Ditching Dairy? Watch Out For These 5 Surprising Foods That Contain Milk

Many people are opting to switch from dairy to dairy alternatives because of ethical, environmental, or health reasons. Making this transition is easy with all the oat, nut, legume and soy milk on offer to try. However, milk seems to crop up in areas of cuisine you just wouldn’t think it would, which is a real bummer when you want to ditch that dairy.

Ditching Dairy? Watch Out For These 5 Surprising Foods That Contain Milk
[ image: unsplash by brooke lark ]

To help you along on your dairy-free journey, checkout these five foods that you would not expect to contain milk: 

Lactose-Free Products

Milk, creams, and cheeses that are lactose-free are commonly assumed to be dairy-free. In reality, they contain all the whey and casein normal milk does. The only thing they don’t have is the milk sugar lactose which is what many people are intolerant to. Essentially, they are for people who are intolerant to the lactose in cow's milk but who want to still have dairy in their diet.

Chips

You might assume a packet of sour cream and chive chips contains dairy because of the flavour. What you might not realise is that common flavours like salt and vinegar and even simple salted chips often contain milk or dairy derivatives. 

These additives are usually there to lengthen the shelf life of the product, but their presence can be deeply annoying when it doesn’t feel necessary. Luckily, tons of chips are dairy-free, so just remember to check the ingredients from now on. 

Pasta Sauce

Alfredo and carbonara are tasty pasta sauces you may well assume contain dairy, whereas a classic tomato sauce is fine, right? Sadly, even this Italian classic is not sacred and often contains cheese. A thick tomato sauce may also include dairy cream. 

These ingredients are added for a fuller overall taste experience, which isn’t helpful if you want the choice to ditch the dairy and add your own dairy-free cheese or cream instead. To save money and avoid these dairy-laden processed pasta sauces, try making an authentic tomato pasta sauce from scratch.

Guacamole

Guacamole is a traditional Mexican dip made up of the following ingredients: 

Avocado

Onion

Chilli pepper

Cilantro

Lime juice

Tomatoes

Salt & pepper 

These ingredients are all you need to smash together a gorgeous, creamy dip for chips, fries, burritos, tacos, toast, eggs, loaded potato skins, and about a million other dishes. 

Unfortunately, large stores and restaurants often have other ideas and add cream to the mix. Avocados are indulgent and around 15% fat, so you really don’t need that cream! Luckily, freshly made guacamole is generally better anyway, so you won’t miss out by ditching the store-bought stuff.

Meat

If you’re ditching the dairy but not going down the path of veganism, you may also be interested to know that milk is added to lots of meat products. Breaded frozen meat products, processed hot dogs, and deli meats are often supplemented with milk derivatives to add flavour or prolong shelf life. A hint to help you out here is that if a meat is labelled kosher, then it should be dairy-free. 

Going Dairy-Free? Always Read The Labels

If you’re thinking of going dairy-free, the best thing to do is always check the labels of the food you buy. There might be a learning curve to go through, but the fact is you can lead a healthy, happy life without dairy in it. This really is a diet journey worth pursuing for the good of your health, animal ethics, and the environment.