What have been the hardest things about having to adopt allergy friendly foods into your diet?
I remember spending a lot of time, money and energy running to different stores and trying different products that I ate a few bites of and threw away in disgust. So over the years of learning to change recipes to allergy friendly ones I could enjoy, I’ve come up with 50 products that I think everyone with allergies can use as a base for recipes and more. They have been game changers and a lot of times I use them in recipes and my family never notices I’ve swapped out ingredients.
DAIRY FREE:
Dairy free creamer: Best for substituting in recipes calling for milk. And NOT all creamers are created equal. You need a good thick creamer that will stand up in a recipe. We like and use NutPods and Silk a lot although their are some other great ones coming on the market. (Dairy free, gluten free)
Dairy free heavy whipping cream: Best for substituting in recipes calling for cream, heavy cream, or heavy whipping cream. Please note a lot of the non dairy versions state they will “whip just like heavy whipping cream” but I have found it to be very difficult to do. It’s not as forgiving as regular whipping cream. Silk is one of our go to brands. (Dairy free, gluten free)
Dairy free whipped topping: In recipes needing whipped heavy whipping cream, I’ve been able to successfully substitute dairy free whipped topping (the one in the tubs) in a recipe. I just allow it to thaw first before using. TruWhip and So Delicious both offer whipped toppings. (Dairy free, gluten free)
Dairy free milkshakes: Go to Starbucks! A few summers ago I was craving a milkshake. If you order a cream based frappuchino there is no coffee in it and it is just like having a milkshake! They will make it dairy free for you too with soymilk. Since I can’t have soymilk, I got a couple of baristas to agree to make it for me with almond or coconut creamer for me at my local Target Starbucks as long as I bought the almond and coconut creamer and brought it to them unopened. I can’t guarantee your store will do this, and I agreed to pay full price for the shake even though I bought the dairy free milk but it was TOTALLY worth it! (Dairy free, gluten free)
Dairy Free Ice Cream: By far my favorite brand is Nadamoo. It’s universal and easy to adapt in recipes and I just dig my spoon into when I want a nice creamy ice cream that TASTES like ice cream. My other favorites include:
So Delicious Salted Caramel Cluster Cashewmilk
Almond Dream Peppermint Bites
Jolly Llama Desserts
Pudding: When Simply Delish pudding came out it was a game changer. Great texture, delicious tasting and I can substitute it in any recipes calling for pudding.
FODMAP:
If you have stomach upset, or have been asked to follow a FODMAP diet based on stomach, colon or esophagus issues, these are our favorite products we use:
Garlic: Garlic scapes powder from Gourmend Foods is our favorite hack for garlic in a recipe. It has a lighter garlic flavor than original garlic so you may want to double the amount you use if you like a stronger garlic flavor. Garlic scapes powder is FODMAP friendly and easy to substitute in recipes. If a recipe calls for one teaspoon of garlic powder, substitute 1-2 teaspoons of garlic scape powder.
FODY: Fody foods has come out with a great line of FODMAP friendly products. We stick with the essentials--just the marinara sauce. It’s great! Hint, we will add a little garlic scapes powder to it sometimes and it tastes amazing!
GLUTEN FREE
Goldbaum Sugar Cones: The day these came out was a game changer. I eat them as snacks sometimes they are so good. Perfect for ice cream cones!
Vanilla Wafers: I use these a lot in recipes. They taste just as good as the original Nilla wafers.
Saltine Crackers: Schar Saltines are perfect for making candy, and having on hand for soup recipes or recipes calling for panko or breadcrumbs. I just pulse grind them. The one cracker goes for a variety of different recipes.
Graham Crackers: All graham crackers are not created equal! Some graham crackers I’ve tried are super oily so I suggest using the Schar brand.
Goodie Girl: Ugh, welcome to my vice! These cookies are the Girl Scout Cookies of gluten free. I try to hide them from my non gluten eating kids and it never works. They devour them. I devour them.
Chinese Noodles: Gluten free chinese noodles have saved my life! I love them on everything from Hawaiian Haystacks to our Copycat Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad.
PLANT BASED
You can’t go wrong with these plant based products. Some of our favorites!
Noodles: Miracle Noodles are virtually calorie free noodles that adapt to almost every flavor of food we make. We have loved using them! They have everything from fettucine to ramen noodles! Great for gluten free, keto and paleo diets! I also love cooking with them because while my family’s traditional gluten noodles are boiling, I can quickly throw these in the microwave for a couple of minutes to heat.
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