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don't miss dairy

Emily Stokes
I'm a lady who loves cheese, sour cream, & ice cream, but I recently became lactose intolerant. My key focus in recreating dairy recipes is taste, but I try to be as health conscious as possible. Some of my recipes are low lactose rather than dairy free. I'm also a writer, teacher, nanny, dog mom, housewife, native Yinzer, current Californian, and social organizer extraordinaire.

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Creamy Potato Soup with Almond Milk

Soups & Crock Pot, , , , , ,

Creamy Potato Soup with Almond Milk from dontmissdairy.com
What better time to make potato soup than St. Patrick’s Day weekend?

I just love having an excuse to make something creamy and delicious.

Potatoes are naturally creamy when boiled and mashed, so adding dairy is just a creamy bonus. Add light tasting and sweetened almond milk instead for a cream of potato soup that is out of this world!

This simple soup has the same chowder-like texture and color of a dairy potato soup, plus a savory taste that rivals the dairy version. You won’t be able to tell there’s almond milk in it. Trust me.

Campbell’s Cream of Potato used to be my favorite lunch time soup as a kid. My mom would buy it just for me and make it on the stove top with regular milk. And if a restaurant was serving potato soup, you better believe I was ordering it. Sadly, I haven’t had it in a long time because of my lactose intolerance. 

It is possible to find delicious creamy soups at the local grocery store that are dairy free. Safeway carries Pacific brand soups, some of which are dairy free, like their Cashew Carrot Ginger Soup and their Butternut Squash Soup, which is made with soy milk. I’m still waiting for stores to sell almond milk based cream soups…maybe Pacific will take it on? I will definitely buy it! Until then, it’s not much work to make this recipe.

The best part about this creamy potato soup? No blender or food processor required! I adapted this recipe from “Unbelievably Easy Potato Soup” on food.com. 
Creamy Potato Soup with Almond Milk from dontmissdairy.com

Creamy Potato Soup with Almond Milk
Serves 4
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Total Time
30 min
Total Time
30 min
Ingredients
  1. 2 tablespoons vegan butter
  2. 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
  3. 1 teaspoon sea salt
  4. 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  5. 4 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
  6. 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  7. Unsalted chicken or vegetable stock to cover vegetables (about 1 cup)
  8. 2 1/2- 3 cups of almond milk* (sweetened but unflavored)
Instructions
  1. In a large stock pot, melt vegan butter over medium heat. Add onions, sea salt, and pepper and cook for two minutes.
  2. Add diced potatoes and garlic to pot and cook for 1 minute more.
  3. Pour unsalted chicken stock over vegetables until just covered and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 25 minutes.
  4. Lightly crush the potatoes with potato masher or fork (don't over mash).
  5. Stir in 2 1/2 cups or more almond milk until desired consistency. Start with 1 cup of milk, then add a second cup. Thin out the soup by adding 1/2 a cup at a time.
  6. Add salt and pepper to taste and top with fresh chives or parsley.
Notes
  1. *I used Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Almond Milk.
Adapted from Unbelievably Easy Potato Soup from food.com
Adapted from Unbelievably Easy Potato Soup from food.com
don't miss dairy http://dontmissdairy.com/

Creamy Potato Soup with Almond Milk from dontmissdairy.com

Mom’s Salsa

Snacks & Dips, , , , , , ,

Mom's Salsa from dontmissdairy.comI was on the phone with my mom while shopping for Super Bowl snacks at Trader Joe’s, and she mentioned this salsa recipe she had made up.

It’s no mystery where I get my recipe experimenting skills from. đŸ˜‰

She had me looking for fire-roasted diced tomatoes with chiles and frozen sweet white corn. She said I could use Ro*Tel, but she liked the Trader Joe’s brand.

I was surprised at how it came together since it’s so simple. And after my husband and I ate the whole batch as the Seahawks won the Super Bowl I thought, what an awesome dairy free recipe for a blog post. I then asked her for her permission to publish it, which she granted, as long as I named it after her.

Mom's Salsa from dontmissdairy.com

I was talking to my mom, Donna, on the phone instead of shopping with her because she lives in Pittsburgh, PA, which is about a billion miles away from California.

Since my family is so far away, I miss my mom a lot. Thank goodness for cell phones, unlimited minutes, and Google Hangouts.

I’m missing my mom even more today, because she just came to visit me in California. I don’t know what she wanted more, to see her daughter, to escape Pittsburgh’s endless snowfalls, or to have a vacation. 

Though California needs the rain desperately, I was glad to have some warm, beautiful days for her visit. She needs a reason to come back, right?

She escaped the cold, snowy east coast for a week and got to experience blossoms, birds, and citrus trees, walks without a jacket, and sunning on the patio…in the middle of February.

We went shopping, ate vegan ice cream, and went wine tasting. We had a great time and she spoiled my puppy. The only thing I regret is not getting a good picture together during the whole trip. We had every intention of setting up the tripod and getting pictures at the ocean, but when we got to the coast the weather was overcast, windy, and freezing. Bummer.

The week went too fast and now it is too quiet in my apartment. So I am thinking of her as I type up her recipe.

It’s super simple and easy by the way. There’s no chopping required (yay!) and it’s fast to throw together. It’s also free of gluten and dairy.

Don’t leave anything out. You’ll be glad you made a trip to the store for fresh limes and cilantro. Yummy!

Mom's Salsa from dontmissdairy.com

Mom's Salsa
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Ingredients
  1. 1 can organic fire roasted diced tomatoes with green chiles
  2. 1 cup sweet white corn, defrosted if frozen and drained of any liquid
  3. 1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
  4. Juice of 1/2 lime
  5. 4 sprigs fresh cilantro leaves, torn or chopped
  6. 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
  1. Combine tomatoes, sweet white corn, and black beans together in a medium size bowl with a lid.
  2. Add juice of half a lime, sea salt, and chopped or torn cilantro leaves. Mix together, then cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Serve with salted tortilla chips.
Notes
  1. Try with chopped avocado!
don't miss dairy http://dontmissdairy.com/

Mom's Salsa from dontmissdairy.com
Mom's Salsa from dontmissdairy.com

Orange and Sunflower Salad with Hearts of Palm

Veggies & Sides, , , , , , ,

Orange and Sunflower Salad with Hearts of Palm from dontmissdairy.com
Have you seen the beautiful citrus in the markets lately?

I know it’s harsh winter in many places, but where I am, there are trees everywhere absolutely bursting with oranges and lemons. In my excitement I bought a huge box of oranges. I need to eat them in everything!

Eating healthy is so easy when your food tastes amazing. That is this salad. I want to eat it over and over again. It’s healthy because the ingredients are fresh and simple: raw veggies, fruit, seeds, vinegar, and olive oil.

Orange and Sunflower Salad with Hearts of Palm from dontmissdairy.com

Has anyone noticed how obsessed I am with flavored olive oils? They make the simplest, healthiest, tastiest, and cleanest salad dressings. I can’t even buy bottled dressings anymore after topping salad after salad with delicious, light-tasting lemon and orange olive oils. Have you tried flavored olive oils, yet? You need to…right now!

The best way to find out your favorite oils? Go taste them! Sigona’s Farmers Market in Palo Alto is one of my favorite places to taste olive oils, but you can find them in many whole foods markets. You might be surprised, but citrus olive oils also make great marinades and even dipping oils for breads. Sourdough and lemon olive oil is a unique and tasty snack.

I need to get back to Jacuzzi Winery in Sonoma soon. They have one of the largest olive oil and vinegar tasting rooms I have ever seen. There are so many flavors and combinations, like lime olive oil and coconut balsamic.

I don’t miss dairy for a second in this salad. This is not a salad for dairy. 

If you are thinking that salads aren’t as good anymore since you’ve had to cut dairy, then it’s time to think outside the box! Citrus is the way to go for a flavorful, healthy salad. The sweet orange flavor is so tangy and crisp. It goes perfectly with the citrusy flavor of heart of palm. This is delicious, clean eating.

Orange and Sunflower Salad with Hearts of Palm
Serves 1
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Ingredients
  1. 2 cups raw spinach
  2. 1 navel orange, peeled and cut into 1 inch segments
  3. 2 hearts of palm, quartered lengthwise
  4. 2 tablespoons raw sunflower seeds
  5. 1 tablespoon chia seeds
  6. 1 teaspoon orange juice
  7. 1 tablespoon orange infused olive oil
  8. 1 tablespoon fruit infused balsamic vinegar
Instructions
  1. Place spinach on a large salad plate. Drizzle orange juice on the spinach either by squeezing a piece of orange over the salad or by peeling orange pieces over the spinach. Little drops of juice will add flavor.
  2. Layer on orange segments, hearts of palm, sunflower seeds, and chia seeds.
  3. Drizzle orange olive oil* and vinegar over the salad and add more according to preference.
Notes
  1. *Don't have orange olive oil? Extra virgin olive oil tastes great with this salad as well.
don't miss dairy http://dontmissdairy.com/

Orange and Sunflower Salad with Hearts of Palm from dontmissdairy.com

Orange and Sunflower Salad with Hearts of Palm from dontmissdairy.com