I wanted to kick this series off with one of the big things I’m thankful for in my life as the holiday’s approach, dairy-free food options! Especially for those of us who are trying to navigate a dairy-free pregnancy!
As a family with three people who are dairy allergic or sensitive, missing out on our favorite foods has always disappointed us, especially during the holidays.
Over the past 26 years of parenting my first child with a dairy allergy, I’ve learned a few tips and tricks to make some of her favorite foods for her. However, in the past 5 years, delicious dairy-free options have multiplied exponentially. As a family of foodies, we’ve tried many dairy-free options, and I wanted to share my favorites with you today!
Let’s start with one of our Thanksgiving staples, mashed potatoes! Our family loves a creamy and flavorful mashed potato. Our families have always used milk to make those mashed potatoes creamy, fluffy, and delicious. The other food that our families love is garlic. So I decided to take a stab at a dairy-free mashed potato full of flavor and whipped to creamy perfection. I was hoping the garlic punch would mask the fact that these mashed potatoes were dairy-free. Turns out, it was a winner!
I made this dish at home and volunteered to bring the mashed potatoes to two Thanksgiving feasts. I told them straight off that I did something a little different, then only mentioned adding garlic goodness to the potatoes to kick it up a notch. Recipe below!
Creamy Garlic Dairy-Free Mashed Potatoes
Next up, dessert. My girls love pumpkin pie. It’s one of the holiday foods they missed the most when we went dairy-free. It took me a while to find the perfect recipe that they deemed suitable. This one also fooled my dairy-loving husband! He didn’t even miss the sweetened condensed milk.
Dairy-Free Soy-Free Pumpkin Pie
I’m not Martha Stewart, but I will share my favorite dairy-free whipped cream with you here. I buy it because I don’t like whipped cream, and I’m not going to spend a ton of time making something I won’t eat! No shame here!
Our other dessert favorite for Thanksgiving was my mother-in-law’s cranberry orange bread. My oldest daughter really missed not being able to eat it during the holidays. I searched high and low and finally found a dairy-free recipe with a great mouthfeel and texture.
Dairy-Free Cranberry Orange Bread
Of course, this flavorful bread also needs a sweet topping. So check out this tasty glaze using almond/cashew milk. Bonus, you get a dairy-free cinnamon roll recipe too.
So Delicious Dairy-Free Whipped Topping
Dairy-free condiments like butter were something that we did without for years. Until we found Earth Balance dairy-free butter! The benefit of this butter is two-fold. We use it as a condiment and we also use it in cooking and baking. We use the sticks for baking and prefer the organic whipped spread for everyday use. The water/fat content in the sticks is different than butter, so do a trial run on your favorite treats or cookies before the big day to perfect your recipes!
Experiencing a dairy-free pregnancy can be a challenge, especially in the beginning. The good news is that today we have tons of options to replace dairy in our favorite recipes, and premade or prepackaged foods can also often be found in dairy-free versions.
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