If you’ve been following this blog due to the Dairy Free content, please check out my new blog:
http://www.ditchthedairy.co.uk
Its a blog dedicated to everything Dairy Free that I love!
Dairy Free Cheese Pizza!
To say I like pizza is a huge understatement, so being allergic to cheese is annoying to say the least! SO… I hopped on the internet and found something called, “No-Moo Mild-Aromatic” which is a dairy free (and vegan) alternative to cheese, from Vegusto. It can be bought here for £4.95. The cheese has won a FreeFrom award for 2012. I promise I didn’t buy it just because the name ‘no-moo’ made me giggle!
I made the pizza base from scratch (I cheated and used a bread maker to knead it!) I used the recipe provided in the Prima Bread Maker, which is:
240ml Water
Strong White Flour: 460g
Olive Oil: 2 tbsp
Strong Wholemeal Flour: 3 tbsp
Sugar: 1 tbsp
Salt: 2 tsp
Yeast: 2 tsp
After I had my dough, I rolled it out upon a floured worktop, and laid out the ingredients I planned to use.
The quantities in the bread recipe gave me enough dough for three mini pizzas, so if you are only wanting one normal sized pizza, I would half the quantities I provided.
The baking of these took about 20-30 minutes on 220°C but I had to keep checking them.
With the pizzas I found the cheese does’t melt and brown as quickly normal cheese does, so the cooking took longer than usual.
My issues with the cheese was when the cheese was cooked, I really hated the smell, it was very strong, and whilst some may like the strong smell of cheese, I do not, so I don’t think I would buy it again due to this. In fairness to the brand, the cheese is described as ‘aromatic’ so perhaps I should have thought of this before I tried the cheese. The taste was much better when it was slightly masked with the toppings I added, so if I did ever use the cheese again I would use more of the tomato sauce as the cheese taste was quite strong and overtook many of the other flavours within the pizza.
I have another brand of cheese to try next, called ‘Cheezly Red Cheddar Style’ (also Vegan and Gluten free) so I will let you know how I get on with that one!
Have you found any nice dairy free cheese?
Dairy Free Halloween Cup-Cakes!
This week, I’ve been getting into the Halloween spirit and making some spooky Halloween, Dairy Free buns!
I used Pure spread (a dairy free substitute for butter) in the bun mixture as well as the mixture to make butter cream. I used the Be-ro recipe to make the buns which I find is the best tasting recipe!
To decorate them, I used orange and black cupcake cases from Lakeland, and green edible glitter also from Lakeland. The glitter finished off the look of the buns, making them slightly more ‘Halloweeny’ so I sprinkled on a small amount after I’d put on the chocolate pieces. From Hotel Chocolate I used the “Yikes! Dark Chocolate Selection” which make the cupcakes look more fun and creative, and are Dairy Free (and Vegan.) The chocolates come in packs of three, and include shapes such as cats, skulls and graveyard headstones. They can be bought here for £2.99 a pack.
I think they turned out really great, and are a good substitute this time of year when everyone is eating lots of chocolate they are given whilst trick or treating, or just eating cake with a cup of tea on a cold night- these are festive, and don’t make you feel like you’re missing out when it comes to what you can-and can’t eat!
Hope you like them!
Hotel Chocolat- My Favourite Diary Free Treats
The main issue I find with being allergic to dairy is that feeling of ‘missing out’ on the things that previously I’ve enjoyed, or desserts I see on restaurant menus that I can’t eat.
The main one, being a chocolate lover is that I can no longer enjoy milk chocolate. After an embarrassing amount of time sulking over this, I decided a better use of my time is to find alternatives that will replace my beloved milk chocolate.
With winter approaching, I always associate this with hot chocolate- so my first mission was to find some hot chocolate I can have with almond milk- enter Hotel Chocolat ‘Classic Drinking Chocolate.’ Its 70% dark chocolate flakes, but it doesn’t taste bitter or leave a nasty taste in the mouth, and made sweeter by the almond milk! I also use this in baking, sprinked on top of, or in a mixture of buns which is very tasty, and adds some more flavour. I find mixed in this way it tastes more like a milk chocolate would rather than a dark chocolate which I don’t like!
Whilst in the shop searching for my hot chocolate, I came across the ‘Chocolate Hazelnut Spread’ which.is.amazing. The first time I tried it, I knew it was a winner. Its even tastier than a nutella spread, and tastes like you’re eating milk chocolate which is a huge winner for me. I’ve been baking using the Pure spread which is dairy free, so I decorate the buns or cake with this spread on top and then sprinkled on that I use the drinking chocolate flakes. The result is AMAZING, it doesn’t taste like a rubbish alternative that you resign yourself to eat purely because anything else makes you poorly, it’s a proper treat!
I love that on the website they have an entire section for a dairy free diet, and I will definitely be trying more of their ranges, in particular I want to try the “Mini Hazelnut Buche Dark & Nutty- Chocolate Log” and the advent calender which is dairy free!
Have you got any dairy free chocolate favourites?
The Perfect Bronzer!
I’ve been a huge fan of the Bobbi Brown bronzer for quite a few years, and I’ve tried a few Estee Lauder ones too, but whenever I’ve worn them, I’ve always found theres a massively fine line between a pretty slightly bronzed look and looking like an oompah loompa.
With this Marc Jacobs O!Mega Bronze Tantric bronzer, its the perfect colour, not too light that you can’t add a slight contour with it, and not too dark that you turn into a wotsit. There is no orangey tones to it, and its a really buildable colour so you can go as dark or as light as you want depending on what colour your body is to match it.
I had slight reservations buying this due to the fact it claims its a ‘universal’ colour. When you see how many colours other brands ofter in an attempt to suit everyones skin tones, its hard to believe that one colour matches everyone, but I was proved wrong when it matched my skin tone perfectly.
I love the fact its a matte finish- with so many bronzers they ruin them by adding a shimmer which I don’t like, I also love how it doesn’t seem to gather around imperfections. Some bronzers I’ve tried will sit on top of concealer and make spots more noticeable by turning into a different shade or kinda clumping. I’m not sure of the reasoning behind other bronzers doing this, but perhaps it’s because they’re not as finely milled as this one.
As much as I love this, I have to agree with those that say how randomly huge this product is- the compact is massive, and though it isn’t the most convenient product- the huge mirror in the compact is extremely handy for putting on make-up on the go! Plus it means you get a good brush ‘swish’ around the product before you apply it.
Definitely my favourite bronzer yet- when it gives every skin tone a flawless finish, whats not to love?!
O!Mega Perfect Tan Bronzer in Tantric- you can get it here for $49.
Marc Jacobs Lolita Palette
The Lolita palette is one of those rare beauty items you buy, just because. The palette is quite expensive, and many could claim this is simply due to the name that is stamped on the lid. However, I do honestly think this is one of the best beauty buys I’ve made in a long time. It truly is a luxurious one, the colours are all beautifully wearable, there aren’t any colours that I look at and question why it was included, from day to night this is the perfect palette.
Never before wearing an eye product have I had so many people complimenting my eye makeup than when I wear these colours, stand alone they are great, but they blend so well together too- the off white cream is perfect for a brow bone highlight, the matte nude for an all over colour, then the rosy copper on the lid, with the matte coffee brown in the crease- blend them together, throw some eyeliner and mascara on and you are ready to go!
The shadows all last a remarkably long time, I find with slight shimmer eye shadows as some of them are, that these loose their shine throughout the night, but these ones still look as good when you take them off as when you put them on. Looking at the other palettes Jacobs’ are selling, it’s only a matter of time until I cave and buy another one- I’ll keep you updated when I decide to take the plunge! The best luxe eyeshadow I’ve ever tried!
Marc Jacobs Lolita Palette found here for $59
California Dreamin’
So my unexplained absence over the past few weeks- I’ve been away on holiday, and then succummbed hugely to jet lag so i’ve been hibernating in my room whenever I’m not working. BUT I’m back now, and with plenty of American goodies to blog about.
I thought my first post back should be a few highlights of my trip, from Hollywood to the beaches, California is my favourite place! (Also please note the restraint I have shown by not uploading some of the hundreds of photos of palm trees I accumulated during my trip.)
We took a little ride along Venice Beach, you can rent a bike and if you go pretty early (before the heat is too much) its an amazing ride from Venice Beach down to Santa Monica, the cycle path built here means on one side is the beach and the other is little shops and restaurants, and you can see Santa Monica pier infront. The views are classic California, with palm trees lining the path, I felt very ‘LA.’
Out of all the handprints, the most impressive to me, was Michael Jacksons, pictured (badly- sorry, it was too sunny for there not to be shadows!) here, all the handprints and footprints are fun to walk around. I think this is one of the more cliché activities to do in Hollywood, but if you want to be very touristy, there is a shopping centre called the ‘Hollywood and Highland Center’ very near the Chinese Theatre- from the third level of this, you can take photos of the famous ‘HOLLYWOOD’ sign. The sign won’t be huge in the background of photos, but if you’re not going to drive up into Beverley Hills, its probably your best, easy photo opportunity of it!
We drove up Route 66 to come points along the coast, past the Big Sur, which I could show you photos of… OR I could show you photos of more important things… like my lunch. If you go on this road, you have to stop at a place called ‘Lucia Lodge.’ It has amazing food, and from here you look down along the jagged coast, and appreciate how amazing the mountains are and look out to sea. Looking out to sea here will make you feel pretty small- it literally goes on forever, and eating here looking at this view is pretty incredible.
This is a beach. Full of seals. Life does not get much better than a beach full of seals does it?
If your life gets better than an entire BEACH OF SEALS, then I am very jealous of your life.
Mine however doesn’t, so I encourage people to visit said beach, where seals laze around, roll in the sand, occasionally fight with other seals and just flop about to have a quick swim in the sea. Basically, I learnt seals are my spirit animal, I’m not too certain how I feel about the discovery, but either way its a pretty great place which anyone local or visiting should see.
The beach is pretty hidden away, with just a simple ‘vista point’ sign indicating there is anything much to see, so it’s easy to drive past. Its located along Highway 1, seven miles north of San Simeon. If you can’t get there in person… theres a webcam which is pretty mesmerising.
If there’s a Disney Park in a 100 mile radius of where I am, on any trip, you can bet your bottom dollar I will be going! Amazingly, my bezzie from Uni is doing a year abroad working out in LA, so we met up for some Disney shenanegans, which mainly included running round shouting ‘DISNAAAY’, becoming too excited over everything, and obnoxiously singing to every song we hear.
The sunsets all along the coast are amazing- this one was at Carpinteria beach, the one at Huntington Beach was similarly incredible, and definitely different to what you would see somewhere in England just for the sheer scale of the sea and the pale sand. The one at Huntington Beach (pictured below) was probably my favourite because I could pretend I was on the OC with the life guard huts. (I was obsessed with the OC on holiday because I saw Ben McKenzie walking down the street- I’m pretty certain we fell madly in love. I’ll keep you all updated on the date of our wedding.)
Now I’m back in rainy England. FAB.
My 5 Favourite Dairy-Free Snacks!
Allergies of all types are a huge pain, so it’s a huge relief when you can find something that you can actually eat- that tastes nice. The main emphasis is on ‘tastes nice’ here, because many products that are free from dairy, I find to be disappointing and not a patch on the actual product they are trying to recreate. I can’t have dairy of any type, so I’ve been having a good research on what alternatives I can find. There are some products that aren’t ever going to be as nice- you’re never going to find a chocolate that tastes really creamy, but I’ve cut my losses, stopped pouting over it, and found some alternatives that I like, so I thought I’d share them with you…
Waitrose Continental Plain Chocolate
This is my favourite chocolate right now. I’ve never been a huge fan of dark chocolate, but when normal chocolate was no longer an option for me, this starts to taste pretty good!
It says on the packet its a “dark, bitter chocolate made the continental way” but I would disagree with the ‘bitter’ part. Whilst not being sweet, it isn’t bitter to the extent that it leaves a nasty aftertaste which in the past has put me off dark chocolates. Whilst it isn’t sweet, it is 72% cocoa, low in sugar, and doesn’t have milk listed as an ingredient, and I’ve found I don’t react to it. (It does on the packet say ‘may contain traces of nuts and milk’ however, so if you can’t have traces this may not be the best option for you.)
Madecasse Madagascar Chocolate- Salted Almond
This chocolate, for some reason, I find ‘special’ when I open it. I love the taste and texture of the chocolate, its 59% cocoa solids, and does contain soya, and again, may contain traces of dairy but personally a ‘trace’ I’m okay with so this is a winner for me! I like that it has abit of something extra- the sea salt roasted almond nibs within it make it different to ordinary dark chocolate. I also really love that it is actually made in Madagascar, on their website it states that Africa grows 70% of the world’s cocoa, yet produces less than 1% of the worlds chocolate- if this continues, a country which is rich in natural resources will continue to remain poor, so I think if you can buy something that helps to change this, it is important to do so. Find out more info about Madecasse Chocolate here.
Alpro Silky Smooth Chocolate Pudding
These are the best puddings ever! Dairy free and really chocolatey, they’re the perfect pudding, it’s nice to know that there is something that does taste like milk chocolate with a smooth texture. They’re low in fat and high in calcium and vitamins- which is important for when you can’t have calcium through milk and other dairy items. They’re in little individual pots so are perfect for a lunch time pudding! If you have ever been able to have dairy then loose it, it’s hard to find alternatives which taste the same as their normal counterparts- so these fill the gap all those chocolate puddings have left me with! Note: This did make me feel slightly sick which I’ve never got with the Continental chocolate mentioned before, which could be due to the lower ‘pure’ cocoa content, so try this a nibble at a time if you have allergies!
freefrom Cherry Bakewells
Dairy (and gluten) free, these are amazing! They taste exactly the same as normal cherry bakewells, the sponge and pastry tasting the same as those which would have had dairy in them, which is amazing! If you’re missing out when others are eating birthday cake at parties, or are in general missing something sweet, this is really worth a try! My favourite non-chocolate product that I’ve tried so far!
Mini Moos Bunnycomb Bar
Okay… so the name ‘Rosie Rabbit BunnyComb bar’ may have enticed me to buy it, but I like the fact this chocolate is completely dairy (and gluten) free! One of my main issues with not eating chocolate is that you can’t just pop into a shop as you walk past and pick up a chocolate bar when you’re hungry, or just snack on a bar whilst you are at your friends. This is why when I found such a handy sized bar, I really wanted it to be good! I had high hopes for the product, and I did enjoy it! It has honeycomb toffee pieces on the top which adds a flavour kick to what otherwise would be abit of a boring bar. I don’t think this is the tastiest of the three chocolates, but it does win in the fact its easily thrown in my handbag for a quick snack if I get peckish on the go! There’s also ‘cheeky orange,’ ‘minty moos’ and original flavour bars, but the honeycomb is my favourite (because if I wish really hard I can pretend its a crunchie!)
What’s your favourite dairy-free treat?
10 Things I Miss About Being A Fresher
Since everyone has got their A-Level results today, and now know where you are going to uni, I thought I’d write my top ten things I miss/ are great about being a fresher!
(And if you’re already feeling abit nervous about the big move… don’t worry, this was literally me when my parents left me, and I ended up loving uni!)
1. You can drink to excess and recover reasonably quickly the next day… by the grand old age of 21, this skill has definitely disappeared for me.
2. 40% in essays/ exams is all you need- this is the dream- by third year getting 40% is your worst nightmare
3. Due to the 40% you didn’t necessarily have to work, so you could go out/ chill out whenever you wanted
4. When you did have to work, you leave it until the night before the deadline, so the whole of first year ends up in the library- and when it gets to 4am and you’re really tired… you can wake yourself up by playing hide and seek around the different library sections
5. I miss being able to laze around all day watching TV and it was acceptable because everyone else is doing the same. No matter how many plans you make, you will never end up doing them as you both text each other about how comfy you are in your respective beds- the most you’ll do that day is one of you will cave and go spoon the other in their bed
6. No rules- Your parents aren’t coming into your room at 9am asking you when you’re waking up, and god forbid you sleep past 11 at home- you’re wasting your whole day! Then your parents will waltz into your room pulling off your covers and opening your curtains- this horrible wake-up call doesn’t happen at uni, and I loved the guilt-free lie ins!
7. The initial feeling of freedom- when you get, and your parents leave, you can pretty much do whatever you want. Though, after singing ‘independent woman’ by Destinys Child a few hundred times, sometimes you rue the day you left home because you want a home cooked meal and clean clothes.
8. Holidays- Enjoy uni holidays!!!!! The working world apparently doesn’t allow you to have 5 months of holiday… rubbish!
9. Being around people 24/7 at uni… you’ll come home and be massively lonely because you’ve not got people constantly around- my parents always wondered why I was so needy when I came home.
10. At uni noone judges you for ordering a regular dominoes, now dominoes, the Chinese and Indian takeouts near me at uni still text me offers and a ‘Merry Christmas’ text, which I rather enjoy.
Writing this has made me tooooo nostalgic, and Its only just sinking in I’m an old lady now and won’t be going back this September- I miss it and the freedom uni brings!
Emma Hardie- My Skin Saviour!
I have finally found my skin goddess! I’ve had ridiculous fluctuations with my skin recently- my silly allergies well and truly took a toll on my skin, and so I high tailed it into Space NK, and was recommended the ‘Amazing face Moringa Cleansing Balm’ by Emma Hardie. I’d never tried a cleansing balm before, so was a bit skeptical, and normally, when a product has the word ‘amazing’ in the title, it’s a huge disappointment. This balm is anything but disappointing though- after one use my skin felt- and looked- better, and after just a week of use I knew I had to blog and rave about this product! After 5 days of use, morning and night, it did bring out my impurities which was annoying as I was going out that night- typical! But it did take them back down quicker than anything I’ve ever used! At night, after using it as a cleanser, I have been using it as a night mask- rubbing a thin layer on my skin- I then wake up to very moisturised skin- which is getting less impurities every day!
I’m now desperately craving the “AM/PM Treatment Moisturiser” and the “Instant Radiance Mask” – if they’re as good as the Cleansing Balm I’ll be a happy trooper! They’ve already wormed their way onto the top of my ‘to buy’ list!
… I’ll keep you updated.
Things Laura Loves 