As a fellow with a Dairy Allergy, I've had to figure out alternative means, too. Here's a list of suggestions.
Milk Substitutes:
Soy: Silk, So Good, etc. It's good, but too much can be harsh on you. Soy has estrogen-like hormones in it, so although it's fantastic as a replacement, it's not the best health-wise.
Rice: Ryza, A bit thinner then Soy, rice milk doesn't have the calcium (to the same degree) and it lacks some of the protein content, as well.
Almond: Almond Breeze, Ryza Almond, etc. THE BEST. Almond milk is creamy, flavourful, calcium RICH, and comes in flavours like vanilla, and chocolate. It fairs pretty well in baking, too.
Coconut: (Canned, or tetra packs in your local asian supermarket) The best for baking and cooking with, coconut milk is creamy like, well, cream and stands up best in baked goods, ice creams, and shakes. It's a better replacement for homogenised milk, cream, and whipping cream (with the addition of a tiny bit of guar gum, or agar agar for stabilization). Try and find the coconut milk without preservatives.
Ice Cream:
There's Rice, Soy, and Coconut dairy-free ice cream usually in TONS of flavours. The containers are small, but the taste on many of the brands are so rich that it's fine. I know a couple of brands of coconut milk ice cream that is so good it knocks dairy-ice-cream out of the water.
The So Delicious brand has coconut milk ice cream, soy milk ice cream, AND a line of full-flavour coconut milk yoghurts. Fantastic. I LOVE the Coconut Milk Chocolate Ice Cream. There's also a hazelnut chocolate fudge ice cream flavour that's amazing.
Yoghurt:
Soy: Nancy's Soy Yoghurt, which is an awesome brand you can get plain, mango, and other flavours with. Tastes comparable to dairy yoghurt, just a bit more like Kefir then the Yoplait stuff.
Coconut: So Delicious Coconut Yoghurt, in fruity flavours and plain.
Non-Dairy Cheese:
BE CAREFUL. A LOT of cheaper brand soy cheeses put milk ingredients into their 'cheeses'. The ones that don't are either wrongly textured, or don't taste good. THESE ONES DO:
Daiya - http://www.daiyafoods.com/ THE BEST melty non-dairy cheese on the market, Daiya tastes like mozzarella with a bit of a gouda kick. It comes pre-shredded, and you melt it on right at the end. Seriously, I served Macaroni & Daiya(Cheese) to my entire family and they didn't even realize there was no real cheese in it. Daiya is phenomenal.
Sheese - http://www.buteisland.com/ Sheese is relatively soy-free, which is good, and the texture is bang on cheesy. It also comes in a lot of different flavours. Cheddar, Smoked Cheddar, Gouda, Cream Cheese, Herb, and more. This is another brand I served on a cheese board for a wine tasting, and no one believed me when I said at the end of the feast that it was all dairy-free.
Butter:
Fleishmann's Margarine is dairy free, as is Earth Balance Vegan spread, and Becel just came out with a completely vegan margarine. They're great for baking, pretty much anything you would use butter for. Fleishmann's is the cheapest of the mix.
Ultimately, check in at a Natural Foods store, or a place that sells a lot of Vegan stuff. You do have to be careful, a lot of cheaper Soy Cheese brands still put milk products in their "cheeses", which I find is pretty pointless.
Milk Substitutes:
Soy: Silk, So Good, etc. It's good, but too much can be harsh on you. Soy has estrogen-like hormones in it, so although it's fantastic as a replacement, it's not the best health-wise.
Rice: Ryza, A bit thinner then Soy, rice milk doesn't have the calcium (to the same degree) and it lacks some of the protein content, as well.
Almond: Almond Breeze, Ryza Almond, etc. THE BEST. Almond milk is creamy, flavourful, calcium RICH, and comes in flavours like vanilla, and chocolate. It fairs pretty well in baking, too.
Coconut: (Canned, or tetra packs in your local asian supermarket) The best for baking and cooking with, coconut milk is creamy like, well, cream and stands up best in baked goods, ice creams, and shakes. It's a better replacement for homogenised milk, cream, and whipping cream (with the addition of a tiny bit of guar gum, or agar agar for stabilization). Try and find the coconut milk without preservatives.
Ice Cream:
There's Rice, Soy, and Coconut dairy-free ice cream usually in TONS of flavours. The containers are small, but the taste on many of the brands are so rich that it's fine. I know a couple of brands of coconut milk ice cream that is so good it knocks dairy-ice-cream out of the water.
The So Delicious brand has coconut milk ice cream, soy milk ice cream, AND a line of full-flavour coconut milk yoghurts. Fantastic. I LOVE the Coconut Milk Chocolate Ice Cream. There's also a hazelnut chocolate fudge ice cream flavour that's amazing.
Yoghurt:
Soy: Nancy's Soy Yoghurt, which is an awesome brand you can get plain, mango, and other flavours with. Tastes comparable to dairy yoghurt, just a bit more like Kefir then the Yoplait stuff.
Coconut: So Delicious Coconut Yoghurt, in fruity flavours and plain.
Non-Dairy Cheese:
BE CAREFUL. A LOT of cheaper brand soy cheeses put milk ingredients into their 'cheeses'. The ones that don't are either wrongly textured, or don't taste good. THESE ONES DO:
Daiya - http://www.daiyafoods.com/ THE BEST melty non-dairy cheese on the market, Daiya tastes like mozzarella with a bit of a gouda kick. It comes pre-shredded, and you melt it on right at the end. Seriously, I served Macaroni & Daiya(Cheese) to my entire family and they didn't even realize there was no real cheese in it. Daiya is phenomenal.
Sheese - http://www.buteisland.com/ Sheese is relatively soy-free, which is good, and the texture is bang on cheesy. It also comes in a lot of different flavours. Cheddar, Smoked Cheddar, Gouda, Cream Cheese, Herb, and more. This is another brand I served on a cheese board for a wine tasting, and no one believed me when I said at the end of the feast that it was all dairy-free.
Butter:
Fleishmann's Margarine is dairy free, as is Earth Balance Vegan spread, and Becel just came out with a completely vegan margarine. They're great for baking, pretty much anything you would use butter for. Fleishmann's is the cheapest of the mix.
Ultimately, check in at a Natural Foods store, or a place that sells a lot of Vegan stuff. You do have to be careful, a lot of cheaper Soy Cheese brands still put milk products in their "cheeses", which I find is pretty pointless.
