by JULIE HA
According to Dr. Sean Chung, most East Asians become lactose-intolerant after early childhood as their genes direct a slowdown in the production of lactase. For those of you who are lactose-intolerant, here are some dairy-free alternatives to some of your favorite foods.
Daiya
Dalya offers multiple dairy-free (and soy-free) cheese products, including cream cheese, sliced cheese, wedges of cheese and shredded cheese — and there’s variety as to the type of cheese, including mozzarella, cheddar, pepperjack. The brand even has packaged frozen pizzas, made with gluten-free crust. Available at various supermarkets, or us.daiyafoods.com.
Toffuti
Tofutti, like the name suggests, taps soy for its dairy-inspired products, including American and mozzarella soy cheese slices, as well as frozen desserts, including Cuties (ice cream sandwiches), Chocolate Fudge Treats and Hooray Hooray Bars (crunch bars). The brand also makes frozen entrees like cheese ravioli and lasagna. Available at various supermarkets, or tofutti.com.
Amy’s
Amy’s has been making organic and vegan products before it became trendy to do so. With an extensive vegetarian product list, the brand also makes dairy-free ice cream, using organic coconut milk. (Trace amounts of cow milk are in some of the flavors.) Crazy as it sounds, Amy’s also makes a frozen, dairy-free macaroni and cheese. Available at various supermarkets, or amys.com.
DF Mavens
DF Maverns, which markets itself as the “finest dairy-free ice cream in the world,” gives its customers several options, including soy-based ice cream. But if you don’t like that soy flavor, there’s also almond and coconut milk-based ice cream varieties. Flavors range from Madagascar Vanilla Bean to Peanut Butter Fudge Mash. There are also “no sugar added” options. Retail locations currently limited mostly to the Northeast region, or dmavens.com.
Divine Dips
Divine Dips offers probably the closest thing to premium ice cream without the dairy, even earning the “Best Vegan Ice Cream in Los Angeles” designation by LA Weekly in 2013. The products — with flavors like Caffe No Lait, Divine Mint and Chocolate Raspberry Truffle — source such ingredients as organiccoconut milk, almond milk, raw cashews and vegan chocolate. At greater L.A. area locations, including natural food stores, bakeries and cafés , or divinedipsicecreme.com.
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This article was published in the October/November 2014 issue of KoreAm alongside Dr. Sean Chung’s column “Dare to Have Dairy.” Subscribe today! To purchase a single issue copy of the magazine issue, click the “Buy Now” button below. (U.S. customers only. Expect delivery in 5-7 business days).
