Replacing dairy products.

It is surprisingly easy to replace dairy products, and there is an ever growing variety of foods on the market to enable you to make the transition from an animal based diet to a vegan diet without any difficulty.

Basically, every dairy product can be replaced with a vegan substitute.
You can make pies using tofu instead of dairy cream, ice cream using soy milk, bananas or cashew nuts, you can buy plant-based milk, yogurts, creams, custard, cheese, etc. Most of the time, people will not even notice the difference.

In this article:

Plant based milk

There are many plant-based products to chose from:
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  • Soya milk,
  • Rice milk,
  • Nut milk, (almond, hazelnut, etc)
  • Coconut milk,
  • Oat milk,
  • Seed milk (Hemp milk)

All these products are available at most health food stores and supermarkets, although you can easily make your own. Always read the labels and compare brands to see which ones suit your personal tastes and needs. Many plant-based milks are fortified with vit D2 and B12, which can easily boost your daily intake of D2 and B12.

If you have tried a brand and do not like the taste, try another brand. No brands taste the same, they have different flavours, some are thicker or sweeter than others.
Use them exactly the same way you would use the animal-based version, in your breakfast porridge, in smoothies, sauces, in your coffee or tea, in your desserts, baking, etc.

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Plant-based Cheese

There are a few plant-based brands to chose from:
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  • Cheezly, (Redwood),
  • Tofutti cream cheese and slices
  • Sheese,
  • Parmesan,
  • Vegusto.

Hard and soft vegan cheeses are made of soya, among other ingredients and are available at many health food stores. They can be a little bit pricy, between 3 and 4euros for the product.

If you do not have access to a health food store in your area or you are on a tight budget, you can make your own cheese, using yeast flakes. Vegan cheese is very easy to make with the advantage of controling what you put in it. The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook offers excellent recipes which are very easy to make.

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Plant based creams and yogurts

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  • Vegan yogurts are usually made with soya and can be flavoured, sweetened or unsweetened. The most popular and easy to find brand is Provamel. Their yogurts are available at health food stores and supermarkets. Sojade brand is also available at many health food stores.
  • Switch to vegan ice cream. The most popular brands are Swedish Glace and Tofutti, which are available at many health food stores. The tastiest brand is Booja Booja but is more expensive than the previously mentioned brands. You can also easily make your own ice cream, using cashew nuts or bananas. You will be suprised what you can make with frozen bananas.
  • Switch to vegan dessert creams and custards. The most popular brand is Provamel and is available at many supermarkets. They come in different flavours, chocolate and vanilla being the most popular.
  • Use tofu as a cream replacement for savoury pies and cashew nut cream for sweetened pies.

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PLANT BASED MARGARINES AND MAYONNAISE

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  • Switch to vegan margarine. Suma and Biona brands are available at health food stores and Pure is available at many supermarkets.
    Always read the labels, as many margarines contain animal derived ingredients such as whey, even if they state "sunflower or olive margarine". The vegan brands can be used for baking, as a spread, or for any recipe that uses butter.
  • Use vegan mayonaise. Plamil is the most popular brand, although it is only found in health food stores. Kelkin Dairy Free Mayonnaise is available at many supermarkets.

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Vegan chocolate

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It is a myth that vegans are deprived of chocolate! There are many chocolate bars and cocoa powder which are suitable for vegans. As usual, make sure to read the label.
Many mainstream brands offer a vegan version of their products, such as Divine and Celtic chocolate. However within the cocoa industry, there are question marks regarding child labour used on the cocoa plantations. It is better to stick to fair-trade chocolate.

Health food stores offer a good range of vegan chocolate. Popular brands are Organica (not all their chocolate is vegan), and Dairy free. If you are concerned by the ethics behind chocolate, Plamil is the best choice.
Ex-fans of animal derived Nutella will be glad to hear that Plamil offers a very tasty vegan chocolate spread, at many health food stores.

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