Jo’s current allergens are: dairy, egg, sesame, lentils, chickpeas, wheat, and possibly shellfish so we are avoiding until she can be tested. Here are some of our favorite products that work well as substitutes for “normal” food options. As always, read the labels for yourself every time to be sure they are a good fit for your food allergies!

Macaroni and Cheese. We actually have a few we like in this category.

  • Daiya Cheezy Mac. We like all three flavors. Josh prefers the alfredo and N and Jo prefer the cheddar.
  • Amy’s Rice Mac & Cheeze. I think this one has the most cheddary consistency, but it also uses Daiya cheese.
  • Annie’s Gluten Free Vegan Elbows in Creamy Sauce. The first time I tried this, it really weirded me out, but now it is pretty good. It’s odd because the “cheese” powder contains sweet potatoes and pumpkin and there is a hint of sweetness, but it has grown on me. Josie just scarfed a plate of it down.

Cheese. We haven’t found any shreds or slices that we really like, sadly, but we use the following to replace cheese in casseroles and other meals that need creaminess. 

  • GoVeggie VEGAN cream cheese. Make sure it is the purple label that says VEGAN, they also carry a lactose-free line and they look very similar.

Egg replacer.

  • For baked goods, we use applesauce. 1/4 cup per egg.
  • As a binder, we use a flax or chia egg. 1 tablespoon of ground seed and 3 tablespoons of warm water, then stir and place in fridge for it to set/thicken.

Pancake Mix.

  • Maple Grove GF Pancakes. These taste indistinguishable from regular pancakes to me…of course, it has been 4+ years since I’ve had non-GF pancakes, but my gluten-eating family members like them, too.

Milk.

  • Silk Protein Nut Milk. Since getting nuts back, this is my FAVORITE milk. It is as creamy as dairy milk! It has 10g of protein per serving. My boys will even have cereal with this milk, they were never super keen on soy milk unless it was part of a recipe. We like the regular and vanilla.
  • Soy Milk. We still use soy milk, too, but not as much. Nutritionally, it was the most similar to dairy milk, so we prefer it to rice/almond/coconut/etc.

Coffee Creamer. I usually use milk, but these are good for a splurge.

Pasta.

Butter.

  • SmartBalance. We get a giant two pack of this from Costco. It used to not be dairy-free, but it is now.
  • Earth Balance Buttery Vegan Sticks. These are really good for baking, but you can also get the tubs of this if you prefer it to SmartBalance and it works equally well. It just costs more.

Cookies.

  • Home Free Cookies. These are at the top of our list. They are a little pricey, but the chocolate chip cookies taste just like Famous Amos…but they are top 8 free. They are made of magic and wishes, I guess. Josie likes the vanilla cookies best.
  • Aldi G-Free Cookies. These taste just like Enjoy Life, but they are cheaper. We have to watch Josie pretty closely because she thinks she can shove a whole cookie in her mouth. I mean, she can but she can’t eat it once it is in there.

Yogurt.

  • Silk Soy Yogurt. We’ve tried the almond milk version and we’ve tried Daiya, but the soy silk is still our favorite. Josie is the only one who just eats it with a spoon, but I add it to my smoothies sometimes.

Bread.

  • Little Northern Bakehouse. I like the blue loaf. A lot of vegan/GF breads are bitter, but this one is tasty!
  • Schar Artisan Baker White.  This one is delicious, but I don’t eat it super often because it seems to upset my GI tract a little. It may be the added fiber. Jo eats it fine, though.
  • Schar Ciabatta Rolls. These are fantastic. I lived without rolls for SO long and these are really tasty.

That’s all for now, but I would love to do another set of these for other items that people are looking for substitutions for. If you have an requests, please let me know!