Finding out that you’re allergic/sensitive to dairy foods can be hard swallow. Think about how many foods contain milk, cheese, and even more so…butter. These are all dairy products that may be in your list of foods to avoid. But there are alternatives out there…

MILK

There are a few choices you have when finding options for milk. You have the choice of soy milk, almond milk, rice milk, oat milk, or coconut milk. If you didn’t react to goat’s milk on your allergy test you can go that route too.

Now depending on your Hauser Diet there are better choices than others. All diets should go for the unsweetened, plain versions of these milks. Lions and Otters should try soy, almond, or coconut milk due to their low carbohydrate content. All options except for the coconut milk could be used by the Bears, Monkeys, and Giraffes. The fat content in coconut milk is going to be too high for diets that don’t focus on fat! These milks can be used for cereal, protein shakes, recipes that call for milk, or for just drinking!

CHEESE

Yes, there are cheese alternatives! Did you know that? The two main ones are soy cheese and rice cheese. While they don’t taste exactly like real cheese, they can work. These may be better used for recipes and homemade pizzas instead of just taking a chunk to snack on. The other option would be goat cheese if you didn’t test out to be allergic to goat’s milk.

Don’t let the rice part fool you when it comes to rice cheese…it is not high carb. In fact in most rice cheeses there is little to no carbohydrate. On a side note, if you are using the cheese in such a way that melting it will affect your dish, rice cheese may be the way to go. It tends to melt a lot better than soy cheese! Keep your Hauser Diet in mind when using cheese substitutes, it still fits under the dairy category on your diet. So, only take in as much as is allowed for your specific Hauser Diet.

YOGURT

Unless you are not allergic to goat’s milk, soy yogurt will be your only substitute in this area. As with any yogurt, purchase plain! Then add natural foods of choice that go along with your Hauser Diet. Seeds and nuts are good add ins for Lions and Otters, while fresh fruit, granola, or even a dab of honey can be used by Monkey’s and Giraffes.

There are even alternatives for things such as butter, sour cream, and cream cheese. Theses will most likely be soy based. You can look in almost any health food store for these options. Don’t think a dairy allergy has to restrict your food choices, you just have to find new ones.