Dairy Free French Onion Dip

French onion dip was my favorite snack back in my dairy days. It was so creamy and delicious with potato chips and pretzels! Nowadays, sour cream is unacceptable, and the Lip
ton Onion Soup Mix is so high in sodium it's not appropriate for a girl in her late 20's.

Here is a French Onion Dip I can live with. Using a mixture of Toffuti Better Than Sour Cream and mayonnaise, I can replicate the creaminess of the chip dip. Remember, real egg mayonnaise has no dairy in it. Eggs come from chickens, milk comes from cows. So many people forget!

This recipe uses a spice blend and real caramelized onions that taste better than the Lipton's Onion Soup mix, and utilizes the combination of olive oil and Smart Balance to give the dip a buttery taste.

Top it with some fresh chives for added flavor and you have a pretty and delectable onion chip dip that's perfect for parties or for enjoyment at home as a late night snack.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Smart Balance Light Buttery Spread
2 onions, chopped
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon white sugar
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1 cup Toffuti Better Than Sour Cream
1/2 cup egg mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 tablespoon fresh chives, diced

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, add oil, onions, Smart Balance, and salt. Cook for 10-15 minutes, until onions are tender and start to become translucent.

2. Add pepper, white sugar, and balsamic vinegar. Turn the heat to low and cook for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are caramelized. Turn off heat and allow to cool before adding to remaining ingredients.

3. In a medium size bowl, mix Toffuti Better Than Sour Cream, mayonnaise, garlic powder, and Worcestershire Sauce.

4. Stir caramelized onions into sour cream and mayonnaise mixture, then chill for at least two hours. If you prefer a smoother texture, refine dip in food processor first. Chilling overnight will give the best flavor. Before serving, top with fresh chives.

      

Dairy Free Spinach Artichoke Dip

Cheesy, gooey, hot spinach and artichoke dip with a little kick. It's okay lactose intolerant person, this is for you. This recipe is made fresh and flavorful to taste better than your average restaurant style artichoke dip. I served it to a group of cheese-loving, dairy-eating ladies and they ate it all up! It's a lot healthier than an average dish of the dairy version of this dip, as the soy cream cheese and dairy free shreds are low in saturated fat and cholesterol free. I even used light mayonaise to make it healthier.

Just know, real mayonaise is completely dairy free. I try to point this out as much as I can, because I've noticed a general misconception that mayo is associated with dairy. Either people associate eggs as being dairy, or just mayo as being made with cows milk, but real mayonaise is made only with eggs--no cow products at all. The Best Foods mayonaise I used contains the ingredients: soybean oil, water, whole eggs, vinegar, salt, sugar, and lemon juice. No lactose whatsoever. It's an important ingredient in most artichoke dip recipes.

The other dairy free ingredients I used were Trader Joe's This is Not a Tub of Cream Cheese, This is a Tub of Non-Dairy Spread, though I also recommend using either Tofutti Cream Cheese and/or Tofutti Sour Cream. I used Daiya Mozzarella Style Shreds to substitute real cheese, but I recommend Trader Joe's Soy Mozzarella as well. For the second cheese ingredient, I used real Parmigiano Reggiano, which is said to be completely lactose free due to the process it is made and aged. To keep this dish dairy free, use Galaxy Foods Vegan Grated Parmesan or Parma! instead. Last but not least, in every recipe that calls for butter, I replace it with Smart Balance Light Buttery Spread, which is completely dairy free, yet still tastes amazingly like real butter.

Cooking all these non-dairy ingredients together really brings out their dairy flavor. Eating them all separately and cold makes you never want to buy them again-so don't do it! Combine them by cooking with other ingredients and spices to get the same level of comfort food satisfaction. I absolutely love this spinach artichoke dip.

Ingredients:

1 large bag fresh baby spinach

2 cans artichoke hearts, chopped

1 medium size yellow onion, chopped

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 6oz containers This is Not a Tub of Cream Cheese

1 cup real mayonaise

2/3 cup plus 1/4 cup grated parmigiano reggiano or Vegan Grated Parmesan

3/4 cup plus 1/4 cup Daiya Mozarella style shreds

3 tablespoons Smart Balance Light Buttery Spread

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1. Chop up your onion, artichokes, and garlic. Melt the Smart Balance Light Buttery Spread in a large saucepan over medium heat. 

2. Once melted, toss in the onions and cook until translucent, about five minutes. Throw in the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds with the buttery onions. 

3. Add red pepper flakes, sea salt, and black pepper to the pan, immediately followed by all of the spinach. Spinach takes up a ton of space when first added, so it will be easier to add it to the pan in portions. It will cook down quickly. Cook spinach in butter, onion, and garlic mixture for 2-3 minutes once all added. 

 4. Remove pan temporarily from heat. With a slotted spoon, remove the spinach, onion, and garlic from the pan, leaving as much flavored butter behind as possible. Set spinach mixture aside.  I set my spinach on a cutting board and chopped it up to make it more manageable to eat.

5. Add the artichokes to the remaining flavored buttery liquid in the pan and return to heat. Cook until the liquid is cooked off and the artichokes begin to brown. Add more Smart Balance if needed.

6. While artichokes are cooking create the base for your dip. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Soften the tubs of non-dairy cream cheese in the microwave for 30 seconds. You want them to be easy to work with. Add the non-dairy cream cheese to a large mixing bowl.

7. Add mayonaise to the non-dairy cream cheese and combine until smooth.

8. Next add 3/4 cup mozzarella shreds and 2/3 cup Parmigiano Reggiano or parmesan alternative, spinach mixture, and browned artichokes to the cream cheese and mayo mixture. Stir until well combined. 

9. Transfer to a large baking dish and top with remaining mozzarella and parmesan. Cook for 15 minutes, or until mixture is hot and bubbly. Cooking these non-dairy ingredients together is the key to their delicious dairy taste. When I served this dish, no one could tell it was dairy free.

         

Dairy Free Whipped Potatoes

Usually the best ingredients in mashed potatoes are butter and cream, but for the lactose intolerant person in your family, those ingredients won't be helpful in your Thanksgiving spread. That doesn't mean your mashed taters have to be dry and bland! It's easy to use Lactaid milk instead of regular milk, but if you want to eliminate milk altogether, and there are no egg allergies in your family, try adding mayonnaise. Now before you say, "Eww, mayonnaise," really consider the creamy possibilities here. I'm not talking about Miracle Whip--that fake, salad dressing stuff. I mean real, made from eggs mayonnaise. For some reason people think mayonnaise is made from dairy products, just like some people think eggs are dairy products--but I have never seen any version of mayonnaise made with dairy. I have also never considered eggs a dairy product. Milk is produced by cows, eggs come from chickens. Eggs have never been milk.

Anyway, mayo is a great replacement for cream in mashed potatoes. Mayonnaise and potatoes always go together--think potato salad. But you aren't adding a cupful, you don't want your potatoes to taste like mayonnaise. You shouldn't taste it at all. By adding a couple tablespoons to your dish you are merely making them creamy and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. My recipe uses Earth Balance Buttery Spread--a blend of healthy oils that serves as a butter and margarine replacement, and it also uses a mixer, to get that creamy, whipped consistency you can't get by simply mashing.  This time around I used red potatoes; leaving most of the skins on adds more nutrition to your potato dish. But, they aren't really the best potatoes to use for mashing. It's best to use Yukon Gold if you have them.

Ingredients:

5 or 6 medium to large potatoes, preferably gold potatoes
2 tablespoons of Earth Balance or Smart Balance Buttery Spread
2 tablespoons of Real Mayonnaise--I used Best Foods.
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1 teaspoon of dried parsley

Directions:

1. If leaving the skins on, scrub the potatoes under warm water with a vegetable brush. I cut off the unsightly spots. Or, just skin the potatoes completely and rinse.

2. Cube the potatoes and put them in a large pot. Fill with water until just covered.

3. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover. Cook for 15 minutes or until tender. Be careful not to over cook! You could get a gluey consistency when you whip.

4. In a large bowl, add the Earth Balance, mayo, and potatoes. With your mixer, whip on medium speed until combined, adding salt, pepper, and parsley as you whip. Use a spatula to scrape the sides and make sure everything is mixed well, but no need to over mix. Serve smothered in turkey gravy. Never doubt mayo again.

My Thanksgiving Spread: Reynolds Oven Bag Turkey, Cranberry Stuffing, Charred Citrus Broccoli, Mayonnaise Whipped Potatoes, and a huge helping of homemade gravy.