Dairy Free Keto Magic

By Daisy Argudin

The ketogenic diet is considered to be a highly restrictive diet. When you have to, or choose to, go dairy free it can be a bit overwhelming. When you search for new food ideas most of the time, they will contain dairy. Heavy cream is a daily fat source for many. Previously we shared some of the dairy alternatives we use daily. I suggest you read that post if you haven’t already, “Dairy Free Keto is that even a thing? ”

Today I will show you how you can make a web recipe dairy free.

I’ve found 2 ways to do this. One, I look for vegan recipes that I can adjust to make them keto friendly. Two, I search keto recipes that I can adjust to be dairy free. Dose this always work? No. If you follow us regularly you might remember our muffin recipe that when adjusted to be dairy free ended up tasting like tuna, still not sure where that went wrong. Some recipes need ingredients for certain reasons, so get to know your ingredients to see what an adequate alternative might be. For example a chia or flax egg might work in a recipe but you can’t use it to replace an egg alone. I always make a small batch when trying a new recipe. Since it may not work, I don’t want to have a lot to toss or a lot I’ll have to eat myself cause my keto kid won’t touch it.

Let’s begin with a vegan cream sauce that we have used in the past. My mac and cheese loving non-keto kid asks for this regularly so you know it’s good. We found this recipe for vegan alfredo cream sauce on the Silk site.

Here is the ingredient list on the site:

INGREDIENTS 

• 1 PACKAGE SILKEN TOFU (THE KIND IN THE SHELF-STABLE TETRA PACKS) 

• 2 CUPS SILK ORGANIC UNSWEET SOYMILK, UNSWEET ALMONDMILK OR OATMILK

• 1/2 CUP VEGAN MARGARINE 

• 1-2 TBSP LEMON JUICE OR WHITE WINE 

• 2 TBSP ONION POWDER 

• 1 CRUSHED GARLIC CLOVE 

• 1-2 TSP SALT 

• 1-2 TSP BLACK PEPPER (TO TASTE) 

• PINCH OF NUTMEG 

• 3 TBSP CORNSTARCH DISSOLVED IN COLD WATER 

• FAVORITE HERBS 

Most of these ingredients are keto friendly other than oat milk and cornstarch. We use 2c. unsweetened original almond milk. Xanthum gum can be used in place of cornstarch, I did 2 tsp. Check the constancy before adding more, you may decide that your sauce is fine without the thickener and leave it out completely, it wont affect the taste. Agar agar could also work but has slightly more carbs.

Preparation (as written): 

• Blend tofu and Silk in food processor or blender until creamy. 

• Melt margarine in saucepan and add all other ingredients except cornstarch. Heat over medium-low until hot, stirring often. 

• Whisk in cornstarch mixture and heat until just bubbling, allowing sauce to thicken. 

• Heat until thick, but don’t let it come back to a boil. Once mixture reaches desired consistency, add chopped fresh parsley, basil, chives or other herbs as you like. 

• Pour over pasta, rice or potatoes and enjoy! Also super good with some sautéed veggies, mushrooms, chopped Kalamata olives or your favorite vegetarian protein. 

I Normally blend everything together except the xanthum gum and heat it on the stove. Once it begins to simmer, I lower the heat and add the 1 tbsp of xanthum gum and allow it to thicken. We server this over zoodles or spaghetti squash, either one is 1 net carb per 100g. With the adjustments listed each serving (6) is only 4.3 NC, 17.6g fat and, 5.5g protein. You could add some ground lamb to up the protein and add much needed fat and carnitine.

Now for dessert/fat bomb. This is a keto recipe that we have to adjust to be dairy free.

Keto Connect has a great recipe for keto cheesecake fat bombs.   

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup Full fat cream cheese, at room temperature (4 oz) 

• 1/4 cup Unsalted butter 

• 1/4 cup Heavy Whipping Cream  

• 2-3 tbsp Powdered Erythritol 

• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract  

• 1 tsp lemon zest Optional 

I replaced the 1/2c of cream cheese for 1/2c Kite hill almond cream cheese. The Butter was replaced with vegan butter 1:1. For the heavy whipping cream you have a few choices. You can use coconut cream, silk almond heavy cream or, you can replace it with 2 parts dairy free milk and 1 part oil. We used the milk and oil, since that is what we had.

Instructions (as written): 

• In a large bowl, add the cream cheese and butter. Using a hand blender, whisk until combined and no lumps remain. 

• Add the heavy cream and whisk until light and fluffy. 

• Add the erythritol and vanilla extract, and whisk until combined. 

• You can use this mixture for the fat bombs, or you can carry on to add more flavoring. For this recipe we decided to add 2 tbsp of blended strawberries and lemon zest. Fold in a manner to achieve ribbons. 

• Freeze the mixture for 30 minutes to allow it to firm up. 

• Once firm, use a cookie scooper to shape the fat bombs into balls. Place in a cupcake silicone mold, or a lined cupcake tin. 

• Freeze for 1-2 hours to allow them to firm up properly. 

• Enjoy them as is or dip it in chocolate or shredded coconut. 

• Store in a ziploc bag in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. Take them out 10 minutes before eating to allow them to soften a little bit 

I Followed the directions as written making the adjustments listed above so they were dairy free. We didn’t add in the fruit but did add the lemon zest. They were so good I've had to hide them from the family so that the keto kid could enjoy them. The macros for 1 of the 8 servings are 0.6 NC, 9.6g fat and, 0.9g protein.

I hope that this has helped you to see that dairy free keto doesn’t have to feel impossible. It will require some work on your part but most keto families already meal prep at home and are awesome at making keto magic with their meals.

All view expressed are my own, I have not been compensated in any way for my opinion.

Dairy Free Keto...Is that even a thing?

3/1/20

By Daisy Argudin

My keto kid is allergic to dairy and eggs so we have had to learn to make adjustments to his diet since he was small. It has made keto a bit more challenging for us but also something that made me want to try keto for his epilepsy over 2 years ago. I was used to reading every label and checking ingredients. We rarely ate out as I don’t think a chief in a restaurant can be trusted with so many restrictions. Unlike most keto families we can't pack some cheese for a snack. We can't use cream as our fat with meals. We can't add butter to everything to meet macros. Try and go through your daily food list and see how much of it is dairy. Thankfully in the last 3 years we have begun to see more and more dairy alternatives but often they are high in carbs or taste awful. The last year has brought more keto dairy free options as keto has become a popular way of life.

So how do we do it? Often I'll look for vegan keto recipes and get ideas that I can add protein into and stay within our macros. If I find something I'd like to try that has dairy then we have to find alternatives. I search many sites for new products and I'll ask my local grocery store to carry them or order some for us to try.

So what has worked for us? Dairy free cheese that is keto friendly and good is unfortunately a dream. A cheese stick of a popular brand is 4 net carbs while the shreds are 6 net carbs per ¼ cup, not worth it for us.

Butter seems to be an easy find that tastes great and we like the brands Smart Balance or Earth Balance. The macros are slightly different from dairy based butter. Dairy free butter has 9g of fat while butter has 11g. If you can find Earth Grown Coconut Spread, we find it at Aldi's, it has no carbs and 11g of fat. The flavor has a hint of coconut and is less salty than butter but very good.

Yogurt? We like Kite Hill and Silk. Both are almond based. Silk is very similar to yogurt in texture and taste. Kite Hill is slightly less thick than the silk and a bit more tart, we also use it in place of sour cream. I can add avocado or mct oil to either and it mixes in well without changing the texture or flavor.

Coconut cream, not canned coconut milk, is close to heavy cream consistency but will add a coconut flavor to whatever you are making. Silk makes a heavy whipping cream that is very close in macros and taste to heavy whipping cream. If you want to make your own, you can blend 1 part vegetable oil with 2 parts milk alternative in a blender and it will work for most recipes.

Dairy free milks. We use different ones for different meals. If I want higher protein for say a shake, I like the unsweetened Bolthouse pea protein milk with 1 net carb and 10g protein. For less protein the Ripple unsweetened pea milk with 0.5 net carbs and 8g protein. Silk almond milk has 0.5 net carbs and 1g protein so it fits as a drink with meals. All of these work well to blend in fats as needed to meet macros.

Some families are choosing to reduce their dairy intake over concerns that it is inflammatory to the body and specifically concerns that inflammatory changes in the brain can lower seizure thresholds. Some just want new meal options or are obligated to go dairy free, like us, because of allergies. Whatever your reason for trying dairy free, talk with your team and see if some of these options work for your family.

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All the brands discussed in this article are ones we personally use, my opinions are my own and I am not compensated for using or endorsing them.