Four of my favourite dairy free and gluten free products

I’ve been trying to avoid cow’s milk as much as possible recently. No one has told me I’m dairy intolerant or allergic to it, but I’ve found when I drink cow’s milk (I’m a flat white addict) I tend to get bad breakouts and feel really lethargic. I’ve heard it’s quite common for people with a gluten intolerance or coeliac disease to develop problems with milk, so perhaps this is something that has just developed over time?

Either way, I have been trying to find alternatives I enjoy and although I loathed it at first, I actually enjoy drinking almond milk in my coffee. Don’t get me wrong, I still have the occasional  flat white and I do enjoy pouring cream in my coffee for a weekend treat, but generally cutting out cow’s milk has helped to keep my calories and sugar intake down, and my skin looking a tad less like a teenager’s!

Here are some of the dairy free products I have been digging recently…

Almond Breeze iced mocha and cappuccinos

I love an iced mocha. I’m a sucker for a cold cappuccino. So when I saw these by Blue Diamond in my local Tesco it was like some sort of chemical reaction in my brain, and before I knew it I was putting them through the checkout!

It’s great to finally see a dairy-free alternative to all the milk-laden, iced coffee products already available. They are also lower calorie, though still only reserved for the rare, occasional treat!

I really enjoyed the iced almond mocha, but the iced almond cappuccino, while nice, I wasn’t so keen on. I picked these up in Tesco.

Coyo coconut yoghurt

Coconut yoghurt!? This I just had to try. Again, this was a new addition to my local Tesco’s chilled aisle, but I had see them before at Whole Foods in London when I went last year.

I have only tried the natural flavour, but I believe there are other variations and my friend has tried the vanilla flavour which she said was very nice. It’s dairy, gluten, soya and lactose free, and makes for a low carb, low sugar snack. It does taste very coconutty, and has a different consistency to yoghurt, more like a coconut cream.

I enjoyed mine with some berries, but I did find when eating this on an empty stomach it made me feel a bit sick – I think perhaps it was a little rich and fatty, so I will reserve it for small portions only, or adding to smoothies!

Alpro dark chocolate almond milk

Oh my, I simply cannot stop drinking this!

I found out about this through Coeliac Delight’s Instagram, and swiftly rushed out to find it in Sainsbury’s. Not only did I find it, but it was also on offer – result!

It is so amazing – much lower calorie than dairy milk chocolate drinks. I have it in my coffee as a treat, but you can happily drink it on its own – and I bet it would be amazing hot as well. It’s nice to see more dairy free ‘treats’ coming out now. I think the dairy free market probably is now where the gluten free market was five years ago – it’s starting to catch on and grow, and I hope it continues.

Rude health oat drink

I was sent this drink to sample from Rude Health and I have to admit I was sceptical. I thought it would be bland and tasteless, but I was very pleasantly surprised.

This dairy free alternative to milk has a slight ‘porridgey’ taste, but it’s really smooth and a bit thicker than alternatives such as almond milk. It’s a good colour too – it looks almost like ‘real’ milk in my coffee!

I like the fact its organic, and even though it is unsweetened it has a tinge of sweetness to it. This drink was a real surprise for me and the dark horse of the lot. I love the packaging and branding as well – nice and funky!

What are your favourite dairy free products? Please share them in the comments below – I’m still getting used to cutting out dairy so need your suggestions!