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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.

Holiday

Missing Fall-Not Fat Pumpkin Bread

Bread, Desserts, More, , , , ,

Here is a deliciously healthy pumpkin bread recipe that is more like a true bread rather than the super sweet cake-like version that is served in coffee shops. The 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour gives it some substance, while the 1/2 cup of Splenda (you can use any other sugar substitute) replaces half of the sugar, and the extra pumpkin eliminates the need for a cup of oil. By the way, you may gasp when you see that I’ve used olive oil in this recipe, but it really tastes great! If you are a skeptic, use vegetable oil or coconut oil instead.

Though I don’t recommend using all whole wheat flour because of the taste, go all out and use all whole wheat flour, no sugar, more pumpkin, and all egg whites if you want! However, my combination is a good one. It remains moist and flavorful–try for yourself! There’s that awesome secret ingredient of apple cider in there. Why add water when you can add apple cider? After many attempts at creating the perfect healthy pumpkin bread, I have come up with a recipe I will use year after year. The best part about this recipe? No butter or milk!

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup Splenda or other healthier sugar substitute
1 tsp baking soda
1 can of pumpkin puree (15 oz)
1/8 cup olive oil
1 egg, 2 egg whites, beaten
1/4 cup apple cider
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a medium bowl mix together flour, salt, sugar, Splenda, baking soda, and spices until well blended.

spice and sugar mixture in bowl.

2. In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, oil, eggs, and apple cider. Add dry ingredients into this mixture, and stir until combined and completely moistened but do not over mix. It needs to stay spongy.

pumpkin, egg, and apple cider mixture.Wet ingredients mixed.

3. Carefully fold in raisins and nuts.

4. Pour into greased loaf pan–even if it is non-stick you need to oil it. Bake 50-60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Once finished, let cool for up to an hour before removing from pan. Enjoy at your holiday event!

This bread is best stored in the refrigerator.

Finished pumpkin bread

Sweet and "Creamy" Pumpkin Soup

Soups & Crock Pot, Veggies & Sides, , , , , , ,

Pumpkin soup with sage sprinkled on top.

I’m always disappointed by ready to serve butternut squash soups when I read the label and find out they are made with milk or cream. Recently I found one at Whole Foods that was made with soy milk, but I have to say it was a little bland. The taste of soy took away from the delicious sweetness of the butternut squash. So I had a go at creating my own “creamy” soup, and I used canned pumpkin since it was so readily available. The vanilla soy milk I used made it so thick and sweet that my husband and I devoured it! The sage and black pepper balances out the sweetness so it doesn’t taste like you are slurping pumpkin pie. It makes a great compliment to an entree of chicken or turkey. I will probably make this again for our Thanksgiving dinner feast!

Ingredients:

1 15oz can pumpkin
5 cups Silk Very Vanilla Soymilk (I measured using pumpkin can: 2 1/2 cans of milk)
1 teaspoon ground sage
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

1. Empty pumpkin into a 2 quart saucepan and place burner on medium heat.

Pureed pumpkin in pot.

2. Measure the soy milk in the empty pumpkin can. Slowly stir in Very Vanilla Soymilk until evenly blended.

Soy milk added to pumpkin puree.

3. Add sage, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, and sea salt and heat until almost boiling, stirring often.

4. Ladle in a bowl, sprinkle with ground sage, and serve with buttery crackers. We like Social Snackers from Trader Joes; they are dairy free and contain no hydrogenated oils, yet still maintain that buttery taste that is so addicting.

Soy Milk Pumpkin Pie

Desserts, , , , , ,

Completed soy milk pumpkin pie.

For my husband’s birthday I usually make him a pumpkin pie instead of a cake, since he considers pumpkin pie the best dessert ever created. I was an expert at making a creamy, melt-in-your mouth pumpkin pie. Now that eating anything made with 12 ounces of condensed milk is out of the question for me, I thought I would take a shot at making it lactose intolerant friendly. There are a bunch of dairy free pumpkin pie recipes out there, but I think you’ll find mine particularly tasty. If you enjoy coconut, take a look at my coconut milk pumpkin pie recipe as well!

Ingredients:

1 refrigerated pie crust
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 large eggs, 1 egg white
15oz can pumpkin
1 cup Silk Very Vanilla Soymilk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Mold the pie crust into a pie dish and trim excess dough from the edges.

Pie crust.

3. Mix sugar, salt, and spices in a small bowl until thoroughly blended.

Sugar and spice mixture.

4. In a large bowl, beat eggs and egg white. Stir in the pumpkin and then the sugar and spice mixture.

Egg and pumpkin mixture.

5. Gradually add Very Vanilla Soymilk and stir until completely blended. Pour into pie crust.

Uncooked pumpkin pie filling in crust.

6. Bake for 15 minutes to set a crispy crust, then lower the temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 40 minutes. To check if the pie is done, stick a knife through the middle and see if it comes up clean. If there is a layer of pumpkin on it, you may need to bake for an additional 5-10 minutes. Serve with dairy-free vanilla ice cream if you want to go all out. Happy Fall!