The Gluten-Free Homemaker

 
I thought this book review and giveaway would be a great wrap up to my mini series on eating dairy free.  If you missed the previous posts, you can read them here:

How to Go Dairy Free
How to Go Dairy Free Part 2:  Substitutes
How to Go Dairy Free Part 3:  Adapting Recipes

What I have written, however, is only a brief introduction by someone who has not been dairy free for long. 

If you are serious about going dairy free, or are seriously thinking about it, Go Dairy Free by Alisa Fleming is the book to buy.  What I love about Go Dairy Free is that it is full of information.  Everything I wanted to know about eating dairy free is in this book.  All the questions I have asked about the dairy free diet are answered in this book.  But that’s not all.  The book is also packed with all types of recipes. 

I need to be clear with my readers.  This is not a gluten-free book.  It does not discuss the gluten-free diet and the recipes are not all gluten free.  Many are naturally gluten free, but others (especially the breads and sweet stuff) are not. Have no fear!  One of the great features of this book is a Recipe Food Allergy Index at the back.  Each recipe with page number is listed and a chart indicates if it is vegan, egg free, soy free, gluten free, wheat free, nut free, and/or peanut free.  The recipes in this index are listed by category so it is easy to look up the ones you are interested  in.

Since I’m comfortable with adapting recipes, the recipes in this book that caught my attention were for things like making your own spread (who knew homemade coconut butter was so easy?), cheese alternatives, and substitutes for various forms of milk.

Except for the front and back cover, the book does not contain any photos.  It’s all black and white, which I don’t mind, but the print is on the small side (I know, you hear that a lot from me).  I think it is well worth the list price of $19.95, but right now it’s only $13.41 at Amazonand is eligible for free super saver shipping. 

To find out more about the book, visit the Go Dairy Free website. You can view the Table of Contents, which gives you a very good idea of all the information presented in the book, and the Recipe Index which includes some photo links.

The Giveaway
One winner will receive a copy  of Go Dairy Free by Alisa Fleming.  To enter you must be a U.S. resident, and you must leave a comment on this post.  Leave a separate comment for each entry.  Please make sure I have a way to contact you.  Up to four entries per person:

• Tell me what interests you about this book.
• Subscribe to my feed via RSS or email (or tell me you already do)
• Like me on Facebook (or tell me you already do)
• Follow me on Twitter (or tell me you already do)

The giveaway will end on Friday, February 4th at 11:00 p.m. eastern time.  After the winner is contacted, I  will announce the winner on my Facebook page.

Disclaimer:  I was sent a free copy of Go Dairy Free for review.  The opinions in this post are my own.

Labels: books, dairy free, giveaway, reviews

 
In this final post of my recent dairy free series I would like to tell you about recipes I have converted to being dairy free.  I hope it will inspire you to try dairy free versions of your favorite recipes.  You can read the first two posts in this series here:

How to Go Dairy Free
How to Go Dairy Free Part 2:  Substitutes

Next week I will share a book review of Go Dairy Free and have a book giveaway!

In the recipes below I have made only a couple of simple substitutions.  I used almond milk in both baking and cooking recipes that called for milk.  For butter, I substituted Earth Balance buttery sticks or shortening sticks or Spectrum organic shortening.  I have also successfully used coconut oil at times.  Other than using Daiya cheese on pizza, that’s all it took to make these recipes.  Going dairy free has been much easier than I ever expected.

Pizza – I have two pizza recipes on this site.  The first is a large recipe and is a favorite of my family.  The crust uses powdered milk.  I have adapted it by omitting the powdered milk and using almond milk instead of water.  I always hold back some of the milk and add the rest as needed to get the right consistency.  My second pizza recipe makes a single crust and was simplified by using milk instead of powdered milk.  I also substitute almond milk in this recipe.


When making pizza for the family, I make all of the crust dairy free.  I then use Daiya cheese on part of the pizza and regular cheese on the rest of it. I’m careful to not let the cheese overlap and to cut within the dairy free line.  My family has not minded the switch to a dairy free crust at all.  The last couple of crusts I have made have been wonderful.

Cookies – I made several cookies at Christmas time using butter substitutes.  I was doing most of my baking at my sister’s house.  She was unable to find the Earth Balance buttery sticks and bought the shortening sticks instead.  They worked great and everyone enjoyed the cookies.  I made spritz cookies and snickerdoodles that way.  I also made sugar cookies and thumbprint cookies before I went to my sister’s and used a combination of butter substitutes. They both turned out great, but the coconut oil I added to the sugar cookies did add some coconut flavor.

Breads – One of my favorite bread recipes is gluten-free focaccia bread.  I also use it to make hamburger/sandwich buns.  It has always been a favorite in my family and it happens to be naturally dairy free!  If you haven’t tried the recipe, you really need to.  The bread is soft and moist and stays that way for a couple of days, making it great for lunches.  I have also made French bread rolls (another favorite) using Earth balance buttery sticks.  I tried the recipe once using Spectrum shortening and wasn’t as pleased with the results.  A little of both might work well, though.


Cinnamon Rolls – Cinnamon rolls are a Christmas morning tradition at our house.  Since we were at my sister’s for Christmas this year I prepared a mix of the dry ingredients at home.  I used Spectrum shortening sticks and almond milk to make the rolls.  They turned out great and everyone enjoyed them.  I don’t have a picture of the dairy free version, but they really didn’t look any different.


Pumpkin Pie – I really thought this would be difficult for some reason.  I guess I didn’t have enough experience with converting recipes, because I learned that dairy-free pumpkin pie is very easy to make.  I cut back the amount of liquid in my original recipe, increased the pumpkin puree by the same amount and used almond milk.  My brother in law enjoyed the pie so much at Thanksgiving that he asked me to make one for Christmas. 


The pie crust I used in November was made dairy free by substituting Spectrum organic shortening for the butter.  In December, I made the nut crust that I used to use for cheesecake.  I used Earth Balance shortening sticks in place of the butter.  Both crusts turned out well.

Soup – A couple of our favorite soups are chowders.  The first time I made our favorite potato chowder dairy free, I really thought I would hear some complaints.  I made the recipe as usual but used almond milk instead of cow’s milk.  I didn’t say anything when I served it, and everyone ate it up as usual.  It wasn’t until the end of dinner that I mentioned I had used almond milk, and everyone responded with “Well, it was still good.”  Since then I have used almond milk in other soups also.


There have probably been other recipes I have converted, but hopefully this is enough to help you see how easy it is.  I admit that I have not made any of my old favorite cheesy casseroles.  I know they could be made using Daiya or some other cheese substitute, but I know it won’t be the same.  For dinner meals I tend to go with more naturally dairy free recipes or at least cheese free (except for pizza), and I don’t think that’s a bad thing.


What are some of your favorite recipes that you have converted to dairy free?

Labels: dairy free

If you missed part 1, you may want to read that first:  How to Go Dairy Free.  In this post I would like to talk about specific dairy substitutes I have used.  I have not been dairy free for long, and so I have not tried many of the options out there.  I am hoping, however, that my limited experience will be of help to some of you.

The three dairy ingredients that I substitute for the most are butter, milk, and cheese.  I have not bothered with substitutes for ingredients such as sour cream, yogurt or cream cheese.  That’s not to say I never will, but the dairy free versions are costly and they are not ingredients I used a lot of in the past.

Soy is a common ingredient in dairy substitutes, but you will notice that I do not recommend any soy based products.  I am soy free as much as possible because of soy’s potential negative effects on the thyroid and the fact that almost all soy grown in the United States is genetically modified.  You can read more in the article, Soy and the Thyroid, at About.com.

(Please note that the product links in this post are Amazon affiliate links.)


Milk:  I tried hemp milk once and didn’t like it.  Rice milk works, but I find that it has too many carbohydrates for me.  I stick with these two types of milk substitutes.

• Almond Milk – I like Almond Breeze.  Some varieties do contain soy lecithin, but I have found ones that say soy free on the front.  I usually buy it in a jug in the refrigerated section at BJs.  Almond Breeze is my favorite brand of almond milk, and in some ways I prefer it to cows milk.  I use it for drinking, putting on cereal, adding to smoothies, and in cooking and baking.
• Coconut Milk– I have used different brands, and I usually buy the kind sold in cans rather than cartons.  The reason for that is that I primarily use it for making ice cream and I like to use the full fat versions for that.  I use coconut milk occasionally in cooking, but my family does not care for the flavor in most things.

Butter:  I have found that most solid fats work well as butter substitutes.  I have used the following in baking:

• Spectrum Organic Shortening (palm oil)
• Coconut Oil
• Earth Balance buttery sticks (contain soy)
• Earth Balance shortening sticks (contain soy)

I have also used Earth Balance soy free tub margarine on cooked foods, but I have not tried baking with it.


Cheese:  I mentioned in part 1 that I have used Daiya Cheese, both the shredded cheddar and mozzarella styles.  For me, Daiya does not compare to real cheese, but it is the best soy free substitute I have tried and I know that many other people like it.  I have occasionally used the cheddar cheese on tortilla chips and in macaroni and cheese.  I use the mozzarella version on pizza and find it it be better than no cheese at all, or no pizza at all.

Cream:  I don’t use cream very often, but I have found that MimicCreme is a product I like using on occasion.  I used it to make a mock Alfredo sauce which my family really enjoyed.  One of my pickiest eaters seems to especially like MimicCreme.  When I made the Alfredo sauce he said he liked it better than normal Alfredo sauce.  Then one evening I used the MimicCreme in mashed potatoes and he loved them!  I don’t think it’s always a great substitute for real cream, but it does work well in some things.

Creamer:  So Delicious Coconut Milk Creamer.  Creamer is another thing I don’t use often.  In fact, before going dairy free I rarely used it.  However, I find that I like this creamer in coffee and tea better than using a plain milk substitute or MimicCreme.


What are your favorite dairy-free substitutes?

Labels: dairy free

When I was diagnosed with celiac disease, I cut out dairy for a while because of lactose intolerance.  I hoped the intolerance would go away, but it didn’t, and I simply began using lactose free milk and Lactaid pills.  At times over the years, though, I have wondered if I would benefit from going dairy free.  So many people who are gluten intolerant also have problems with dairy, specifically casein, a protein in dairy products. 

I was never motivated enough to give up my beloved cheese and butter until I learned that going dairy free could help control autoimmune reactions related to my Hashimoto’s thyroid disease.  In many ways, my thyroid problems have been more life changing than my celiac diagnosis, and I was eager to do anything that would help. 

I went dairy free for a month last June, then went back on it.  After consulting with a naturopath, I went dairy free again in September and have stuck with it since then. How dairy contributes to autoimmune thyroid problems is not something I understand well, and is a topic I may address in a later post.  It is also not something that one would see immediate results from.  However, I think there are other reactions I have to dairy which became evident when I recently had some dairy by accident.  It happened when I was eating out and simply forgot that I needed to check for dairy ingredients as well as gluten. 

I had two reactions.  The first, not surprisingly was congestion.  Just a couple of nights prior I was thinking about how perfectly clear my sinuses were—something I had not experienced in a long time.  The second reaction was itching, specifically on my abdomen.  I had that itching before I went gluten free, and it went away after going gluten free.  It came back later, though, and then went away again.  When the itching started this time it dawned on me that when I first went gluten free, I also went dairy free for a while because of lactose intolerance.  I then understood why it had come back later.

Those symptoms alone are enough to keep me dairy free.  It has not been easy, but it has been easier than I expected.  For that reason, I want to encourage any of you who are thinking about going dairy free and share with you some things I have learned.

1.  Do it for several months if you are doing it on a trial basis.  It needs time to completely get out of your system before you will see all the benefits.

2.  Don’t assume that recipes won’t work.  I’ve adapted many of my favorite recipes to be be dairy free, and most of the time my family doesn’t notice the difference, or they like it even better.

3.  Accept the fact that some things don’t have good substitutes.  I’m thinking of cheese here.  I know that many dairy-free people rave about Daiya.  It is probably the best cheese substitute, but it doesn’t come close to real cheese for someone who can still remember what it’s like.  It does help to make the loss easier, though, and is better than eating pizza with no cheese at all.

4.  Focus on foods that are naturally dairy free.  Eating real, unprocessed foods is healthy and most of the time those foods are naturally gluten and dairy free.

5.  Use your gluten free skills.  The label reading and ingredient checking you do to be on a gluten-free diet is exactly what you need to do for a dairy free diet.  Since milk is one of the top eight allergens, it is required to be listed on labels, making our job easier.

6.  You can do it!  I wish I had gone dairy free sooner.  I know it’s not easy, but our health is worth it. 

Next week I will post part 2 of How to Go Diary Free and will talk about specific dairy-free products I have used.  Part 3 will be published the following week and will discuss specific recipes I have modified.

Labels: dairy free

I think I mentioned recently that I’m back to eating dairy free.  I’m also mostly soy free.  The reason for these additional diet restrictions is related to my thyroid problems.  I will probably write a post about that at a later date after I’ve seen what effect it has. 

It’s been hot since these diet changes, and so I’m just now getting around to trying my hand a baking.  I thought it would be a good time to remind you that many recipes can easily be made dairy free and soy free by substituting.  Soy is often used in dairy substitutes, so it can be a bit challenging.  I have been using Spectrum organic palm oil shortening which is not hydrogenated.  I found a soy free version of Earth Balance spread, but not the sticks, so I haven’t tried that.

I recently made my favorite gluten-free chocolate chip cookies using the Spectrum shortening and Ghirardelli chocolate chips which are dairy free but contain soy lecithin.  I didn’t change anything about the recipe except to replace the butter with shortening.  They turned out great!



A few of my favorite bread recipes are naturally dairy free including my wonderful French bread which I made the other night for dinner.  I used millet flour in place of sorghum and loved the bread even more than before.  How I wish I had taken a picture of it.  It rose so nicely, and my husband said, “This is just like regular bread.”  Here’s a picture of the bread made with sorghum:



I also like making that recipe as French bread rolls, but with more whole grain and less starch.  This version uses sorghum and millet.



Then there’s my favorite focaccia bread and hamburger buns recipe that uses olive oil and water.



If you haven’t tried these recipes, yet, all of them are favorites in this house.  I think you will enjoy them, and there is no need to apologize for the fact that they are gluten free, dairy free, and soy free.

Labels: bread recipes, dairy free, dessert recipes