Rachael Ray

I am trying to avoid dairy in my diet as much as possible because as a child I was allergic to milk and as an adult, while I will never say no to a nice hunk of fresh mozzarella, I know my stomach still has a weakness for it.  I’ve heard that sheep milk cheeses are easier to tolerate, so I choose Pecorino Romano over Parmigano Reggiano, but I no longer eat a yogurt for breakfast, smoothie later in the day and other dairy products with reckless abandon.  In fact, I’ve discovered some delicious alternatives.

There is a product called Coconut Milk Beverage, made by Turtle Mountain (see photo above).  I buy the unsweetened kind so I can avoid added sugars and I find on its own, it’s a bit bland, but it’s rich enough that it makes a great base for smoothies.  Today my daughter and I invented a new one, she likes to call it her Pina Colada breakfast (she’s 7):

Ingredients:

• 1 cup diced pineapple
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk beverage
• 1/2 cup ice
• a pinch of grated cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar

Instructions:

Blend until smooth and frothy and serve immediately, preferably with a little paper umbrella (especially if you’re child insists on it).

I have to be honest, it was delicious!

Fellow blogger Louisa Shafia shared with us her summer detox program where she’s giving up sugar and all sorts of other “toxins,” and in this recent post, she talks about her morning routine of making oatmeal with almond milk:

Ingredients:

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• 1/3 cup plain rolled oats
• 1 ½ cups water
• 4 dates, pitted and chopped
• ½ cup chopped fresh fruit, like peaches, apricots, or berries
• ¼ cup almond milk

Instructions:

Combine the oats, water, dates, and fruit in a small saucepan. Bring the oatmeal to a boil, then simmer for 7-10 minutes, or until the fruit is very soft, stirring often.

Pour the oatmeal into a bowl, and top it with the almond milk.

You can choose to make the recipe Louisa’s way or to make it even richer, you can substitute the water for almond milk.  Almond milk is full of vitamin E (an antioxidant) and non-animal protein and fiber.  Like the coconut milk, on its own, almond milk is rather bland, but as a base for oatmeal, it’s delicious and also like the coconut milk, these beverages have far fewer calories than milk (unsweetened) and no animal fat.

Could you use these milks in pancakes or waffles?  Why not!  You can make French Toast with these milks or rice milk and if you make pancakes, instead of melted butter as an ingredient, use canola oil and replace the milk with one of the above choices.

One of my favorite bloggers, Joy The Baker, has this recipe for Vegan Peach Berry Crumble on her site:

Vegan Peach Berry Crumbles by Joy The Baker

inspired by my friends on Twitter and Post Punk Kitchen

makes 6 1/2-cup size ramekin cobblers

For the fruit:

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries

2 medium sized  ripe peaches sliced into 1-inch chunks

(if you’d like to use frozen fruit, just defrost and drain the juice.)

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

a big pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

(pinch of ground ginger and ground cloves are also encouraged, but not entirely necessary)

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

For the topping:

1 1/2 cup old fashioned oats (i used quick cooking steel cut oats… mostly because i just bought the wrong kind… it worked out yummy!)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons canola oil

2 Tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 Tablespoon water

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, toss the berries and peach chunks with flour, spices and maple syrup.  Set aside while you assemble the topping.

In a separate medium sized bowl, combine the oats, flour, salt and spices.  In a small bowl whisk together the oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract and water.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and blend with a fork.  Make sure all of the dry ingredients are moistened by the oil and maple syrup mixture.

Add half a cup of the topping mixture to the fruit mixture and toss together.  Scoop fruit into ramekins, being sure to fill each cup to the top.  Spoon and pat topping onto each cup.  Sprinkle with an additional dose of ground cinnamon if you’d like. Place the six ramekins on a clean baking sheet and place in the oven.  Bake for 35 minutes, or until bubbly and delicious.

Serve with vanilla ice cream topped with honey if you’re not vegan after all.

If you’re like me and you have a slight lactose intolerance you’ll sneak a slice of pizza (or two) and never refuse a cheese board, but it’s nice to give your system a break with these delicious alternatives!