Quick, Tasty Tips for Dairy-Free Eating

If you must avoid all dairy products, you can still enjoy extremely tasty dishes that are simple to make. In fact, you may not even miss the dairy at all once you try some of these ideas.

First of all, try not to use dairy substitutes. Fake cheese doesn't taste or cook anything like real cheese, so don't bother. Instead, focus on cooking dishes that can shine without cheese. Also, butter can easily be substituted in a number of dishes. Here are some of our favorite dairy-free ideas:

Roasted Fresh Vegetables -We enjoy roasting our fresh vegetables, including halved brussels sprouts, cauliflour, broccoli and sweet potato wedges, We let them roast in the oven until lightly browned. Before roasting, we coat the vegetables with a bit of extra virgin olive oil to hold in moisture and then add sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste, just before serving. Variations: We add a good bit of cayenne pepper to our roasted vegetables and a friend of ours always adds freshly ground nutmeg to her roasted brussels sprouts.

Pumpkin Pie - We use canned pumpkin pie mix for our pie but substitute soy milk for the canned milk and use a dairy-free crust.

Instant Grits with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Sea Salt - You really won't miss the butter if you use good quality extra-virgin olive oil and coursely ground sea salt. We microwave individual servings using ramekins. The ramekins keep the grits warm and really keep the olive oil from seeping away from the grits.

Fried Yuca - Pan-fry frozen yuca strips or chunks in a good bit of canola oil until well browned. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder just before serving to make a superior 'french fry'.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes - Roast in microwave for about 5 -6 minutes per potato, poking holes in sweet potato with a fork or knife before cooking. When soft, slice down the center and cover with maple syrup and a sprinkle of cinnamon for a quick, delicious autumn side dish.