dairy-free grocery haul

My first dairy-free, almond-free, egg-free grocery haul was a couple of months ago and I've been taking note on some of my favorite (and not so favorite) items that meet my new dietary needs. I'd say it was a slow start, but I've adjusted quite well. This journey has been a lot of trial and error, which I expected. When I started in April, I felt as if it was more error than success, but that's part of it. I am much more energized and am on the road to restoring my immune system!

"But first, coffee..." and I must have creamer in my coffee. I tried Ripple Vanilla half & half, it was good (not great) but will suffice if creamer in your coffee is a must! (I needed it sweeter.)

My favorite dairy-free coffee creamer that I've found is the So Delicious Hazelnut Coconut Milk Creamer. It's a bit sweeter than the Ripple creamer, so I definitely enjoy that. I found myself using two tablespoons of creamer in the past but with the non-dairy creamers I'd say I need at least three.

Greek yogurt is something that I really miss. I've tried a couple different brands of cashew yogurt and can confirm that it's not for me. First I tried Vega Protein and it tasted like a chalky mixture of protein powder and yogurt. I then tried Forager Cashewgurt (lemon flavor), the consistency was very thin and milky, but the cashew flavor was something I couldn't get past. I tried to top it with a lot of granola, but honestly I'd prefer to just eat the granola by itself. However, I later tried the vanilla flavor of the Forager Cashewgurt and it was not as bad as the lemon, still not my go-to & I probably won't buy it again.

I can still have peanut butter, but I wanted to try some other nut butters because the "fresh squeezed" almond butter had been my favorite for awhile. I bought roasted and salted cashew butter, it wasn't bad but I'll stick to peanut butter! Peanut butter, to me, is much sweeter. (If you can have almonds, do yourself a favor and get some of the "fresh squeezed" almond butter.) I recently tried the "fresh squeezed" peanut butter and it has such rich, creamy flavor.

As for coconut milk, the Pacific Foods unsweetened vanilla coconut milk is my favorite so far! I've tried the same version in the So Delicious brand and it was a bit too thick. PF brand has a nice consistency and is wonderful in my many bowls of cereal and granola. However, I don't think I'd prefer to just drink a cup of it like I used to with cow's milk. If you have tried the cashew or pecan milks, let me know what you think. I've tried hazelnut, macadamia and oat milk in lattes and they were all really good in that form. I've never really had a latte I didn't like, ha! I love you a latte, literally.

Trying to find granola bars or protein bars without almonds can be hard, almonds seem to sneak in many of the ingredient lists. Amrita chocolate maca protein bar is a safe bet for me! I really love these, they taste like fudge rather than your typical protein bar (which I'm usually not a fan of). It also has a short list of ingredients, which is a perk.

I recently tried muesli for the first time at brunch & LOVED it, so I found Seven Sundays muesli to try at home! It had good flavor, but I wish it was a bit crunchier. I tried two versions, soaking it in milk and as a hot cereal, I'd say I prefer this brand as a hot cereal.

LARABAR nut & seed: I looked past the bolded ALMONDS ingredient on the back of the specific LARABAR that's pictured in my shopping cart at the top of this post... so I didn't eat it. I have been eating the peanut butter cookie LARABARs, they are super delicious and also have a very short ingredient list.

Daiya Cheese: YES!!! If you can't have real cheese, do yourself a favor and try the smoked gouda block. I'll say eating a block of cheese with some crackers is something I definitely miss. I always loved trying new types of cheese... someday...

Vegan queso: This stuff is unbelievable. If you know me, you know of my love for queso. My saint of a best friend, Chelsey, made this vegan queso for my bachelorette party, and everyone LOVED it. It was full of flavor and had great consistency. Here's the recipe she used. I cannot wait to make it again.

Ice cream, it's another favorite food of mine! My favorite store-bought DF ice cream is Nada-Moo! The Lotta Mint Chip is delectable, but I will say I haven't tried many store-bought brands. Nada-Moo just opened a brick & mortar in Austin and I could not be more excited. I found a few vegan ice cream options at Lick and I'd highly recommend giving it a try, plus some stores sell it. If you're looking to cool off this weekend, one more delicious option is GoodPop cookies & cream frozen pops and a lot of grocery stores carry that brand.

I hope this gave you some insight on dairy-free items to add to your grocery list. I will continue to share my dairy-free, almond-free, egg-free foodie finds with y'all. Cheers to happy & healthy!

XXO,

Tierra