Dairy-Free Delights | Snack Roundup August

I’ve always been big on snacks. As a teenager I would gorge myself on packet after packet of crisps, sweets and sliced cheese. I soon developed the unhealthy habit of what I now know is comfort binge-eating, with sporadic meals that rarely contained a single vegetable. Or any protein, for that matter.

Eating made me feel better. And honestly, it should do that. Snacks should be for energising yourself and enhancing your diet – small pick me ups, not stuffing your face just to end up feeling sick and guilty. Relying on highly processed, salty and sugary foods for years inevitably led to me feeling like shit. Don’t get me wrong, it’s totally okay to overindulge occasionally, but I think it’s important to avoid making it a habit and to find some sort of balance in what we eat. I fell into the habit of eating my emotions, and it was detrimental to my body and mind and only made me feel worse in the long run.

That’s why I’m changing the way I think about food. I’ve been dairy-free for over 5 years now and as someone who has recently been diagnosed with IBD (more on that to come) what, when and how I eat is extremely important to managing my symptoms, and one of the biggest culprits is dairy. In light of my diagnosis I’m also trying to cut down on processed foods, sugar, red meat, and even soya. I don’t follow this 100% and my aim is just to eat healthier in general. I don’t believe you should deprive yourself of anything that you love unless it’s for health concerns/you truly want to. Everything in moderation is fine – I still have snacks and treats, I’m just more careful about what and when I eat them.

With this in mind, welcome to the first instalment of a series I’ve been meaning to start for ages, Dairy-Free Delights – a bi-monthly round-up of any dairy-free (DF), or otherwise healthy (but not always!) snacks that I’ve tried. You might find these posts helpful if you too have a hundred dietary requirements, if you’re trying to lose weight, or if you’re just trying to eat healthier.

So without further ado, here’s the DF products I’ve been snacking on this month! You’ll have to excuse the lack of first hand photos because, well, I ate them all (the food, not the photos).

1. RICE DREAM RICE & QUINOA MILK
I recently moved house, and round the corner is a conundrum – a moderately overpriced Sainsburys Local, alongside an amazingly cheap Heron Foods. I’ve never heard of Heron before, but from what I can gather they’re sort of like Aldi, with bargains on just about everything and limited stock on many items. This Rice Dream Quinoa milk was one of those items, at 49p or for 1 litre carton or 3 for £1! WHAT? I picked up one to try, thinking it might be horrible since I’m not the biggest fan of rice milk and I thought quinoa was a weird ingredient for milk – what even IS quinoa (someone kindly educate me. It’s a grain, right?)

But, oh man, is it good -It’s the best milk by far that I’ve used in cereal, and more commonly these days, in overnight oats. (they’re a bandwagon for a reason, trust me) I love mixing it with porridge oats, honey, nuts and berries. I usually pop it in the fridge overnight so it’s creamy and delicious the next morning, not to mention it gives me a much-needed energy boost. I’m bad at mornings. Obviously, this isn’t strictly a snack but I had to include it!

2.KOKO PEACH & PASSIONFRUIT YOGURT
If there’s one thing I miss from my dairy days (new indie album title?) it’s yogurt. I never truly appreciated yogurt until it was out of my life. Since I try to limit the amount of soya I have, soy yogurts aren’t exactly an alternative either, so when I saw these coconut yogurts a few years ago, I was shookth. They’re a rare find in store – they seem to crop up in Morrisons, Sainsburys and Asda on occasion, but there’s never a guarantee they’ll have them in stock. Luckily, my housemates and I order a Morrisons shop online most weeks, so my yogurt-deprived heart is happy. Coconut sounds weird, I know, but these don’t taste like coconut AT ALL! Just fruity, creamy, yogurty goodness. I’ve tried the strawberry ones in the past and they are my absolute fave, but I’m yet to find them again *sob* Mango and Passionfruit was subtle and tasty though – definitely not plain but not overpowering like I expected of mango. Yum!

3.LINDA MCCARTNEY VEGETARIAN SAUSAGE ROLLS
Another score at Heron for £2! I was introduced to these babies by my vegan friend Will – being DF, sausage rolls weren’t something on my radar (restricts the urge to make innuendo) BUT, my god. I’m not sure how healthy these are, as they contain a lot of ingredients, but they’re like the ULTIMATE comfort food. I would gladly snack on them. I’ve single-handedly eaten my way through 2 packs this week. So much for moderation. But guys, they’re dreamy. Crispy, melty and they taste better then real sausage rolls ever did. Like, that’s not MEAT? How?? They’re perfect for parties…Sausage parties? Just try them. You will be pleased. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be heating up some sausage rolls. No promo, just love.

4.MCVITIES HOBNOB BISCUITS
For a long time, I was resigned to ginger biscuits and Oreos as my biscuit of ‘choice’. Most conventional biscuits contain dairy, and it turns out that even Oreos, heartbreakingly enough, are not vegan. I discovered this recently after eating a packet in one sitting (MODERATION, AMY) and feeling really ill. Oreo says ‘may contain milk’ on the packet, but the website confirms that there is cross-contamination with dairy. I’m trying to avoid dairy 100% since my diagnosis, so no more Oreos for me. Luckily McVities Hobnobs make that okay. Oaty, crumbly biscuits which are amazing with tea. Think winter warmers. The only thing is they might be slightly TOO sweet, especially if you have more than a few – they’re probably jam packed with sugar. But they’re SO good, I might try making into making my own. Watch this space.

5.OATLY CHOCOLATE OAT MILK
Ah, Oatly, how I love thee. Since I stopped having soya milk, finding a good chocolate milk proved tough but thanks to Oatly I can enjoy a cold glass of delicious chocolatey goodness. You can heat it up to make hot chocolate but I love it with porridge/oats. Give me a mason jar full of this stuff and I’m happy. Okay, that sentence definitely wins an award for most *hipster* thing I’ve ever said. Seriously though, try it. Choccy oat milk is where it’s at. I usually get mine from Asda, Morrisons or Sainsburys!

6.DUCK WRAP MEAL DEAL OPTION
Again, I wouldn’t call this healthy, solely because of the sheer amount of preservatives it contains. Seriously, there’s like 30+ ingredients. But it happens to be one of the only ‘mains’ I cat eat in the meal deals at places like Sainsburys, Boots and Costa, so, as a poor student, I’m including it. It’s tasty, filling, and even contains some greens. It’s certainly better then giving up and just buying a packet of crisps, or a dairy-infested main because, god damn, so. much. dairy. It’s an option for when my options are extra limited and it’s better than skipping lunch! That said, chain supermarkets and cafes are getting much better at catering for those of us with allergy requirements, nearly every month there seems to be a new vegan/DF/GF product on the shelf. It’s the little victories, guys!

7.BUTE ISLAND GRATED MOZZARELLA STYLE SHEESE
Cheese is another food that I miss a lot. I get regular cravings and I adore going to places like Zizzi and Pizza Express which do some fit vegan pizzas. Having tried several vegan ‘cheeses’ already, I was kind of resigned to them all being, well, a bit shit. Even the ones which taste good melted are difficult to use for that purpose – if you’ve ever tried making a vegan cheese toastie you’ll know what I mean. One of them smelled exactly like sick, another tasted too coconutty. But. The SHEESE MAN, THE SHEESE. (please read that in a Shaggy-Doo voice) This is hands down the best vegan cheese I’ve tried. I found this Bute Island Grated Mozzarella Style cheese – I mean Sheese – from Sainsburys free-from fridge section and I love that it comes conveniently grated, ready to top pasta, pizza, even crackers. I could literally eat this stuff on it’s own, which I wouldn’t say about any other vegan cheese. Sheese, if you’re reading this, my blog is PR friendly. Send cheese. I mean Sheese.

8.SAINSBURYS DELICIOUSLY FREE FROM BROWNIES 
This was supposed to be healthy but I was in Sainsburys and I couldn’t resist picking up some of their Free From Brownies. They’re so rich and fudgy and chocolatey and are amazing as a dessert or with a cup of tea. Again, they contain a ton of ingredients and I think they also contain soya so I won’t be purchasing them again for a while but they definitely make a nice treat, especially if you experience any chocolate cravings!

I think that’s all the DF snacks I tried this month! Honestly, the less crisps and sweets I eat, the less I crave them. As I write this I‘m actually munching on some popcorn and raspberries, both of which make great DF snacks! Food is something I’ve always wanted to blog about and it’s a big part of my life, especially considering the impact it has on my health issues. And I enjoy eating. I love trying new foods and experimenting, even with my restrictions. Basically, I just really fucking love food, which is why I’m so excited for future foodie posts, and I hope that you are too!

Let me know if you’ve tried any of these Dairy-Free delights and tell me what your favourite snack is in the comments! And don’t forget to tell me if you enjoyed this post and would like to hear more about the things that I put in my glutenous mouth hole.

Until next time,

Amy x