not happy with the change. I found ways to appease them.
Look for items that were invented in gluten free form. I know you just gave me an eye roll. Hang on and give me a chance to explain. I find the recipes for cookies and other baked goods that were invented without gluten taste best, more balanced than recipes that were changed to be glutten free. I feel this is because each ingredient was added to compliment the others at the point of invention. I am sure there are good baked goods out there where the recipe was changed to be gluten free. I am just having a hard time finding them.
Are you missing cookies while watching household members chow down your favorite cookies? Coconut Macaroons don’t have gluten. They also come in chocolate. Flourless chocolate cake is good too. Look for nut or oat cookies – some use that nut or oat ground up instead of all purpose flour. Check out no bake cookies too. Some of these omit all flours.
When using mixes with gluten free substitutes, I found I like the taste better if I add a pinch of salt and a little sugar. The salt and sugar balance out the flavors to match my expected taste. I found this worked especially well for a gluten free microwave mug brownie mix. I tried this adjustment as I noticed the mix was low sugar.
Breads are another tricky food. Sourdough has come to my rescue. The dough is made differently and should not have gluten. You can easily find sourdough pretzels too! The oat breads are also good, but check the labels carefully.
In the cracker area I like the gluten free crackers that add other flavors in like nuts and seeds. The more add-ins the better for me. Almond flour really works well in crackers. I like Blue Diamond’s crackers best.
Dairy Free
There are key dairy foods I miss – milk chocolate, hot chocolate, chocolate cake with mocha frosting, mocha ice cream, and chocolate pudding. See a theme?
Dark chocolate candy is helping. Check the label carefully – some are not dairy free. My favorite is Dove Dark Chocolate.
For coffee I like almond milk creamers. They come in a variety of flavors and I can skip adding sugar if I use a sweetened flavor. I have tried several brands and I like them equally.
In the ice cream category I like cashew milk substitutes best, but there are some almond and coconut based frozen desserts I like. There are some excellent chocolate covered ice ‘cream’ bars out there. I like the So Delicious and Magnum brands’ non dairy frozen bars. They taste so good, my kids will eat them before the regular ice cream I buy them. However, my favorite has been Talenti’s non dairy cold brew coffee sorbetto as a substitute for coffee ice cream. I threatened days without wifi if anyone ate my sorbetto. Like I said, I do buy them regular ice cream.
Almond butter gives some snack bars a creamy taste. Try Nature Valley’s almond butter variety bars. Just check the label first to make sure milk or a milk derivative is not hiding inside.
My need to be dairy free is because of the casien part of milk. A2 milk should work. I hope to try it soon. There are a few cheeses I can still do – feta, mascarpone, and pecorino romano. Some tiramisu recipes work for me!
For cooking and baking I have used almond milk. Remember it is thinner than regular milk. For pudding type mixes, use about half of the amount of almond milk than the recipe says for milk. There are also coconut condensed creamers. I plan to try this substitute in a few recipes soon.
I hope these ideas help you on your gluten free or dairy free journey. If you have tips I should try, please let me know. I will share more finds as I explore more gluten free and dairy free subs.
Life, Humor, and MS 