Since the late ‘90s, dairy and I have not gotten along very well, but thankfully there are a lot more alternative products to use than there were then. It used to feel miraculous to find Lactaid milk in the stores, and now you can find a store-brand version most grocery chains. I still take Lactaid pills for certain foods (though I usually have to take 2, when a lot of people can get by on one), but not having to go to the specialty/hippie grocery store to find what I need is a small perk to our current age.

First off, lactose intolerance and a dairy allergy are not the same thing. Lactose intolerance means that my digestive system does not produce enough of the enzyme lactase, which is what breaks down lactose. Lactose is a sugar. Lactase is the main ingredient in Lactaid pills, held together basically by baking soda.

(If you want to really nerd-out about it, lactose is a disaccharide, which I used to remember in high school biology classes by saying, “It’s a sugar that makes me want to die.” lol)

Milk allergies are a different thing. It’s your immune system reacting, not your digestive system. Hence, having to often avoid the whole dairy product all together, if that’s your issue. Also, please remember I am not a nutritionist nor a medical professional, I am not in charge of you managing yourself, etc.

Anyway, here are some products I often buy; these are not paid endorsements:

Milk + Cream

• 2% lactose-free Lactaid-brand milk (or whatever store brand, if it’s a better price. Fairlife-brand milk is also lactose-free)

• Orangic Valley lactose-free half-and-half

• Land O’Lakes lactose-free half-and-half (I don’t see this super often where I live, but it exists and it’s cheaper than the organic stuff)

• Country Crock non-dairy heavy cream (closest I’ve seen to regular cream that doesn’t have a sweet coconut aftertaste)

• Open Nature non-dairy heavy cream (Albertsons/Safeway store brand, second best option. Has a slight coconut smell, but doesn’t taste weirdly sweet)

• Organic Valley non-dairy heavy cream (good for baking because the coconut/sweetness thing doesn’t matter so much, but it’s weird in soup/pasta sauces/etc.)

“Butter”

• Country Crock margarine (I don’t usually bake with it — though it’s good for these brownies — but it’s fine for toast, boxed mac & cheese, etc.)

• Country Crock plant butter sticks (usually the olive oil version, has less moisture than the tub stuff, never had a problem substituting)

• Melt plant butter sticks (acceptable substitute if the CC sticks are not a price I want to pay)

Cheeses

• Kraft shredded or block cheese (No, really, it’s lactose-free. Says 0g of lactose right on the package, last I checked)

• Kraft Parmesan “shake cheese” from the green can (ditto, though the shredded bagged stuff they sell is also LF and Parm is pretty low in lactose in general)

• Kraft Natural Sliced Cheese (lactose-free, but the American cheese that comes often comes in a bigger package is NOT.)

• Cracker Barrel block cheese (yes! lactose-free!)

• Cabot block cheese (This brand is better than Kraft, but for some reason it’s super expensive here most of the time.)

• Some “fancier” cheeses (aka the stuff you have to find by the deli) are lactose-free, but you gotta read fine print on the package.

• I suspect Sam’s Club Member’s Mark-brand shredded cheese is re-badged Kraft because I can eat it without lactaid, but perhaps it’s just made in a similar way. (The 2-pack bags that look a bit like Kraft, not the bigger bags they also sell.)

• Green Valley lactose-free cream cheese (just as good as the real stuff, handy if you want to make a cheesecake that won’t try to kill you)

• Kite Hill non-dairy cream cheese (if you must go non-dairy, this is the only one I’ve found worth eating)

Misc. Dairy + Ice Cream:

• Good Culture lactose-free sour cream (absolutely tastes the same)

• Using plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, when I can. It’s cheaper, and because yogurt has all those enzymes, it often breaks down the lactose for you. ymmv!

• Lactaid makes a sour cream too, but I’ve never tried it. I imagine it’s just fine.

• Ben & Jerry’s non-dairy ice cream is amazing and should be on sale more often.

• Lactaid’s LF ice cream. Recently had the salted caramel, and it was great.

• Albertsons/Safeway has a couple of lactose-free store brand ice creams in 1.5 qt size. Stick to these and not the non-dairy coconut-based pints, which taste like erasers.

• Breyer’s lactose-free vanilla. Saw it in chocolate once at Smith’s, and then never again. Maybe it’s still out there?

• So Delicious non-dairy ice cream (I was willing to pay $6+/pint back when I had fewer options, but now I buy it less often, even though it is indeed so delicious)

• Daiya non-dairy chocolate cheesecake (got it way marked down once, and it was way better than I thought it would be)

What do I NOT prefer? Violife and Daiya non-dairy shredded cheeses, which never melt right. They’re edible, but they’re definitely not worth the extra money for me. Violife’s non-dairy sour cream is a little odd too. Halo “ice cream” can get in the sea. It may be dairy-free, but it’s almost flavor-free too. VALUE YOURSELF.

There are probably more products I occasionally use, and hated efforts that I’m forgetting, but this covers the main helpers.

BTW, 100 Soups continues, and since it has been rainy here lately, I have potato soup in the crockpot, and I will be using 2% LF milk in place of the heavy cream, but I have regular sour cream and will take Lactaid. However, I’ve also made this before with plain Greek yogurt and it worked just fine.

Hope this helps any of you who have lactose/dairy issues. I know it has helped me cook a much greater range of foods.

Until next time!