Non-Dairy Milk: Soy milk, Almond milk, Hemp milk, Rice milk, Coconut milk, Cashew Milk
When possible, choose the unsweetened kind. Soy milk is most comparable to cow’s milk, since it offers more protein than others. If getting enough Calcium and Vitamin D are a concern, look at the nutrition label to see if it’s been fortified.
Non-Dairy Yogurts: Nancy’s Cultured Soy Yogurt*, So Delicious Coconut Yogurt*, Silk Dairy-Free Yogurt, Stonyfield O’Soy Yogurt, Almond Dream Non-Dairy Yogurt
When possible, choose the unsweetened plain kind and add your own fruit. * To date, only Nancy’s and So Delicious carry an unsweetened plain yogurt, Silk carries a simply plain yogurt with a small amount of added sugar.
Non-Dairy Cheeses: Kite Hill, Treeline Tree Nut Cheese, Punk Rawk Labs, Teese, Follow Your Heart, Daiya, Field Roast: Chao, The Herbivorous Butcher *Made from nuts, soy, coconut, or rice
There are lots of recipes out there on how to make homemade cheeses. Cashews are commonly used to make mac n cheese. Also, try using nutritional yeast to add a cheese flavor to dishes.
Non-Dairy Butter: Earth Balance, Nutiva
If using butter for toast, a healthier alternative would be to use a natural (no sugar added) nut/seed butter or avocado. For some baking (when butter is used to moisten), you can also swap in things like unsweetened applesauce, pumpkin puree, avocados, bananas. Use equal parts mashed banana, pureed avocado, or applesauce as the recipe calls for (e.g. ½ cup butter, use ½ cup mashed banana). Swap in 3/4 cup pumpkin puree for every 1 cup butter.
Non-Dairy Creamers: Silk, So Delicious, Trader Joe’s Soy Milk Creamer
Better off using unsweetened almond or soymilk rather than creamers since creamers generally have add sugars and oils. Try blending your coffee with soy milk for creamy, frothy coffee.
Non-Dairy Ice Creams: Soy- based, Coconut- based, Rice-based, Cashew-based
( A few brands: So Delicious, Purely Decadent, Coconut Bliss)
Non-dairy ice cream is still high in added sugars, so view this as an occasional food and not an everyday food. Try making banana “ice creams” by blending frozen bananas and adding healthy toppings like berries, cacao nibs, coconut flakes.
Vegan Cream Cheese: Daiya, Follow Your Heart, Trader Joe’s Vegan Cream Cheese, Tofutti
Try homemade vegan cream cheese with blended cashews, apple cider vinegar, and lemon juice. Add spices (e.g. garlic, chives, or cinnamon) or fruit (e.g. blueberries or strawberries) to make different kinds of cheeses.
Vegan Sour Cream: Follow Your Heart, Tofutti,
Try homemade vegan cream cheese with blended cashews, apple cider vinegar, and lemon juice.
Vegan Mayo: Just Mayo, Vegenaise, Earth Balance Nasoya
Try using a cashew cream spread for recipes that call for mayo. * Just blend cashews with a small amount of plant-based milk or water. Add spices (e.g. pepper, garlic, herbs) as needed.
Egg Replacers: Ener-g, The Vegg, Flax, Bob’s Red Mill, Chickpea Flour, Tofu, Banana, Applesauce, Flax- egg
For Eggless Dishes: use tofu or chickpea flour to make scrambles or quiches. There are plenty of eggless recipes on the internet for these. There are even recipes for french toast that don’t need eggs!
For Baking (eggs used for a binder): Mix 1 tbsp flax to 3 tbsp water for each egg
For Baking (eggs used for moisture): ½ cup ripe banana, ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce or pumpkin puree for 1 egg.
Meat/ Poultry/ Fish Substitutes: The Herbivorous Butcher, Gardein, Beyond Meat, Tofurky, Field Roast, Lightlife
There are plenty of ways to get enough protein without meat or animal products. Black beans, chickpeas, red kidney beans, pinto beans, lentils, tempeh, edamame, tofu, soy milk, vital wheat gluten, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and even vegetables will provide your body all the essential amino acids (building blocks of protein) that your body needs.
Reducing the amount of animal meat and processed meats (bacon, sausage, jerky, deli meats, ham) can help lower risk of cancers. Swapping in a plant-based alternative for these foods can be beneficial for reducing disease risks, while still enjoying the flavors and tastes of a burger, hot dog, or bacon. For people transitioning to a veg-diet or just looking to cut-back on meat there are tons of tasty, plant-based alternatives available in grocery stores.
Instead of loading a sandwich with deli meat and mayo, try a hummus spread with veggies, mashed chickpeas and avocado, or simply just a sandwich with all natural peanut butter and banana slices. Meatless meatloaf made with lentils and walnuts or homemade veggie burgers make tasty alternatives to red meat. Many of our bloggers have a number of meatless meat dishes that may resemble meals you already make! Burgers , meatless meatloaf, sloppy joes, BLTs, stir fry , chili, shepherd’s pie, enchiladas, tortilla soup, chick’n salad, BBQ pulled sandwiches and more!!