Sharing 10+ Years of Safe Eating Lessons, Tips and Resources
Many people say they feel overwhelmed upon learning they need to follow a dairy and soy free diet. After more than a decade of cooking, baking and snacking without these allergens I'm positive you can learn from us.
No medical advice—just my lived experience, designed to lessen your stress.
Most People Don't Understand the Daily Food Allergy Challenges Families Face
We used to get the same question every time we went to a birthday party or a restaurant or friend's house—"Can he have [blank]?"
That question makes my brain hurt:
- Did you read the ingredients?
- Does it have any dairy?
- Is there any soy?
- Is it processed in a facility with any cross-contaminants?
- Would you feed this to your kid right now if he/she had the same allergies?
Let's be clear about another thing—in case you don't know—soy is in a TON of different foods and many times it's present in foods that don't necessarily even need soy in them. Ouch!
You Can Still Eat Great Food on a Soy + Dairy Free Diet
You might be here because you want to believe this is true, but you're just not sure, and that's fair.
Let's start simple. My son had to drink $50 of hemp milk every week when we started out because oat milk had barely been introduced to the market at the time. But look around now—oat milk brands are plentiful. Almond milk is another viable option, but we are also a tree nut and pea nut free family.
Thankfully, the same is true for so many other products that are 100% dairy and soy free—products you can snack on and use in your recipes. The more you look around, the more you realize you can do this and do it well.
Always, Always Check Ingredient Labels
As a parent, I know it's my job to scour every food ingredient label. But once isn't enough—you must be vigilant.
A Classic Food Ingredient 'Gotcha' Tale
My son gets hyped for pizza with dairy-free (and soy-free) cheese. We found a brand of we loved and after months of enjoying pizza, we saw the ingredients changed. There was now pea protein in the cheese which is another no-go for us and unfortunately, many alternative cheese products contain nuts, also a no-go.
The silver lining is that through due diligence we caught this early, before it could have become a real problem. Luckily, we just found a new brand of safe for us cheese and we're back in the pizza game!
For what it's worth, if you have a little one who's allergic to dairy and soy, both of your faces are sure to light up when they take their first bite! Trust me—we had to sit on the sidelines too many times at birthday parties when the pizza came out for lunch.
Natural Ingredients Win the Day
In my experience, finding meals that use only fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices and protein (no legumes for us) are the safest options. You generally shouldn't find any dairy or soy if you're dealing with potatoes or blueberries or chicken thighs.
Things get much more complicated when using pre-packaged goods or unfamiliar sauces or breads.
Many of my family's favorite meals are the ones that are made of all natural ingredients, which seems like a relatively healthy option, considering the overwhelming amount of ultra-processed foods that compose the American diet.
How to Follow a Dairy and Soy Free Diet
If you're just starting this journey, check out the product reviews page for inspiration. I'm sure you'll find some good stuff. Another great resource is our snacks hub where you can get instant access to a PDF of 5 Dairy-Free + Soy-Free Snacks Your Kid Will Love when you subscribe to our weekly emails. Our hub of dairy-free and soy-free brands we trust will save you time and effort when grocery shopping.
When you're ready to start meal planning, try our paid swaps guide—we already did the heavy lifting for you—16 core ingredients in 4 categories that you can trust for safe dairy + soy free eats.
After that, I'd hit up the recipes page for outstanding:
You can get some recipes there with the full ingredients and cooking instructions instantly in PDF when you subscribe to our emails.
And if you want to unlock the same meals we've been eating for years, 100% dairy and soy free, then our dinner bundle and dessert bundle are just the ticket!
Wishing you safe snacking, baking and cooking—from our family to yours.
