Dairy Free

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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.

Dairy Free

Easy Mini Quiches

Easy Mini Quiches from dontmissdairy.com
I’m always looking for easy, dairy-free breakfast options. I envy the people who can just pop a hot pocket into the toaster oven and call it a day.

I’m also big on BIG breakfasts.  

I need something substantial AND healthy AND delicious in the morning–cereal just doesn’t cut it. My husband loves healthy cereals like Kashi, but I think they taste like cardboard. I’m reminded of that Willy Wonka quote from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: “Do you have any idea what breakfast cereal’s made of? It’s those little curly wooden shavings you find in pencil sharpeners.” Yep, pretty much. Sorry cereal lovers.

Usually, I’ll make a spinach and egg scramble in the morning. The whole process only takes five to ten minutes, depending on if I’ve had my coffee or not.

But here’s the thing–I also crave variety. When you are absolutely forbidden from having something in your diet, you need variety to make up for the the lack of it. So I changed up my spinach and egg scramble the other day to include some yummy crescent rolls, making pretty, tulip-shaped mini quiches that are perfect for on-the-go breakfasts.

Easy Mini Quiches from dontmissdairy.com

These take a little extra time in the morning–but not much. They are super easy to make and fun to share. They would be a great addition to a weekend brunch!

I do my best to stay away from Pillsbury dough, because it usually contains dairy and hydrogenated oils. You can find dairy-free and trans-fat-free crescent rolls at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods.

Easy Mini Quiches from dontmissdairy.com

See? Easy!

You can customize this recipe by adding your favorite veggie combination. Just make sure to not overfill each quiche. As you can see in the above picture, I added just a tiny bit of filling to each quiche cup and added egg to just below the edges of the dough. The egg mixture will rise. If you are adding tomatoes, make sure you press the liquid out of them on a paper towel, or else your quiche will be too watery. It’s up to you if you’d like to cook the veggies beforehand. I needed to sauté the spinach to fit in the quiche.

I plan on making these again soon with bacon and potatoes, yum!

Easy Mini Quiches from dontmissdairy.com

Easy Mini Quiches
Yields 6
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Ingredients
  1. 1 can dairy-free crescent rolls
  2. Cooking spray
  3. 2 large eggs
  4. 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
  5. 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
  6. Cooked spinach, about a 1/4 cup (1 cup uncooked)
  7. 6 grape tomatoes
  8. 1/8 cup vegan cheese
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Roll out the crescent roll dough onto a cutting board and seal the seams so it it is one seamless sheet of dough. You can use a rolling pin, but I just pinched the seams together with my fingers.
  3. Cut dough into six equal squares.
  4. Spray six cups of a regular size muffin tin with cooking oil.
  5. Place a dough square in each tin, making sure to center it so an even cup is formed. All four corners should be lying outside the cups.
  6. Add your choice of veggies. I quartered 6 grape tomatoes, then pressed them into a paper towel to absorb excess liquid. I sautéed a handful of spinach in a little olive oil and salt so it would fit in the quiche cups, then distributed all veggies equally.
  7. Add a sprinkle of vegan cheese, or another yummy ingredient, like fresh herbs or bacon.
  8. In a small bowl, whisk two large eggs together with salt and pepper. Pour a very small amount of egg mixture into each quiche cup and overtop of veggies, being careful not to overflow. Two eggs will distribute perfectly into the six quiche cups.
  9. Bake for 16 minutes, or until eggs are set. If needed, a couple extra minutes will not burn the dough, and eggs will set unless filled too full.
don't miss dairy https://dontmissdairy.com/

Easy Mini Quiches from dontmissdairy.com

Cranberry, Walnut, and Chia Seed Spinach Salad with Lemon Balsamic

Cranberry, Walnut, and Chia Seed Spinach Salad from dontmissdairy.com

Happy New Year!!!

I’ve taken a month hiatus from blogging for the first time in years, and I’m ready to get back into the swing of things with some healthy, simple, and delicious dairy-free recipes.

The month long break wasn’t intentional; December came at me like a charging bull, and it was keep up or get trampled. I think I might have gotten stepped on a few times.

During November, I finally finished the first part of one of the biggest goals of my life: to write a novel. I did it with the encouragement and motivation of NaNoWriMo, and I successfully completed 50,000 more words, adding to my start of 26,000. I now have a full-length fiction novel under my belt, with a great plot, ending, fully developed characters and everything.

After that, the onslaught of everything else in my life I postponed came at me, plus a series of other things. I put the novel on hold for a bit so I could catch my breath. I intend to start the rewrite now that I can breathe, but the whole catching my breath part lasted much longer than I expected.

The holidays are always busy, but the biggest time consumer this month was our move to a new apartment and the horrible cold I caught that resulted…from the stress of moving…before a strict time deadline…on the coldest day of the year.

On top of all that, I had to unpack and set up the whole apartment–you can guess how long that took! I just remember the painful task of searching in box after box for tea, honey, and a mug. My husband was amazing and took care of me so nicely, bringing me medicine, orange juice, and flowers. Thankfully, he didn’t even get sick.

Now I finally have my new kitchen set up the way I want it, my refrigerator full, and I’ve even started cooking.

I got some awesome new photography equipment for Christmas, so as soon as I learn how to use it properly, my pictures will get better and better! For this particular recipe, I used my brand new tripod, reflector, and remote for the first time. 

Cranberry, Walnut, and Chia Seed Spinach Salad from dontmissdairy.com

I’m starting this year off with one of my favorite salad combinations. I’ve never posted a salad before, but I’m trying to stay healthy by eating fresh, raw, colorful veggies. Soup and salad is the way to go right now.

This simple spinach salad is packed full of omega 3s and antioxidants. There’s nothing quite better than the light tasting yet flavorful combination of lemon olive oil with fruit-infused balsamic vinegar. I used fig-infused balsamic to be exact.

Cranberry, Walnut, and Chia Seed Spinach Salad from dontmissdairy.com

Store-bought salad dressings are a thing of the past for me! This salad has no added salt and makes you wonder how you could ever have eaten that iceberg lettuce and cheese combination with ranch. Would you like some lettuce with your fat?

Just kidding, if I could eat dairy I totally would. But this spinach salad is seriously delicious. It’s crisp, refreshing, and super healthy. Pair with a steaming bowl of soup.

Cranberry, Walnut, and Chia Seed Spinach Salad from dontmissdairy.com

Cranberry, Walnut, and Chia Seed Spinach Salad with Lemon Balsamic Dressing
Serves 1
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Ingredients
  1. 2 cups raw spinach, washed and drained
  2. 1/4 cup raw walnut pieces
  3. 1/4 cub dried, sweetened cranberries
  4. 1 tablespoon chia seeds
  5. 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  6. 1/2 teaspoon nutritional yeast
  7. 1 tablespoon lemon infused olive oil
  8. 1 tablespoon fruit infused balsamic vinegar
Instructions
  1. In a medium size bowl with a lid, add spinach, walnuts, cranberries, chia seeds, pepper, and nutritional yeast. Close the lid tightly and shake until the ingredients are mixed.
  2. Transfer onto a large salad plate and drizzle on lemon olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Add more to taste, along with salt and pepper if you desire. Don't you feel so healthy?
don't miss dairy https://dontmissdairy.com/

Cranberry, Walnut, and Chia Seed Spinach Salad from dontmissdairy.com

Sweet Potato Casserole with Walnut Crumble

Sweet Potato Casserole with Walnut Crumble from dontmissdairy.com
This is the favorite dish for our Thanksgiving meal! It’s sweet, creamy, and delicious, yet completely dairy- and gluten-free.

Instead of milk and butter, this recipe calls for sweet vanilla soy milk and your favorite dairy free butter alternative such as Smart Balance Light or Earth Balance spread.

While we had a very small Thanksgiving get-together this year, I still made a full casserole of this recipe. We were determined to have lots of leftovers!

I adapted this recipe from Yummy Sweet Potato Casserole on allrecipes.com. I hope it becomes a holiday favorite for your family!

Sweet Potato Casserole from dontmissdairy.com

Sweet Potato Casserole with Walnut Crumble
Serves 12
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Casserole
  1. 4 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
  2. 1/2 cup white sugar
  3. 2 eggs, beaten
  4. 1/2 teaspoon salt
  5. 4 tablespoons Smart Balance Light, softened
  6. 1/2 cup Silk Very Vanilla Soymilk
  7. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping
  1. 1/4 cup brown sugar
  2. 3 tablespoons Smart Balance, melted
  3. 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Put cubed sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring water to boiling, then reduce heat. Simmer over medium low heat until tender. Use a fork to test softness after 10 minutes. Drain.
  3. In a large bowl, mix together the sweet potatoes, white sugar, eggs, salt, Smart Balance, soy milk, and vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth. Transfer to a 9x13 inch baking dish.
  4. Sprinkle the crumbled walnuts evenly over the sweet potato mixture. Add melted butter on top, and then sprinkle with brown sugar.
  5. Bake for 30 minutes.
Adapted from Yummy Sweet Potato Casserole
don't miss dairy https://dontmissdairy.com/

Sweet Potato Casserole with Walnut Crumble from dontmissdairy.com