Long, long ago, I said goodbye to dairy products. This was an emotional moment for me. I loved lasagne, milkshakes, Greek salad, deep-fried Brie, fondue, milk chocolate and anything with caramel on it.

I was used to yoghurt every day, mozzarella on my nachos and cheese pizza with extra cheese and a side of cheese.

It took a rather unglamorous episode in a movie theatre bathroom (after a triple cheese pizza, ice cream and a milkshake….) for me to begin to wonder if dairy might be an issue. A few weeks later, I passed out after eating a pint of Häagen-Dazs. Still, I wondered if it was the volume that was the problem, rather than the dairy itself. I reduced (reluctantly) but continued to be periodically unwell.

A year later, after a six-month working adventure through East and South Africa which included an unforgiving episode of Giardia and amoebic dysentery – why have one parasite when you can have two? – my stomach was in a mess.

All the sickness and all the medication had left me with a disabling case of irritable bowel syndrome. After having no luck with mainstream medical advice at the time and after reading about the virtue of probiotics (unheard of, then) I went to see a nutritionist.

She discovered I was lactose intolerant, but suggested I remove dairy completely as my stomach healed.

I also came off gluten (whelp) and started taking liquid supplements, nutrients to heal my gut and friendly bacteria.

Miraculously, I began to feel better – better in fact, than I ever remembered feeling before!

Although I tried to put the dairy and gluten back in, I eventually accepted that my stomach was wildly better without them.

I missed all those delicious things, but none of them were ever good enough to make feeling so bad afterwards, worth it.

After university, I went on to study for four years with the Institute for Optimum Nutrition in London, UK – because as a nutritionist had given me my health back, I wanted to do the same for others too.

Back then, being dairy-free was a bit of a chore. The alternatives were pretty terrible and I definitely felt as if I missed on some of the food fun. But these days, there are so many amazing options.

I would caution you against having too many processed alternatives (as they may be dairy-free but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are healthy) but there are some increasingly “clean” options out there.

If you or someone you know is dairy-free, here are my recommendations for alternatives. (I’ve also included my recipe for cashew cream which I love with Mexican food or with pasta as an alternative to real cream.)

A heads-up that lactose intolerance, dairy intolerance and dairy allergy are all actually very different things requiring different strategies. It’s important to seek guidance from a professional to make sure you have the right plan and don’t have any nutritional gaps.

Dairy-free recommendations:

Milk: try unsweetened Ripple (pea) or the Elmhurst Farms nut milks

Butter: Earth Balance organic vegan “buttery spread” – great on potatoes, toast and in baking!

Cheese: Violife for meltability; Nuts for Cheese (cashew cheese – Miles) for nutritional value.

Cream: I use hummus in tomato-based pasta dishes for a creamy result. Coconut milk (tinned) in Thai dishes is amazing.

Ice cream: Booja Booja cashew ice cream. The one and only in my opinion!

Yoghurt: CoYo or Coconut Collaborative coconut milk yoghurts.

Chocolate: Hu Paleo chocolate.

Cashew Cream (makes half a cup)

Ingredients:

½ cup cashews, soaked overnight

½ large lemon, juiced

1 tsp apple cider vinegar (preferably Braggs)

5 tbsp water, approximately

Directions:

Soaking the cashews helps them to soften and makes them easier to blend. If you do soak them, rinse well afterwards. Then throw everything in a blender or processor. The more powerful your equipment, the smoother the result will be. For a thicker sauce just use the 5 tbsp water, but you can add more!

Catherine Burns is a fully qualified clinical nutritionist. She can be contacted at 291-4725 or clinicalnutrition@gmail.com